Vauxhall Pride: Getting the party started

Last weekend, Vauxhall One helped put on party.

Not just any party, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s Pride Night Party in the Pleasure Tunnel – and it turned out to be the best one yet.

The Pleasure Tunnel is a TfL-owned railway arch next to Vauxhall station. On any other day or night of the year, it’s home to a long row of Santander bike stands and a busy cycle route between Kennington Lane and Vauxhall Cross.

Look up from your commute and you’ll spot clues to Vauxhall’s LGBTQ+ heritage – the neon ‘Pleasure’ sign at the Vauxhall Cross end, and the rainbow ribbon motif that runs right through it towards the iconic Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

Turn up on Pride night and you’ll find yourself at an unashamedly fabulous party.

Pride month is important in Vauxhall. As a BID, we are stanch supporters of our local LGBTQ+ venues and community all year round – but this month we’ve helped host a number of additional Pride events, including LDN Queer Mart and Pride at the Farm.

BIDs like Vauxhall One are not-for-profit organisations. We collect a mandatory levy from businesses in the area, all of which is invested back into Vauxhall to make it cleaner, greener, safer and better. We don’t have big budgets to fully fund large-scale events like the Pride Party last Saturday. But we do have in-house expertise, event experience and a network of essential connections and partnerships.

For the Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s Pride Night Party 2023, Vauxhall One helped by:

• Securing the required permissions and licenses from TfL and Lambeth Council
• Jet washing the tunnel to help it look its best for party-goers
• Concealing the Santander Cycles
• Providing fencing and signage to divert traffic and ensure safety
• Building a stage
• Cleaning up after the party’s 4am finish so that the tunnel could reopen as a cycle lane by 9am
• Removing litter from the surrounding streets (as we do every morning!)

The partners we brought together to make the event such a success included the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, Transport for London, Lambeth Council Licensing, VauxhAll Night and our own team of Vauxhall One engineers, technicians and event specialists. Our thanks to everyone who helped create a safe, joyful and memorable Vauxhall Pride.

If you’re a Vauxhall business interested in putting on an event but you need some help with some of the things mentioned here, get in touch. We’d love to hear your ideas.