Pride London has announced it will be welcoming London police officers to take part in this year's festival after a four-year absence.
In a statement released Monday, the Board of Directors with Pride London said police were invited to participate at the request of those with membership and engaged LGBTQ2S+ community members.
Back in 2018, Pride London banned uniformed officers and police vehicles from attending the festival, to make the march more inclusive and to remove additional barriers for people participating.
Last year, organizers requested that police not fly the pride flag at its headquarters out of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Despite the request, the flag was still raised.
After several years of turbulence between the two organizations, the relationship appears to be on the mend.
"The Board of Directors will continue the conversation with Black Lives Matter, London Police Service and other minority groups that seek to be a part of the dialogue including Asian, Trans Men and Women, Non-Binary, Intersex and Indigenous peoples," said the president of Pride London, Stephen D'Amelio.
According to the board, it plans to assist police in flying the diversity flag on Tuesday marking the start of Pride Month. However, the flag will be flown at half-mast until June 9 out of respect and recognition of the remains of 215 children found at a former residential school site in Kamloops.
London police chief Steve Williams said in a statement Monday that he's pleased Pride London has welcomed the police service back to this year's festival, but acknowledges there's still work to be done.
"Over the last several months, we have met with the Pride London Board of Directors on several occasions and have had very productive discussions. These discussions have been difficult, vulnerable, and honest," Williams said. "This is a positive step for both our organizations, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen our partnership in the months and years to come."
This year's pride festival will be held virtually for the second year in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will run from July 15 to 25.