CELEBRATE Pride to fight terrorism - that is the message from supporters ahead of this year's parade.

City leaders and gay rights campaigners said that recent terrorist attacks made this year's event the most important in a generation as LGBT communities around the world fight the homophobic hatred of Isis.

The city's first openly gay MP Peter Kyle said: "Acts like Orlando, a rise in hate crime in our own country and hate inspired terror make events like Pride more important than they have been for a generation, because they are the opportunity for individuals to take a stand and for us as a city to shout loudly that that's not who we are.

"It is also the opportunity to give some hope to others living in parts of the world where being gay is still a crime or a route towards violence."

Gay rights campaigner, broadcaster and co-founder of Stonewall, Simon Fanshawe, added: "In the most extreme sense we still have to deal with people's weaponised hatred.

"With attacks like Orlando the reason appears someone was so full of self hatred they had to take it out on us because he couldn't bear to be part of us.

"Ritualistic violence from Isis is men trying to prove they are still in control and still able to punish and discipline people who are manifestly failing.

"Isis use us as the litmus test of western society's embracing of difference.

"They hate difference.

"They want people to follow a particular political philosophy.

"Pride has no point if it is just an excuse to dress - or undress - and celebrate and slap ourselves in the street.

"If all people do is celebrate hedonism then we are exemplifying everything we are attacked for.

"What Pride needs to do is give Pride a purpose that's political."

Chairman of the LGBT Humanists Richard Unwin said: "Personally I think Pride is absolutely still needed.

"After Orlando we definitely saw a spike in the number of people who wanted to take part in the parade at London Pride and also an increase in people wanting to come out.

"We might think the battle for LGBT rights has been won, certainly in legal terms it very nearly has been but in terms of equality socially it absolutely is not."

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: "One third of LGBTI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, intersex] people have been victims of hate crimes; many suffering violent attacks. Extremist clerics who incite the murder of LGBTIs are never prosecuted. All the equality laws have exemptions for religious organisations; in certain circumstances they are allowed to discriminate against us.

"The battle for LGBTI equality is a worldwide struggle. Queer freedom is an unstoppable global trend."