Thousands of gay and lesbians converged on London's Hackney Marshes on Saturday 6 July for a party to celebrate the 30th annual Mardi Gras.
Now, London is a big place. Lots of open spaces big enough to host such an event and plenty of parks that are easily accessible by public transport. So why, in that case, did this year's organisers have the wisdom to hold the festival in a place which was not at all easy to find?

The event was advertised as being '20 minutes from central London'. Twenty minutes to Stratford station, perhaps. Then, following an £8 cab fare and a twenty-five minute walk, we finally arrived at Hackney Marshes - ever hopeful that the event would be a success. What did we find? The park closed because of excessive amounts of mud (yes, mud) around the entrance/exit to the Marsh. The opening was delayed for almost two hours.
However, once we eventually got inside, the day was a moderate success. Trade's dance tent was a triumph. The Radio 1 stage was excellent. The arena had a string of top DJs, who all played fantastic tunes and broadcast live to the nation the entire day. Entertainment on the main stage was provided by, among others, Westlife, H & Claire and Atomic Kitten. Not really my cup of tea, but any stage with the prefix G.A.Y is always - in my opinion - going to be a bit ropey. Around the site an interesting selection of stalls sold everything from herbal teas to leather and bondage wear.
But the numbers who attended were reported to be half of the 70,000 expected, and the organisers now admit to making a thumping loss. It's clear a much more suitable venue is needed next year. Laurence Gibson

As we went to press it was announced that the company that runs London Mardi Gras has gone into liquidation with debts of over £1/2 million.