To celebrate Pride month, the lastminute.com London Eye has partnered with queer historian, Mark T Cox, to create a unique version of his popular walking tours of London. Taking place ahead of London’s Pride weekend, the tour aims to educate and entertain guests with fascinating stories of London’s queer history as they take the 30-minute tour across the city’s skyline.

For one day only, on Friday 30th June, guests will have the opportunity to step aboard the ‘Pride Pod’ and join Mark for an exploration of the fascinating and complex history of LGBT+ life in London through tales of the iconic people and places that have shaped the city and community through the centuries.

As guests soar high in the sky, Mark will point out important LGBT+ landmarks such as Trafalgar Square, where the first UK Pride took place in July 1972, the Islington Town Hall, where one of the very first same-sex marriages took place in 2014, and the site of one of Europe’s largest queer nightclubs, Heaven.

£5 from every ‘Pride Pod’ ticket sold will be donated to the local London LGBT+ charity, Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons’ Trust (1166676). An organisation that aims to support, educate and inspire young LGBT+ persons and those around them by providing accessible activities, programmes, and services that empower community members and embrace, promote, and endorse the diversity of young persons.

Imran Tauqir, General Manager at the lastminute.com London Eye, said: “We are proud to be celebrating Pride month at the lastminute.com London Eye. The team are excited to learn about the city’s history from Mark and his unique tour of the London skyline. We are thrilled to share this history, and how it has influenced and shaped London’s culture, with our guests ahead of London Pride Weekend. We have been honoured to be a part of many queer marriage proposals over the years and hopefully we will see more of these ahead of London Pride Weekend.”

Speaking of the first-of-its-kind queer tour, Mark Cox, said: “I have been working as a tour guide for almost 10 years, but this is the first time I’ve done one this high up! What a treat to have been asked to be the official guide of the ‘Pride Pod’ ahead of the London Pride parade on July 1st and Trans Pride on July 8th. I can’t wait to get up there to share some amazing stories and facts with guests! Many people aren’t aware of the rich queer history that the city has and in fact, you could even say London was born a queer city, as the Romans who founded London, or Londinium as it was known then, were all for same-sex relationships!”

Tickets for the ‘Pride Pod’ cost £45, the same as a general admission London Eye ticket, but specific flight times must be purchased in advance from the website. Tickets go on sale from Friday 16th June and are available to purchase at https://www.londoneye.com/.