Photographer and regular march-goer Camilla Glorioso attended the march for a second referendum, the People's Vote, where on Saturday the 20th of October 700,000 people marched in solidarity with the EU. Here are her notes from the day and her images...
Arriving at the assembly point in Park Lane at noon I walked around Hyde Park Corner to get some portraits and an idea of the public involved. Many marchers were sitting or standing in groups in the green areas, chanting, preparing their banners and enjoying the incredibly sunny day.
While the atmosphere in front of the Hilton Hotel was very positive and festive, in the back roads the late comers were waiting in line for the march to start. As the volunteers had to keep the crowd as organised as possible, from this position it was very difficult to get an idea of the numbers involved and the wait until the march started moving - one hour and a half after the assembly time - felt quite long under the 1pm sun.
Along with many sarcastic, funny and angry banners and slogans, the marchers sported various EU-inspired accessories, the most used being a blue beret with yellow stars stitched on it. Volunteers also handed out postcards, inviting everyone to post them to their MPs after the march.
Compared to the previous marches the banners gave a clear idea of the wide variety of people joining, including groups from across the country, sharing statistics and people’s opinions from their area or a joke like the Cornish “Caution, cliff edge - we know about cliffs in Cornwall”.
The marchers’ ages were extremely varied, including many teenagers and especially 18-year-old, who didn’t have the chance to vote at the referendum in 2016. With them, many more joined: grandparents worried for their grandchildren’s future, and families with young children, who sang along and held banners from their parents’ shoulders.
