LONDON -- Tens of thousands of European Union supporters sang, danced and marched their way down the streets of London on Saturday to protest the United Kingdom's vote to leave the EU.
Many participants in the 2-mile "March for Europe" from Hyde Park to the Parliament building said they expect the government and British lawmakers to balk on leaving the 28-nation bloc, even though 52 percent of voters supported the move in the June 23 referendum.
One organizer, comedian Mark Thomas, said British lawmakers should not legislate for an exit based on a result driven by anti-EU campaigners' exaggerations and distortions on immigration and EU spending.
"We would accept the result of the referendum if it was fought on a level playing field. But it was full of misinformation," Thomas said.
A petition to hold a second referendum on a British exit has garnered more than 4 million signatures. At Saturday's rally, some demonstrators suggested letting the public vote on any future agreement with the EU.
At the demonstration's rally point in Parliament Square, thousands heard a video message from singer Jarvis Cocker, who held up a world map and said: "You cannot deny geography. The U.K. is in Europe."
Irish rock singer Bob Geldof appealed to the protesters to commit themselves to two years of campaigning against a British exit. He said supporters of EU membership "must do everything possible within our individual power to stop this country being totally destroyed."
But leaders of the anti-EU campaign accused the protesters of failing to respect democracy and the wishes of the 17 million Britons who voted to leave the EU.
"A gentle reminder, 'remain' friends, that more people voted to leave the EU than have voted for anything else, ever," a Conservative Party member of the European Parliament, Daniel Hannan, said in a tweet.
Britain has yet to formally declare its intention to break with the EU. Outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron, who supported remaining, said that duty should be left to his successor.
The race to replace Cameron has splintered the governing Conservative Party, while the opposition Labor Party is grappling with a leadership crisis of its own -- leaving the country without clear direction at a critical juncture.
Speaking Saturday in Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II did not directly address the turmoil but emphasized the importance of staying "calm and collected."
"One hallmark of leadership in such a fast-moving world is allowing sufficient room for quiet thinking and contemplation, which can enable deeper, cooler consideration of how challenges and opportunities can be best addressed," she said.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press and by Ylan Mui of The Washington Post.
A Section on 07/03/2016