Glasgows Pride and Joy

On Saturday 30 August, Amnesty joined thousands of people in support of LGBT rights in this year's Pride Glasgow march.

It turned out to be the biggest Scottish Pride event on record, with a staggering 5000 people marching through the centre of Glasgow in the name of all that is L, G, B and T. Along with my fellow Amnesty volunteers, I managed to get a spot right at the front behind the drummers leading the parade, who beat out a rhythm for us to march and dance our way through the main streets of Glasgow.

Waving our Eurovision inspired placards, and giving out our now famous Amnesty stickers to all who came within sticking distance, we also handed out our LGBT rights flyers to the curious, if not amused Saturday shoppers who were happily interrupted by the procession of colourful flags and banners parading before them.

After the march arrived back in George Square, we made a run for it over to the large white tent where we had a stall full of Amnesty goodies and materials to give out to the Pride goers. As part of this years LGBT campaign, Amnesty International UK is raising awareness of the lack of LGBT rights in some European countries, and was the source of inspiration for this year’s placards and banners, with Amnesty hosting it’s own Eurovision themed Human Rights contest, awarding ‘Nul points’ to the worst offenders!

We also had leaflets and information on the lack of rights for the LGBT community in many Eastern European countries, and this year’s action card, which is addressed to the Lithuanian Government, inviting them to uphold the rights of LGBT people in Lithuania. Volunteers did a fantastic job on the day, getting over 400 action cards signed by enthusiastic Pride revellers in search of information and free pens!

There was a huge amount of interest in the stall, which was brilliant. We were also able to let people know about our upcoming LGBT events, which I’m really excited about! We are holding an Exhibition this November at the Q! Gallery in Glasgow, the exhibition is called Hate & Pride in Riga, which illustrates what happened at this years Pride event held in Latvia. We are also going to be collaborating with the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art on an LGBT Rights project next year, so watch this space for upcoming Amnesty Scotland events!

We also managed to get out and about, snapping some fabulous pics of the weird and wonderfully turned out patrons of this year’s Pride Glasgow event. To see more pictures, go to our Flickr site (link to that).

Ana Swann, Office Volunteer