Highland Pride 2024 Inverness
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hi I'm Magda and I'm from Lithuania. I'm Ilse and I'm from Scotland.
00:12How was the march? It was good, it was really good. What did you find this year?
00:18A lot of people showed up, which is good and we got a good weather.
00:22And no protesters again, or at least not in Iceland.
00:27How important is it to have an event like this every day?
00:32It's really important to show visibility. I think a lot of people think that we have marriage equality now,
00:39so everything's fine, so it's important to still stay visible and it's important,
00:45especially for young LGBT people or people who are figuring themselves out,
00:49to see that there is a community up here. I know when I moved up here,
00:53I didn't realise there was such a strong community and I was a bit nervous about moving to the Highlands,
00:59so knowing that there's such a large and strong community is really important.
01:05I feel like that's the sort of thing where you hear, I moved up to the Highlands from Glasgow
01:09and you sort of hear, oh it's very conservative, but it's actually not.
01:13Everyone's very happy, there's no protesters, it's just a celebration here.
01:19How was today's march and today's parade?
01:23I think it's been absolutely fantastic. We were really worried that because we were ending in Falcon Square
01:30and that there wouldn't be many people coming, but there's been an amazing turnout
01:35and Eastgate Shopping Centre management have been incredible in supporting us
01:39and enabling us to do the entertainment after the parade, so it's just been amazing.
01:44I think that all the stallholders, I think they've been really busy,
01:48so it's just been really great to have this space after the parade as well.
01:55How important is it to have an event like this in Inverness and to bring the Highlands people,
02:00the communities from the Highlands?
02:02I think it's really, really important. Visibility is really important, inclusion is really important,
02:07to give people the opportunity to come together on a day like this and just be proud of who they are
02:11and for their allies and family and friends to show them how they support their family and friends
02:17and just have a time to have a celebration and have a fun time.
02:27We've done something different this year because we've done a programme of events during June for Pride Month
02:34and we're ending the programme with a Pride party on the 6th of July in Edenport.
02:40So because we aren't able to do a party after the parade other than what we're doing here,
02:45we're doing that on a different day, in a different location,
02:48and so the tickets are free and they're available to book from the Edenport website.
02:55Hello there, my name's Megan.
02:57Myself, my wife, my friends, my family have all come down today for the march in Inverness.
03:02Wonderful to see everybody out and supporting together.
03:05There was young people, there was old people, everybody in between,
03:08out on the streets, all just to celebrate being themselves today.
03:11So it's really great to feel part of a community and feel included.
03:14We're also here with our rugby club today,
03:17so it's been really nice to speak to people and try and introduce them to our club
03:21because we want to welcome everybody in to play rugby together.
03:24But yeah, it's just been a really wholesome day in the sunshine where people feel like they belong to something.
03:31So can I ask who are you and why are you here today?
03:34Hi, so I'm Rebecca and I'm from Leap Sports Scotland,
03:37a charity that promotes LGBT, IQ+, inclusion in sport and physical activity.
03:42So my colleague Gavin, who's away enjoying the march at the moment,
03:47runs a project called Out and About in the Highlands.
03:50It's for everyone just to get involved in any kind of sport and physical activity
03:55for both the physical and mental health benefits.
03:59And I'm wearing a couple of hats today, so I'm here with my wife as a Leap Sports volunteer.
04:05And also I work for the University of the Highlands and Islands Students Association
04:09as their sports development coordinator.
04:11And a lot of my work is to do with LGBT inclusion in sport.
04:16So I think a lot of people within the community have had quite negative experiences with sport.
04:23And I think it's really important to show that they are welcomed
04:27and there's spaces for them to feel safe and included in sport and to enjoy it.
04:32And also to be able to enjoy mainstream sport as well.
04:37We want them to be able to integrate with community sports clubs and that type of thing.
04:43So it's about showing them that it's not something to be scared of.
04:48They can go along and enjoy it and find that sense of community within their community.
04:53And just to add to that, I think sport is such a valuable tool in bringing people together
04:58and building community, especially around rural areas like the Highlands and Islands.
05:03It can be so important to find that sense of community and to all get involved.
05:07And obviously the physical and mental health benefits as well are just absolutely fantastic.
05:12And there's a sport for everyone, even the people who come along and say,
05:15Oh, sport's not for me. You chat to them for a couple of minutes and they do play a sport.
05:19They just haven't realised because it's not a traditional one.
05:23So can you tell me who you are and why are you here today?
05:26My name is Debbie Lees and I'm the Health Improvement Manager for Waverley Care.
05:31We're here today as part of Highland Pride.
05:34We've got a stall here where we're talking about all things sexual health and HIV.
05:40And can I ask you why is it so important to have that visibility and raise awareness on a day like Highland Pride?
05:47We think that sexual health applies to everybody, so we want to be here and be present.
05:52We also want to be talking about HIV and talking about the advancements that have been made in medication
05:59and challenging stigma and just raising awareness in general.
06:03So it's super important for us to be here on a day like Highland Pride
06:07where the local community really gets together.