NEARLY 10,000 people are estimated to have attended yesterday’s Glasgow Pride parade by the event organisers.

The event marks 50 years since the Stonewall Uprising, an LGBTQ civil rights protest in New York City, which has since sparked worldwide demonstrations.

Marchers started at 11.30am from King George Bridge and headed along Argyle Street through to Jamaica street and ending at Broomielaw.

Christopher Tait, chairman of Pride Glasgow, said: “It’s estimated over 9000 people joined together today under a peaceful and happy banner either with friends, family or part of an organisation.

“We collectively demonstrated our passion and love in the city.

“We’re now moving on to celebrations at The Ferry and The Barrowlands where we’ve organised a fantastic line-up of performances, including drag acts, singers, DJs and our headliner at A Night at Studio 54, The Reflex.

“We said we’d show everyone we could pull back after last year and I think it’s safe to say the community feel united again.”

The National:

The event went ahead yesterday with the union Unite Scotland sitting on the sidelines as organisers and participants wrangled over the extent of commercialisation.

In 2018, confusion and behind the scenes conflict detracted from the main event which still attracted sufficient numbers to retain its status as Scotland’s largest LGBT+ gathering.

For this year, organisers are lauding the positive side of promoting the Pride community for those taking part in support of half a century of standing up for LGBT+ rights.

But Unite, by distancing itself, echoed dissenting voices who believe that what started in New York 50 years ago as a reaction to harassment and victimisation at the Stonewall Inn in New York is rapidly losing its political edge.

Pride Glasgow is a registered charity sponsored by Barclays Bank, Barrhead Travel, and TGIFridays among others. Admission to last night’s disco at the Barrowlands was £12 a head.

The National:

In a statement, Unite said: “In recent years we have seen the once great community event become steadily more commercial.

‘‘We have seen the introduction of charges for their main event leading to the disaster that was 2018. And we are now seeing further commercialisation in the charges they are imposing to march, which has also been introduced in various other Prides including London and Manchester. We understand that charges need to be applied for large organisations and that the ever-increasing cost of closing roads due to austerity cuts to council and policing budgets. However, we do not believe that the fundamental right to protest should ever be charged for.

“The Pride movement started as a riot 50 years ago this year at Stonewall inn, and as we remember this, we remember those we have lost and also celebrate the gains we have made.

‘‘Yet we observe that for some large commercial organisations, support for LGBT equality merely extends to paying a fee for a Pride March or use of temporary rainbow branding to enhance their customer reach. Once Pride season is over, there is no wider benefit to the LGBT community whose voices are often lost in the chatter.

The National:

“We hear little or no information about what is happening in our own communities, about rising intolerance and hate crime and about the violence being perpetrated against the LGBT+ citizens of our country. When people are abused and beaten for being themselves, the response from Prides is deafening in its silence. The politics has been driven from Pride by over-commercialisation and greed of those involved in making it ever more commercial for financial gain.”

Pride Glasgow’s chairman Chris Tait said: “It appears there is a misconception about values, activity and mission."