Pride 2022 is about rebuilding community connections and celebrating the right to exist as you are, according to Edinburgh’s LGBTQ youth and Pride organisers alike.
The festival may be fun and exciting, but the meaning behind it is deeper for those that identify as part of the community.
“The sad part of it all is that actually missing Pride for two years has made people realise how important Pride is for a lot of queer people,” said said Jamie Love, Marketing Director of Pride Edinburgh.
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“I think there is a newfound appreciation and need for Pride beyond who’s singing and where we’re going to march. It’s a more emotive piece than perhaps previously. Pride is a political event, it’s a human right event before we’re a festival. Through the break, I think more people are seeing it that way.
For some local LGBTQ youth, Pride 2022 is the first time they will be taking part in Pride events, and Ann Marriott, youth work manager of LGBT Youth Scotland East said it is an important time and space for people come together as a community.
“Pride creates a real space for youth to be who they are and to feel safe within their community,” she said.
“It’s important to give them visibility and a voice because so often youth in the LGBT community are told they’re not valid.”
Four teenagers in the LGBT Youth Scotland group spoke about what Pride means to them personally ahead of the city’s big march on 25 June.
“It’s a way for us to celebrate who we are and what we’ve been through in the past as a community,” said Rowan, 13.
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Darwin, 15, agreed, adding that his school is using Pride Edinburgh as an opportunity for education and awareness.
“It’s a big event, and it encourages smaller groups and places all over to spread awareness and awareness about the LGBTQ community,” he said.
Edinburgh Carnival has partnered with the local LGBT Youth Scotland branch to expand their diversity and inclusion as well as to boost the confidence and visibility of young people in the community.
Edinburgh Carnival is currently working with the Youth group to create a show to Pride Edinburgh’s main stage on 25 June. They will also host dance workshops in the Pride youth zone.
On Friday afternoon, the Canongate Youth Centre was abuzz with activity as kids were photographed posing with carnival props and expressing themselves freely.
“This is what it’s all about,” Marriott said.
“Pride is about giving people the confidence to be themselves and to celebrate diversity.”
