The Winter Pride Parade in Aberdeen brought over 2,200 people out in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
This one-off in-person event, held on Sunday, October 24, was organised to show support for the LGBTQ+ community following a virtual summer pride earlier this year in May.
More than 2,200 joined in with the parade that travelled the length of Union Street in the centre of the Granite City.
People of all ages were showing their pride by carrying rainbow flags and decked out in colourful ensembles.
Officers from Police Scotland were also out showing their pride.
Our officers were supporting the @GrampianPride Winter Parade today (Sunday 24 October 2021 in #Aberdeen.
Some of our officers & local rep for Scottish LGBTI Police Association are at the Charity Engagement @Aberdeen Art Center until 4pm. #LGBTQIAPlus #Aberdeen #Grampian pic.twitter.com/Z8cYaqx9tr
— North East Police (@NorthEPolice) October 24, 2021
It is the first in-person pride event held in Aberdeen since the summer of 2019 which back then attracted more than 6,000 participants.
‘It’s important that the community knows that there is help out there.’
The next event planned is Grampian Pride 2022, which will hopefully take place in person at the end of May as opposed to online.
It is understood that some Covid measures such as wristbands may be made a requirement for people who wish to attend the in-person events.
Deejay Bullock, CEO of Four Pillars, the parade’s organisers said: “We have has a lot of feedback that people are just happy to be out and part of the community again.
“There was no negativity at all. There was around 2,200 in the parade and there were a few hundred people gathered along Union Street who are out supporting us by waving flags. An amazing atmosphere throughout the day.
“We had a lot of people come to check out our charity engagement area which was set up at the Aberdeen Arts Centre. Everybody that was here expressed how good it was to engage with people again.
The charity engagement allowed several organisations to provide information to the public about their services and the support currently out there.
Mr Bullock added: “It’s important that the community knows that there is help out there. Every organisation that engages with us is LGBTQ+ friendly and supports the community the message is the people are not alone.
“Coming out of a pandemic, many people will feel alone and anxious. There has been a lot of self-discovery for many people throughout the last two years so several different support services are needed now.”
Bars such as Cheerz and Siberia in Aberdeen will be open late to accommodate the revellers who are happy to be with others within the community again.