Nicola Sturgeon will become the first serving First Minister to speak at Pride this weekend
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon (Russell Cheyne – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Nicola Sturgeon will make history this weekend when she becomes the first ever serving First Minister of Scotland to speak at Pride.
The SNP politician confirmed her appearance at Glasgow Pride this Saturday with posts from both her First Minister and personal Twitter accounts.
“FM @NicolaSturgeon will participate in @prideglasgow on Saturday, Scotland’s largest #LGBTI festival,” a message read on the First Minister account.
Glasgow Pride 2016 ( @prideglasgow/Facebook)
Related: The ultimate LGBT Pride calendar
Out SNP MP Stewart McDonald added: “That will make @NicolaSturgeon the first ever serving First Minister & head of government anywhere in the UK to take part in Pride.”
And Nicola Sturgeon’s own account confirmed: “It will be a privilege to be the first serving First Minister to speak at Pride. See you on Saturday @prideglasgow.”
Over 5,000 people take part in the annual Glasgow Pride parade.
This year’s Pride Glasgow 2017 takes place on August 19 and 20 at Glasgow Green.
The event incorporates life performances at the the Pride Glasgow Arena, with performances form B*WItched, Saara Aalto and Kelly Llorenna, among others.
In a wide-ranging Q&A with PinkNews readers prior to this year’s snap General Election, the SNP leader made renewed call for Gender X passports, asked for a “full and independent investigation” into the persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya, and commited to helping increase trans* visibility in political elections.
“I’m proud of the huge progress that has been made in Scotland in recent years, and the role that the SNP has played in making that change happen – transforming Scotland into one of the best countries in the world for LGBTI equality,” she said.
SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon at her manifesto launch (Getty)
“The SNP is committed to securing full equality for LGBTI people. Equality and human rights are fundamental to our values and aims as a progressive social democratic party, and we have a strong record of championing LGBTI equality in government and at Westminster.”
More controversially, Ms Sturgeon claimed that Labour’s Kezia Dugdale had used a row over homophobic comments as a “smokescreen”.
Earlier this year, Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow has become the first Scottish Episcopal Church to begin taking marriage bookings from same-sex couples.
The lay representative of the cathedral congregation, Dr Beth Routledge said: “When members of the congregation go to Glasgow Pride later this year, we’ll have a real sense of having helped to bring about greater equality for members of the LGBT communities.”
