LGBTQIA+ Mural Unveiled In Glasgow

LGBTQIA+ Mural Unveiled In Glasgow by Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken

Transcript

00:00I'm Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council. We're here today, we're unveiling our newest

00:27mural as part of the City Centre Mural Trail, but specifically this has been unveiled to

00:34mark Glasgow's Pride, which is happening this weekend. And it is, as you can see, a giant

00:40rainbow flag, the Progress Rainbow Pride flag, here on Wilson Street in the heart of the

00:46Merchant City. It's here to celebrate Glasgow's Pride, the march that's coming up, but also

00:52as a longer lasting symbol and sign that Glasgow wants to be an inclusive and welcoming

01:00city for all of our LGBTQ plus residents, but also visitors coming here. I think it's

01:07absolutely fantastic. We commissioned Art Pistol Designs to do this for us as part of

01:14the City Centre Mural Trail. There's going to be another smaller one over at the entrance

01:20to Virginia Place that hasn't been done yet because of the weather, but it'll be ready

01:23in time for Pride on Saturday. There's lots of cities around the world have got rainbow

01:29flag crossings and rainbow flag designs as part of their cityscape, and it was about

01:36time that Glasgow joined us. The request actually came from the organisers of Glasgow's Pride,

01:42and I was really delighted to be able to facilitate it.

01:45How long did it take for this mural to be completed, and how did you manage to keep

01:49it under wraps? Well they've turned it around pretty quickly. I think we started planning

01:54for it just a few weeks ago, and chose the locations. We scouted, I'd asked officers

02:01to scout some good locations that would work for us, and so we got the locations chosen,

02:07we commissioned the artists, and it's all been turned around very very quickly. We wanted

02:12it ready in time for the march on Saturday, but also to kind of coincide with it so that

02:16it wasn't done too soon, and kind of spoiling the surprise if you like. But a couple of

02:21days in advance is absolutely fine. How important do you feel Glasgow's Pride is to the city

02:27and to the participants? It's incredibly important, and there have been a wee bit of ups and downs

02:34in Glasgow's Pride in recent years. There have been different events, but this year

02:39there's a big single march again, I think it's going to be huge. Glasgow's Pride is

02:44Scotland's Pride as well, although there are lots of Prides springing up all around Scotland

02:48now, which is absolutely fantastic. The Glasgow one, which is the last in the calendar, feels

02:54like the one where everyone comes and converges, and so it's really exciting. I think it's

03:00very important that Glasgow sends this message that our LGBTQ plus residents are valued,

03:09that we have solidarity with them. This isn't an easy time for LGBT people in many parts

03:14of the world. Some of the debate that's taken place around their rights isn't fantastic,

03:22and it can feel quite toxic, that kind of culture war thing. In Glasgow we want to say

03:28we don't want any part of that, we want to demonstrate solidarity, support, and welcome

03:33and inclusivity here in the city. And if people want to participate or come and just watch

03:39Pride on Saturday, what are the times and where does it start? So, gathering in Festival

03:46Park from 11am, the march itself kicks off at 12, and then everyone will end up in Glasgow

03:52Green after a march through the city. So loads of opportunities just to come and watch. The

03:57organisers would just tell me there's going to be like 50 floats and vehicles taking part

04:02in the parade. I think it's going to be absolutely amazing, and hopefully the Glasgow weather

04:07will be reasonably kind to us, but even if not, I don't think people will mind. I think

04:12Pride will be full of joy in Glasgow on Saturday, regardless of the weather. So yeah, please

04:18do come and take part, or come and cheer the marchers along.