Colourful scenes in Galashiels as town hosts first-ever Scottish Borders Pride
Last updated 29th Aug 2026
The first ever Scottish Borders Pride parade has been held in Galashiels today (Saturday).
It's hoped the event will help raise awareness of issues facing the LGBTQ+ community - and show them they're not alone.
Galashiels Town Band led the procession round the centre of town ahead of an afternoon of entertainment.
Joining in the celebrations is selkirkshire councillor Elaine Thornton-Nicol.
Summing up the event, she told Greatest Hits Radio: "Unbelievable, brilliant, fun, mad, dancing, singing!
"It was really warm which we weren't expecting but if you danced, you laughed, you sang, you marched, you had a boogie - it was the best ever."
And she added: "It's really important that we have Pride in the Borders and the reason is quite simple: LGBTQI plus people are part of our community.
"I'm an ally, I don't care who you are, there should be no barriers at all to anyone living their best life in the Borders or anywhere else."
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Earlier we reported, the woman behind the first-ever Pride parade in the Scottish Borders has spoken about the abuse she has received in the run-up to this weekend’s event.
Fay Sinclair says the hostile reaction she has received online highlights why it's important.
It comes just weeks after she shared her own experiences of homophobic bullying as a bisexual teenager.
"We hope that (this event) will bring a lot of colour and fun and celebration to Galashiels but there's a more serious need for Pride in the Borders as well," the local councillor told us in advance of the celebrations.
"We've seen a rise in anti-LGBT hate crime over recent years across the country and, actually, I've had a little flavour of that myself this week.
"I put a post on social media about the fact that Scottish Borders Council is flying the Pride flag for Pride happening for the first time, and I got about 500 comments within the space of a couple of hours - some of them quite nasty.
"I have to say most of them though were not local. This is coming from around the world."
But she added: "I think it demonstrates why we need to stand up; we need to stand proud as who we are and celebrate the fact that LGBT people are in all of our communities across the Borders."
For more stories from the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland, bookmark our home page - https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/borders/news/