Glasgow Pride was just exposed as being complicit in Israel’s genocide

On the morning of July 19, despite the rain thousands gathered in Kelvingrove Park to take part in Glasgow’s annual Pride march. However hundreds of activists, instead of joining the main body of the procession, formed a ‘Radical Bloc’ in protest of Glasgow Pride’s connections to Israeli violence in Gaza.

Glasgow Pride: pushback over corporate complicity

The bloc was organised by No Pride in Genocide Glasgow (NPIG), a broad coalition of LGBTQ+ Glaswegians demanding that Glasgow’s Pride reject companies directly profiting from Israel’s illegal occupation and ongoing genocide in Palestine. Before the march began, speakers from the Scottish Green Party, Strathclyde Palestine Solidarity Society and Trans Kids Deserve Better Scotland spoke to the crowd:

Glasgow Green's committee member @elliebgomersall explaining why we were marching today in the no pride in genocide radical bloc at Glasgow pride.

No one is free until we're all free#glasgowpride #FreePalestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/dSLrOsCmkP

— Glasgow Green Party (@glasgowgreens) July 20, 2024

The activist coalition are calling on Glasgow Pride to refuse all partnerships, sponsorships, and participation in Pride from companies and organisations that profit directly or indirectly from the Israeli occupation of Palestine. They also ask that the organisations sponsorship process be made democratic and community led, and that Glasgow Pride publicly opposes Israel’s war crimes.

Last year, the group mobilised hundreds of activists in a similar bloc within the 2024 Pride march, their numbers making up nearly half the total procession. Despite continued pressure throughout the year from NPIG, Glasgow Pride has not engaged directly with the campaign group, instead alluding to their solidarity campaign as an attempt at ‘segregation’. The NPIG group accuse Glasgow Pride of enabling ‘pinkwashing’ – allowing companies to promote their gay-friendliness as a way of downplaying their social harm.

No Pride in Genocide Glasgow’s 2025 campaign was re-launched in May, to continue to pressure Glasgow Pride to commit to ethical partnerships and sponsorships in adherence to the BDS movement against Israeli apartheid and the Fossil Free Pride Pledge, to oppose the ‘pinkwashing’ of Israel and associated companies, and to stand in solidarity with the most most marginalised within the queer community. Additionally, the group call for more transparency:

At bare minimum, we want Glasgow’s Pride to actively engage with the local community when planning events which claim to represent them — in terms of accessibility, inclusivity and representation, but also in platforming local businesses and performers and championing the values of Glasgow’s queer community. Their repeated refusal to engage with the campaign and the hostile way that they have responded to criticism from the community is incredibly disappointing.

Demands

These demands were developed and published in February of this year in collaboration with a number of city-wide queer groups, and compiled into an open letter signed by organisations such as Rainbow Greens of the Scottish Green Party, Glasgow Trades Union Council, Scotland for Palestine, and several pillars of LGBTQ+ nightlife such as Queer Theory and House Ball Scotland — an open letter to which Glasgow Pride has failed to respond.

In particular, the activists oppose sponsorship from and allowing the participation of American financial giant JP Morgan due to the bank’s $22million investment into Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, and its underwriting of $600 million in Israeli Sovereign war bonds.

A spokesperson for the group said:

JP Morgan directly finances Israel’s ongoing assault on the Gaza — they are complicit in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, women and children… They have no right to be present at a celebration of the queer community, and Glasgow Pride has no right to accept their money on behalf of our community.

On top of direct financial ties to global conflict and climate change through sponsorship deals, activists maintain that Glasgow Pride Ltd have persistently lacked transparency with their finances, failing to publish accounts or share how contributions to the march are spent. Now in it’s second year, the campaign are yet to receive a direct acknowledgement or response from the organisers.

No pride in Glasgow Pride

In early July, the No Pride In Genocide campaign announced a picket of a ‘Pride In Business’ event planned by Glasgow Pride, where corporate sponsors were invited to network with the parade organisers. The event was cancelled after the picket was announced, although the campaign was not named as a reason for its cancellation.

This year, the No Pride In Genocide also held a ‘Pride Hub’ in Kinning Park Complex as an alternative to Glasgow Pride’s programming. The event brought together stalls from local charities, small businesses and community organisations alongside a program of speakers, panels and workshops on topics relating to queer solidarity.

A spokesperson for the group said:

Glasgow Pride seem to have absolutely no interest in listening to the demands of our community, who have shown today and over the past year that we will not accept complicity from our Pride. Glasgow’s queer community deserve an event that reflects our values and that we can truly be proud of.

Featured image supplied