LGBT+ activists protested on Saturday against the sponsorship of Glasgow’s annual Pride celebrations by firms linked to Israel.

Hundreds of protesters including members of Glasgow Greens, the Scottish TUC and Glasgow Stop the War formed a Radical Bloc calling out Pride organisers for so-called pink washing through collaborating with companies who simultaneously sponsor the event while “directly profiting from Israel’s illegal occupation and ongoing genocide in Palestine.” 

The protest took place as Pride activists staged annual celebrations in towns and cities across Britain, including at Northern Pride in Newcastle, where the banners of trade unions Unite, Unison, Royal College of Midwives and teaching unions NEU and NASUWT were raised.

The Glasgow protesters said sponsors included energy company SSE, chemical firm Merck and multinational finance company, JP Morgan.

Glasgow Greens committee member and LGBTQ+ activist Ellie Gomersall said: “Scottish Greens know that every fight for justice is linked.

“There’s no conflict in standing for a free Palestine and LGBTQ+ rights, just as there’s no conflict in fighting for a fairer economy as we tackle the climate crisis.” 

Community baseball team Glasgow Sunflowers said they were “marching in the Radical Bloc alongside No Pride in Genocide as we believe in the power and responsibility of queer community and queer liberation.

“A corporate, pink-washed Pride does not represent us, nor who we are, as Pride began as, and will always be, a protest.

“Freedom and revolution are what any Pride march should be about.”