
Pride South Lanarkshire gets VisitScotland funding boost to expand festival
The event will be returning to Hamilton town centre on Saturday, August 2.
Pride South Lanarkshire has been awarded £10,934 of funding from VisitScotland.
The festival will be returning to Hamilton town centre on Saturday, August 2.
Organisers hope to create an even more ambitious and inclusive programme designed to uplift inspire, and unite people from across South Lanarkshire and beyond.
And the event will transform the town centre into a vibrant and welcoming space, filled with entertainment, community engagement and activities that celebrate LGBTQ+ culture.
Malcolm Thomas-Harley, co-director of Lanarkshire Pride, said: 'We are incredibly grateful for this funding, which supports us in expanding Pride South Lanarkshire 2025, creating an even more impactful and vibrant event alongside enabling a greater reach with our advertising.'
Funding for the event will go towards the addition of a third stage to help expand the programme, support towards securing a headline act and enhancing the event's digital advertising.
VisitScotland handed over the cash through the latest round of its EventScotland National Events Programme.
Pride South Lanarkshire is one of 23 events across 11 local authorities to benefit from £265,502 of funding from the National Events Programme, which helps support the deliver the National Events Strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage 2024-2035, through the strategic development of events which drive domestic tourism.
Awards between £5000 and £25,000 are given to live, public-facing sporting and cultural events that take place outside of the local authority areas of Edinburgh and Glasgow to help deliver innovative new projects and strategic development activity.
Taking place between May and October this year, the 23 events span a wide array of sporting and cultural activities from motor sports, traditional Highland Games, Pride celebrations and more.
From science festivals to music festivals, sporting events to food and drink experiences, and arts and literature to history events, there is something for everyone.
The announcement comes as the next round of funding (Round 54) for the National Events programme is now open for events taking place between November 1 this year and March 31, 2026.
Rob Dickson, director of industry and events at VisitScotland, said: 'Events play an important role in growing the value of Scotland's visitor economy. As a year-round destination, having a diverse and vibrant portfolio of events taking place across the country ensures there is something for everyone to enjoy when visiting, whether it's from the UK or overseas.
'We are pleased to be supporting Pride South Lanarkshire through our National Events Programme to help ensure that the benefits of tourism and events are felt locally, helping foster economic growth and reinforcing Scotland's reputation as a leading tourism and events destination.'
www.facebook.com/pridesouthlanarkshire24 for more details.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Leader Live
21 hours ago
- Leader Live
£4m Lotto win puts Harley-Davidson fan on the road to early retirement
Jon Waring, 57, has already handed in his notice at Devon and Cornwall Police where he has worked as a radio operator for 16 years. Meanwhile, his wife Lucy, 48, is working her notice as a nurse at Torbay Hospital. The couple, from Paignton in Devon, who have a 15-year-old daughter, are planning to take life at a more relaxed pace thanks to the Lotto jackpot win. They already have their bucket list planned out with a Harley-Davidson trike bike topping the shopping list for Mr Waring, while a hot tub is the number one priority for his wife. A new family home in the Paignton area is also high on the wish list. Mr Waring said his huge win, which saw him match six numbers in the Lotto draw on May 31 still does not feel real. 'I keep thinking I am going to wake up from a dream,' he said. The family are all keen musicians and plan to create a music room in their new home where they can all play as well as listen to their favourite bands. 'This will be the perfect place to display the family's guitar collection – and potentially add to it too,' Mr Waring said. 'As a family, we love rock music and now the world really is our oyster – we hope to get the chance to attend gigs up and down the country. 'This win will just enable us all to slow down, enjoy life – and of course hit that road on the sunny days ahead on our new trike.' Mr Waring woke at 4am to discover he had won the £3,966,543 jackpot. 'Something just made me go to check my emails and I saw an email saying I had won a prize,' he said. 'I went to Google the winning numbers and noticed there was just one winner – and knew it must have been me. 'I couldn't quite believe it – I knew they were my numbers. I turned my tablet off – left it five minutes – and then turned it back on to double and triple check. 'I woke Lucy, and she said, still half asleep, 'Is it April 1?'. I said no, it is June. 'We just could not believe it – there was no way we were getting back to sleep. We just sat and drank tea – we must have had 10 cups between us.' Mr Waring, who is also a keen rugby fan, said a box at Exeter Chiefs and a trip to see the Lions tour are also on his wish list, together with a new car, an Audi Q7. 'It's a complete change of lifestyle – it won't change us, but it will change what we can do. And the pace at which we do it, too.' He said with the nature of his job, and his wife's, it has been hard to get holidays to match up and the couple do not even have current passports. 'As a result of our shift work, we have not had a proper holiday together for a long, long time,' he said. 'We are now really looking forward to booking something and knowing we can just holiday when we choose. Perhaps a trip to New Orleans for the music. 'It's all the things you dream about trying and seeing but know you never will, until something like this happens.' Mr Waring has always played Lotto each week since the game started and now plays online. His winning numbers were: 8, 11, 12, 16, 20 and 33.


Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Motorbike fan quits job after scooping £4m lotto win and reveals dream purchase
'It won't change us but it will change what we can do' A HARLEY-Davidson motorbike fan plans an easy ride into retirement after winning £4million on the National Lottery. Jon Waring, 57, has already handed in his notice as a police radio operator and nurse wife Lucy, 48, is also quitting. Advertisement 2 Jon Waring and wife Lucy scooped a £4million National Lottery jackpot Credit: PA The couple, who have a 15-year-old daughter, are set to splash the cash with a Harley trike topping Jon's shopping list, while a hot tub is Lucy's No1 priority. They also aim to buy a new family home in the area and create a music room in the house. Jon said: "This will be the perfect place to display the family's guitar collection - and potentially add to it too. "As a family, we love rock music and now the world really is our oyster - we hope to get the chance to attend gigs up and down the country. Advertisement "This win will just enable us all to slow down, enjoy life - and of course hit that road on the sunny days ahead on our new trike." They do not have passports but are now looking forward to whichever holidays take their fancy. Reacting to his huge win in the Lotto draw on May 31 Jon said: 'I keep thinking I am going to wake up from a dream. Jon, who also hopes to go on a Lions rugby trip, added: 'It won't change us but it will change what we can do.' Advertisement I almost died after freak surgery accident AND bus crash, now I've won £65k in lottery win 2 The couple plan to attend gigs up and down the country Credit: PA Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.


North Wales Chronicle
a day ago
- North Wales Chronicle
£4m Lotto win puts Harley-Davidson fan on the road to early retirement
Jon Waring, 57, has already handed in his notice at Devon and Cornwall Police where he has worked as a radio operator for 16 years. Meanwhile, his wife Lucy, 48, is working her notice as a nurse at Torbay Hospital. The couple, from Paignton in Devon, who have a 15-year-old daughter, are planning to take life at a more relaxed pace thanks to the Lotto jackpot win. They already have their bucket list planned out with a Harley-Davidson trike bike topping the shopping list for Mr Waring, while a hot tub is the number one priority for his wife. A new family home in the Paignton area is also high on the wish list. Mr Waring said his huge win, which saw him match six numbers in the Lotto draw on May 31 still does not feel real. 'I keep thinking I am going to wake up from a dream,' he said. The family are all keen musicians and plan to create a music room in their new home where they can all play as well as listen to their favourite bands. 'This will be the perfect place to display the family's guitar collection – and potentially add to it too,' Mr Waring said. 'As a family, we love rock music and now the world really is our oyster – we hope to get the chance to attend gigs up and down the country. 'This win will just enable us all to slow down, enjoy life – and of course hit that road on the sunny days ahead on our new trike.' Mr Waring woke at 4am to discover he had won the £3,966,543 jackpot. 'Something just made me go to check my emails and I saw an email saying I had won a prize,' he said. 'I went to Google the winning numbers and noticed there was just one winner – and knew it must have been me. 'I couldn't quite believe it – I knew they were my numbers. I turned my tablet off – left it five minutes – and then turned it back on to double and triple check. 'I woke Lucy, and she said, still half asleep, 'Is it April 1?'. I said no, it is June. 'We just could not believe it – there was no way we were getting back to sleep. We just sat and drank tea – we must have had 10 cups between us.' Mr Waring, who is also a keen rugby fan, said a box at Exeter Chiefs and a trip to see the Lions tour are also on his wish list, together with a new car, an Audi Q7. 'It's a complete change of lifestyle – it won't change us, but it will change what we can do. And the pace at which we do it, too.' He said with the nature of his job, and his wife's, it has been hard to get holidays to match up and the couple do not even have current passports. 'As a result of our shift work, we have not had a proper holiday together for a long, long time,' he said. 'We are now really looking forward to booking something and knowing we can just holiday when we choose. Perhaps a trip to New Orleans for the music. 'It's all the things you dream about trying and seeing but know you never will, until something like this happens.' Mr Waring has always played Lotto each week since the game started and now plays online. His winning numbers were: 8, 11, 12, 16, 20 and 33.