🏳️🌈 Pride Month Events 2025 🏳️🌈
June is here and it’s time to celebrate! We’ve been hearing about lots of fantastic Pride events and activities happening throughout the month in and around Edinburgh. Whether you’re into sports, community engagement, or cultural events, there’s something for everyone. Here’s what we know about so far – please let us know if we’ve missed anything you’d like us to share with the network!
Late May Events
“Bend It Like Deckham!” PQFC + Jokes FC Fundraiser
📅 Friday, May 30th | ⏰ 8pm-1am
📍 Leith Arches
Join Porty Queer Football Community and Jokes FC for “Bend It Like Deckham!” – an evening of DJs and drag entertainment!
DJs: Tamboi, Ceits Bush, Greengiant
Drag: Cliff Lickhard, Élixir
Special raffle: 2x Chappell Roan tickets up for grabs!
Cost: Pay what you can (£12 suggested) – 100% of donations go to accessible football for PQFC and Jokes FC
Romance Fiction Event
📅 Friday, May 30th | ⏰ Evening
📍 Lighthouse Books
A celebration of contemporary romance fiction – “fiercely feminist, and jubilantly queer!” featuring Eleanor Pilcher in conversation with host Arusa Qureshi, followed by drinks reception.
More info: Lighthouse Bookshop Events
Early June Events
Trans+ Swimming Session
📅 Wednesday, June 4th | ⏰ 7:00pm-9:00pm
📍 St Leonard’s Pool (Holyrood Rd, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ)
Monthly Trans+ swimming sessions with exclusive access to pool and changing facilities. Part of the University’s commitment to inclusion and wellbeing, designed to remove barriers that trans people may experience in accessing public swimming spaces.
Who can attend: Trans+ students, staff, and members of the wider Edinburgh community. Allies may attend only as a guest (+1) of a trans person.
Key features:
- Exclusive pool and changing room access (all genders welcome to use facilities they’re most comfortable with, plus gender neutral options)
- 1-hour swimming session with 30 minutes changing time on each end
- Pool divided into lane swimming and free swim areas
- Staff trained in trans inclusion
- All swimwear styles welcome, including option to go topless regardless of gender
Tickets: £3 per person (free tickets available if cost is a barrier) – all funds donated to LEAP Sports Scotland. Tickets released 3 weeks before each session.
Future sessions: Monthly through September (July 9th, August 13th, September 3rd)
Booking and more info: Edinburgh University Students’ Association
Questions: transnonbinary@eusa.ed.ac.uk
Queer Data Showcase
📅 Thursday, June 5th | ⏰ 5:00pm-7:00pm
📍 Cabaret Bar, Pleasance
A first-of-its-kind showcase spotlighting a curated selection of artists, academics, and activists working with queer data. Co-organised by Pride in STEM and the Edinburgh Futures Institute’s AI Ethics & Society. The event concludes with time for presenters and audience members to meet each other and learn more about the variety of queer data projects taking place.
Tickets: Free – Available here
“Jeanne” Book Launch
📅 Wednesday, June 5th | ⏰ 7-8pm
📍 Lighthouse Books
Launch of Arielle Burgdorf’s “Jeanne” – a queer, experimental novel exploring the intersections of language, gender, sexuality, and art. Described as “a clever, sexy, moving & playful novel about literary translation, control, language, & selfhood.”
More info: Lighthouse Bookshop Events
Queer Climbing Night
📅 Friday, June 6th
Part of Porty Pride events – a fantastic opportunity to try climbing in a welcoming, inclusive environment.
More details: Porty Pride Events Programme
Porty Queer Football Community: Gie it a Go!
📅 Saturday, June 7th
Come and try football with Porty Queer Football Community – perfect for beginners and experienced players alike!
More details: Porty Pride Events Programme
Porty Pride Ball
📅 Saturday, June 7th | ⏰ 7pm-12pm (doors 7pm for 7:30pm start)
📍 Portobello Town Hall
Theme: QUEER FREEDOM – Come dressed to show freedom to express, freedom to love and freedom to THRIVE! Features DJ Arusa Qureshi, DJ Ria Andrews, hosted by Butch Cassidy. 18+ event with accessible venue.
Tickets: £5-£25 available on OutSavvy
Porty Pride Community Events
📅 Sunday, June 8th | ⏰ 11am-4pm
📍 Portobello Town Hall & venues around Portobello
A full day of community events including craft activities (flag and banner making), family-friendly activities, and celebrations. Various time slots available for different activities.
More details: Porty Pride Events Programme
Queer Yoga on the Beach
📅 Sunday, June 8th | ⏰ 11am-12pm
📍 Portobello Beach (meet at Prom end of Pittville Street)
Yoga practice for LGBTQ+ people wanting to practice with their community, moving and breathing mindfully connected to the sounds of the sea. Open to all levels, pay-what-you-can donation structure.
More details: Queer Yoga Event Page
More Porty Pride events: Porty Pride Events Programme
Queer(ing) Data in Healthcare Research & Practice Workshop
📅 Wednesday, June 11th | ⏰ 10:00am-4:00pm
📍 Usher Enlighten One, Ground Floor, Usher Building, BioQuarter
1-day workshop engaging master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral researchers in methodological training for queering data in science, technology, innovation, and healthcare research and practice. Attendees will work collaboratively to learn, employ and create ‘queer’ data practices, including applying issues of normativity to data science, supported through regular sharing and collective problem solving.
Who can attend: Master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral researchers
Cost: Free
Organizers: Dr Chase Ledin (Usher) and Dr Kevin Guyan (Business)
Contact: chase.ledin@ed.ac.uk
“Life Cycle of a Moth” Book Launch
📅 Wednesday, June 11th | ⏰ 7-8pm
📍 Lighthouse Books
Launch of Rowe Irwin’s debut novel – an urgent, thrillingly alive novel about Maya and Daughter, who live in complete isolation in a secluded woodland. Explores both the tenderness and ferocity of maternal love.
More info: Lighthouse Bookshop Events
“No Differences” Public Talk
📅 Wednesday, June 11th | ⏰ 3:00pm-5:00pm
📍 Edinburgh Futures Institute, University of Edinburgh
Dr Jamie Budnick (Assistant Professor, Sociology, Cornell University) presents “Debating Demographic Expertise in U.S. Marriage Equality Cases.” The talk analyzes how demographic knowledge is mobilized in legal arenas, drawing on evidence from three pivotal same-sex marriage cases at the United States Supreme Court on the path to federal marriage equality.
Hosted by: The Gender + Sexuality Data Lab and GENDER.ED
Tickets: Free – Available here
NHS Lothian Pride Stalls Event
📅 Wednesday, June 18th | ⏰ 1:30pm-3:30pm
📍 Little France, BioQuarter
Local organizations will have stalls at this community pride event. The University of Edinburgh has been invited to participate, and we expect good attendance from university staff and students.
Setup available from 1pm
Edinburgh Pride Run 🏃♀️🏃♂️
📅 Friday, June 20th | ⏰ 7pm start (arrive 6-6:45pm)
📍 Holyrood Park
After a hiatus, Edinburgh Frontrunners are back! Walk, run, or wheel your way around the iconic Arthur’s Seat to kick off Pride weekend in style. This 5km route is open to anyone over 18 – no need to be an EFR member to participate.
Registration: Edinburgh Frontrunners Pride Run
Contact: Dom.Cairns-Gibson@ed.ac.uk for questions or to meet committee members beforehand
Pride Edinburgh 🏳️🌈
📅 Saturday, June 21st
📍 Edinburgh
The main Edinburgh Pride celebration! Check back soon as we’ll be adding details about Staff Pride Network meetup spots before and after the march.
BioQuarter Pride Committee Meetup: If you’d like to march with BioQuarter Pride Committee colleagues, join their mailing list or contact BioQuarter.Pride@ed.ac.uk for meetup details.
BioQuarter mailing list: https://mlist.is.ed.ac.uk/lists/info/bq.pride
More info: Pride Edinburgh
Pride Sports Day 🏃♀️⚽🧗♀️
📅 Sunday, June 22nd
📍 Pleasance Games Hall
💰 Completely FREE
Organized by Madeleine Bell (EUSU Wellbeing & Inclusion Officer), this inclusive sports day is open to everyone – staff, students, friends, and allies welcome!
Activities include:
- Self defence
- Climbing
- Boccia
- Football
- Pickleball
Important: Climbing signup deadline is June 6th, but please register even if climbing is full so organizers can plan for numbers.
Registration: Sign up here
Contact: eusu.wellbeing@ed.ac.uk
Edinburgh Curveballs Pride In Tennis
📅 Sunday, June 22nd
Edinburgh Curveballs’ Pride In Tennis event, celebrating LGBTQ+ inclusivity in racquet sports.
More info: Edinburgh Curveballs
Late June Events
BioQuarter Pride Month Lunch Social
📅 Tuesday, June 24th | ⏰ 12:30pm-1:30pm
📍 Usher Connect (seating area beside Usher 1898 Cafe), Usher Building, BioQuarter
Monthly drop-in social hosted by the BioQuarter Pride Committee, with free coffee and cake provided. Open to all LGBT+/ally staff and students at the BioQuarter. Part of the University’s Staff Pride Network monthly events held on different campuses.
Contact: BioQuarter.Pride@ed.ac.uk
More details: BioQuarter Pride events
“The Dry Season” Book Event
📅 Thursday, June 26th | ⏰ 7-8pm
📍 Lighthouse Books
Melissa Febos in conversation with Dina Nayeri discussing “The Dry Season” – a memoir of the author’s year of celibacy and a profound exploration of independence, sexuality and deep self-knowledge.
More info: Lighthouse Bookshop Events
Edinburgh Curveballs Tournaments
Squash Tournament
📅 Saturday, June 28th
Organizer: Edinburgh Curveballs
Trans+ Workout Session
📅 Sunday, June 29th | ⏰ 5:00pm-7:00pm
📍 Salle, Pleasance Gym, Pleasance
Second June session of the bi-weekly Trans+ workout sessions. Exclusive access to gym facilities in a supportive environment.
Cost: £3 per session – all proceeds donated to LEAP Sports Scotland
Padel Tournament
📅 Sunday, June 29th
Organizer: Edinburgh Curveballs
More info: Edinburgh Curveballs
Free taster sessions: Edinburgh Curveballs offers free taster sessions throughout Pride Month for tennis, squash, and padel – perfect for trying out racquet sports in an inclusive environment!
Festival Fortnight (June 17th-30th)
LEAP Sports Scotland Festival Fortnight
📅 June 17th-30th
An exciting mix of sporting, recreational, and cultural events designed to increase LGBTIQ+ visibility and participation in Scottish sport. Everyone is welcome to participate, whether trying new sports, supporting teams, or celebrating at festival parties.
Full listings: LEAP Sports Festival Fortnight
This fortnight includes events from Edinburgh Curveballs (see their Pride In Tennis, squash and padel tournaments listed below) and other local organizations as part of the broader celebration.
BioQuarter Pride Month Bake Sale
📅 Tuesday, June 17th | ⏰ Starting 1pm
📍 IRR South reception area, BioQuarter campus
Bake sale organized by the BioQuarter Pride Committee, open to anyone from across the University. All donations go to LGBT Health & Wellbeing, an Edinburgh-based charity supporting LGBTQ+ adults in Scotland.
Want to contribute bakes? Contact: BioQuarter.Pride@ed.ac.uk
More details: Pride Month bake sale for LGBT Health & Wellbeing
“Second Skin” Book Launch
📅 Monday, June 17th | ⏰ 7-8pm
📍 Lighthouse Books
Launch of Anastasiia Fedorova’s “Second Skin” – bringing subversive desire out of the dungeon and into the light. An illuminating tour of the world of fetishes that casts light on our culture at large, revealing how what we deem ‘taboo’ is never static.
More info: Lighthouse Bookshop Events
“This Princess Kills Monsters” Book Launch
📅 Thursday, June 19th | ⏰ 7-8pm
📍 Lighthouse Books Garden
Celebrate Ry Herman’s new novel about a princess with a mostly useless magical talent who takes on horrible monsters, masked heroes, and a talking lion. Expect themed surprises, refreshments – costumes and extra fabulousness most welcome!
More info: Lighthouse Bookshop Events
“The Dry Season” Book Event
📅 Thursday, June 26th | ⏰ 7-8pm
📍 Lighthouse Books
Melissa Febos in conversation with Dina Nayeri discussing “The Dry Season” – a memoir of the author’s year of celibacy and a profound exploration of independence, sexuality and deep self-knowledge.
More info: Lighthouse Bookshop Events
Other Pride Events in the Region
For those interested in supporting Pride celebrations in nearby areas:
Dundee Pride
📅 Saturday, June 14th
Dundee Pride
Fife Pride
📅 Saturday, July 5th
Fife Pride
West Lothian Pride
📅 Saturday, July 26th
West Lothian Pride
Stirling Pride
📅 Saturday, September 20th
Other Opportunities We’ve Heard About
LGBTQ+ Youth in Sport Research
PhD student Gabriel Bell from the University of Hull is researching the impact of publicly out LGBTQ+ Olympians on LGBTQ+ youth. They’re looking for LGBTQ+ people aged 16-25 in the UK to complete an online survey.
Participate: LGBTQ+ Sport Research Survey
Contact: G.COUTO-RIBAS-2022@hull.ac.uk
“We Have Always Been Here. And We Always Will Be” Project
Some of our network members are working to bring this impactful project to Engineering spaces around the university. This exhibition has been making rounds at other schools and there’s interest in providing more visibility within our community.
Know of Other Events?
This list represents what we’ve heard about so far, but we know there’s always more happening! If you know of other Pride events or activities taking place this month that our members might be interested in, please let us know and we’ll share them with the network.
Let’s make this Pride Month one to remember! 🌈
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