Edinburgh just hosted Scotland’s first ever Transgender Pride today (31 March).

Today is also the 10th annual Trans Day of Visibility – a day dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of the discrimination they face.

Transgender Pride Scotland is open to trans and non-binary people as well as their allies.

The parade marched down the Royal Mile and ended at the Scottish Parliament, with various events held at the Conference Centre.

Absolutely loving the first ever Trans Pride event in Scotland! #TransgenderDayofVisibility @TransPrideScot pic.twitter.com/qPgCpo2WiA — Jordan McGhee (@JoeJustRocks) 31 March 2018

Oceana Maund is originally from England but has lived on the outskirts of Glasgow for the last 10 years. They’re the Co-Convenor at the Scottish Transgender Alliance and told Gay Star News: ‘Trans Pride was absolutely fantastic today!’

Even though it started snowing at the end of the march, Oceana said: ‘Nearly 500 people turned up. But the venue was only booked for 150 so this was massively beyond our expectations.’

Oceana added: ‘The march was a super positive thing and we had a really good reception from the public.’

‘There’s been such a buzz’

Transgender Pride Scotland showcased speakers like trans rights campaigner Mridul Wadhwa and Adam Kashmiry from the National Theatre of Scotland.

It also held workshops for all ages, where participants were invited to make their own comics and zines, as well as creative writing workshops.

There were talks on the history of trans activism and the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) hosting screenings all afternoon. There was even an inclusive barber for trans men and trans masculine people.

On the future of the Transgender Pride Scotland, Oceana said: ‘We are committed to putting on a Trans Pride event every year. This is the only one in the foreseeable future that will happen in Edinburgh though.

‘Our mission is to go to a different Scottish city every year on Trans Day of Visibility,’ they said.

Their hope is to take the event out of the Central Belt in Scotland. This is because Oceana says ‘the further you get away from the Central Belt, the less there is for LGBTI people.’

Oceana excitedly said: ‘This is the first but hopefully the first of many!’