COMEDIAN Janey Godley is up against film star Emma Thompson and Scots singer Annie Lennox for an award honouring the country’s LGBT heroes. TV personality Carol Smillie has also been shortlisted for Proud Scotland’s celebrity ally award.
The shortlist for the new Proud Scotland Awards released today is notable for the number of women among the four nominees in each of the 20 categories.
SNP MP Mhairi Black has been nominated alongside SNP MSP Jennie Gilruth, Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale and councillor Rhiannon Spear, TIE campaign chair, for the political leadership award while Harry Potter novelist J K Rowling is vying for the community ally award along with Lanarkshire councillor Fiona Dryburgh, entertainer Christeen MacMurdie and Kathleen Todd, general manager of Katie’s bar in Glasgow.
All have been nominated by the public, with the winners due to be announced at a lavish ceremony in Glasgow on June 1.
It is the first time the awards, for which the Sunday National is media sponsor, have been held.
“I think society in Scotland is more accepting of the LGBT community than a lot of other places and we want to give people recognition for that,” said Proud Scotland Awards director Peter Ferguson.
The Proud Scotland Awards are a partnership between the LGBT Co-operative and Beautiful Events and Productions.
The LGBT Co-operative is also to run a new Mardi-Gla festival this summer which will include the city’s traditional Pride march and will be “the largest ever”, according to the organisers.
Pride Glasgow, which previously ran the gay pride festival in the city, is in hot water with the council after chaos at last year’s celebration when the event at Kelvingrove Park following the march was oversold and people with valid tickets were denied entry.
Glasgow City Council has now announced that Pride Glasgow, which still owes the council tens of thousands of pounds, is banned from holding any other events at council property.
“As the organisers of Pride Glasgow continue to owe Glasgow City Council significant monies from previous events, we will not progress with any future hire of council-owned property,” said a spokesperson for Glasgow Life. The Mardi-Gla will be held on July 20-21 after the awards dinner in June. The money raised will be used to support LGBT communities and campaigns across Scotland.
Para-badminton player Mary Wilson and James Morton of the Scots Trans Alliance are nominated for the champion award along with Dykehead Primary School head teacher Tracy McCulloch and writer and singer Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, while Tesco, Barclays, Sky and Clydesdale Bank/Virgin Money are vying for the corporate ally prize.
Wilson, along with Scotland’s first openly gay wrestler Christopher Saynt, Robert Forrester of Dunfermline Knights Rugby Club and Edinburgh’s Hotscots FC, Scotland’s first LGBT football team, are nominated for the sport award.
Puddleducks Childcare, Historic Environment Scotland, law firm Burness Paull and Glasgow’s Underground Bar are competing for the small employer prize.
Edinburgh Gay Men’s Choir is up against performers May and Robert Miller, comedian Scott Agnew and drag queen Cheri Treiffel in the entertainer award while Barrhead Travel, ScotRail, Caledonian MacBrayne Ferries and Jet2 are competing for the travel award.
In the venue category, Dundee’s Salty Dog and Edinburgh’s Havana are vying against Glasgow’s Waterloo Bar and Riding Rooms with Cat Harvey up against Bryan Rutherford, Gary Robertson and Jamie McIvor in the journalist category.
The community award sees nominations for NetworQ Orkney, Proud Ness, Quoir and Aberdeen Taexali RFC and in the frontline award it is Ross Jackson of Police Scotland, Stevie Maybanks of Scottish Fire and Rescue, Pvt Andrew McGeachy and Army LGBT community lead Johanne Mundie.
In retail, Glasgow’s Books, Arbroath’s Heather Cottage Crafts and Glasgow’s Luke & Jack are vying against the Co-op, while The Humanist Society, Cameron House Hotel, florist Charmed Floristree and Grand Central Hotel are competing for the wedding category.
Arts and Media sees Channel 4, which is marking the 20th anniversary of the first showing of groundbreaking show Queer as Folk, up against Watercolour Music, Civil Disobedience and Undividing Lines for the arts and media award with Prestonfield House hotel group, Citizen M, Moxy Group and Village Hotel Group up for the hospitality prize.
Sky, RBS, BoS and Wagamama are nominated in the large employer category while professor Maggie Kinloch, former deputy principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Miss Transgender UK Aria Welsh, 16-year-old Ryan Barr and Lesley Robertson of Skills Development Scotland are named in the inspiration award.
Nominations in full
Celebrity Ally
Emma Thompson
Annie Lenox
Carole Smillie
Janey Godley
Champion
Tracy McCulloch
James Morton
Mary Wilson
Marcus Mac an Tuairneir
Community
NetworQ Orkney
Proud Ness
Quoir
Aberdeen Taexali RFC
Community Ally
Christeen MacMurdie
Fiona Dryburgh
JK Rowling
Kathleen Todd
Corporate Ally
Tesco
Barclays
SKY
Clydesdale Bank/Virgin Money
Arts and Media
Undividing Lines
Civil disobedience
Watercolour Music
Channel 4 (20th anniversary of queer as folk)
Frontline
Johanne Mundie
Ross Jackson – Police Scotland
Pvt Andrew McGeachy
Stevie Maybanks – Scottish Fire & Rescue
Hospitality
Moxy Group
Prestonfield House Hotel (Group)
Citizen M
Village Hotel Group
Venue
Salty Dog, Dundee
Waterloo Bar, Glasgow
Habana, Edinburgh
Riding Rooms, Glasgow
Journalist
Cat Harvey
Bryan Rutherford
Gary Robertson
Jamie McIvor
Large Employer
SKY
RBS
BoS
Wagamama
Political Leadership
Mhairi Black MP
Kezia Dugdale MSP
Jenny Gilruth MSP
Cllr Rhiannon Spear, Chair of the Tie campaign
Retailer
Category is Books, Glasgow
Heather Cottage Crafts, Arbroath
Co-op
Luke Jack
Small Employer
Historic Environment Scotland
Burness Paull
Underground Bar
Puddleducks Childcare
Travel
Jet2
Barrhead Travel
ScotRail
Caledonian MacBrayne Ferries
Wedding
The Humanist Society
Cameron House Hotel
Charmed Floristree
Grand Central Hotel
Sports Person
Mary Wilson
Christopher Saynt
Robert Forrester – Dunfermline Knights Rugby Club
Hotscots FC Edinburgh
Entertainer
Scott Agnew
Cheri Treiffel
Edinburgh Gay Men's Chorus
May & Robert Miller
Inspiration
Aria Welsh
Maggie Kinloch
Ryan Barr
Lesley Robertson
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