Pro-EU campaigners to hold rally in Edinburgh on Brexit Day

Pro-EU campaigners have announced they will hold a rally outside the Scottish Parliament on the day the UK officially ceases to be a member state.

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

Organisers of the Missing EU Already event have promised "speakers, a music light show, a time for reflection, plus anthem singing" when it takes place on Friday at 6pm.

Among those scheduled to speak outside Holyrood is Lorna Slater, co-convener of the Scottish Greens, and David Clarke, vice-chairman of the European Movement in Scotland.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The event is being co-organised by several pro-EU groups in the Capital, with similar gatherings planned in other towns across Scotland.

An anti-Brexit rally will take place outside Holyrood on the night the UK leaves the EUAn anti-Brexit rally will take place outside Holyrood on the night the UK leaves the EU
An anti-Brexit rally will take place outside Holyrood on the night the UK leaves the EU
Read More
MSPs could overturn decision to stop flying EU flag flying over Holyrood

The EU has said an extension to the negotiations can be agreed by the end of June - but Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that any deal must be agreed by the end of the year.

Mark Lazarowicz, chairman of the European Movement in Scotland, said: “Leaving the European Union is an incredibly sad event and this series of activities provides an opportunity to not only celebrate our membership and the great benefits it has given us, but also to look to the future.

“While we may have left, the fight now begins for us to rejoin the EU, and that fight starts now.”

The UK Government is planning a series of low-key events to mark Brexit Day. The front of 10 Downing Street will be turned into a digital Brexit countdown clock, which will start ticking down from 10pm.

Union flags will line The Mall and Parliament Square with government buildings lit up in red, white and blue in a light show designed to "symbolise the strength and unity of our four nations".

Calls by several Tory MPs for Big Ben - which is currently undergoing long-term restoration work - to chime to mark Brexit Day were overruled on cost grounds.

Nigel Farage is backing a “Brexit Celebration” event hosted by Leave Means Leave in Parliament Square which is expected to attract thousands of supporters and will feature speeches by senior Brexiteers.