Slurry incident before Ballymena Pride parade helped ‘galvanise support'
A 20-year-old man was arrested on Sunday as part of the police investigation into the incident. He was released on bail the following morning.
A 19-year-old man was also arrested and charged in connection with the incident and is due to appear at Coleraine Magistrates Court on Monday.
The parade went ahead on Saturday afternoon, with colourful scenes on the streets as hundreds of people took part.
Banners and rainbow flags were carried as the procession made its way through the town.
A small counter-protest was also staged, with some displaying religious messages on placards.
Scott Cuthbertson, chief executive of The Rainbow Project, told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster that the incident had 'helped galvanise support' for the event.
'Firstly obviously I was a little bit concerned, I went to the site and I saw all the local businesses trying to clean up the mess, and I realised it was a very sad and disgusting event, but actually it wasn't going to put a dampener on things,' he said.
'As I've said earlier I think it helped galvanise support for that Pride event.
"To see all the people on the streets of Ballymena celebrating, having a good time, enjoying themselves but also talking about the issues of diversity and inclusion in the town was really important.'
Mr Cuthbertson added that it was important the parade went ahead, marking Ballymena's first Pride event.
'There are LGBTQIA+ people in every single part of Northern Ireland so to have a Ballymena pride is important just to show the young people that are growing up there that these issues are important, that everybody gets to be visible, and open about who they are where they live,' he said.
Mr Cuthbertson said that organisers of the event had taken time to engage with the local community ahead of the event.
He added: 'I'm certainly looking forward to attending next year if they decide to run another one, and there are bigger issues at play here.
'This is about a celebration of cultures and identities, wherever you live in Northern Ireland, and whoever you are.'
News Catch Up - June 30th 2025
He added that many who hadn't originally planned to take part in the parade changed their minds after the incident.
'And that was supported by the local community who came out in the thousands,' he said.
"It was a really amazing atmosphere walking through the streets with everybody waving their flags, everyone in rainbow colours and there was just a lot of vibrancy and excitement through the town.
'I spoke to young people and older people alike. We had one gentleman talk about how he grew up in Ballymena but he didn't get to grow up gay because it was never a place that he felt he could come out, and all these years later to be able to celebrate who he was in his won town was really quite something.'
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