United Kingdom: Falun Gong Participates in Edinburgh International Arts Festival Parade

On August 9, 2009, Falun Gong practitioners from UK were again invited to take part in the famous parade of Edinburgh International Arts Festival.

In previous years, the Edinburgh International Festival parade was held on the well-known Princes Street. The route of this year's parade was changed to Hoolyrood Park because of road construction. The park is open, spacious and beautiful. A rainshower about one hour before the parade made the park look cleaner and fresher. According to the parade organising committee, about 75,000 people gathered on the parade route and many more people climbed the hill to watch the parade.

The Falun Gong procession consisted of banners, dancers, a float with the theme of "Falun Dafa is Good" and a waist drum group. Dancers in brightly-coloured "celestial maiden" costumes danced with fans in their hands, following the music "Falun Dafa is Good".

Demonstrating the Falun Gong Exercises

Among the audience were many Chinese faces including a lot of tourists from mainland China. Some of them were moved by the momentum and harmony of Falun Gong procession in the parade.

With Falun Gong practitioners walking by, many spectators got the message of "Falun Dafa is Good" and "The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance".

A man named Zen said, "I have been here for many years. I see Falun Gong in the parade every year. I feel that they have become a representative of Chinese traditional culture."

Diana and her granddaughters all said that Falun Gong parade entry is "Great !"

Mr. John and his wife said, "We have never seen such peaceful exercises."

A man named Gary said: "I felt very strong energy when your group passed by just now. I felt very comfortable. I'd like to know more about Falun Dafa."

Gary said, "I felt very strong energy when Falun Gong passed by."

In addition to the participation of the parade, Falun Gong practitioners were also invited by the parade organizing committee of Edinburgh International Art Festival to demonstrate the exercises. Many audience members were very interested in the exercises. Mr. John said, "We have never seen such peaceful exercises. We will go home and learn more about it on the Internet."

Almost all Scottish media such as The Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Edinburgh Evening News and Metro showed photos of Falun Gong in their parade reports. The Times chose a photo of the fan dance as the only photo in its cover report.