ORANGE walks are set to increase sixfold in Scotland this year - but how many of them will be in your local council area?
In last week’s Sunday National our exclusive investigation compared the number of loyalist processions across the country compared to last year and pre-pandemic levels.
And now, we can reveal how many Orange Order processions will be held in each local authority.
It comes as the Scottish Government has set up a working group to assess whether or not a Northern Ireland style parades commission - which can restrict any parades it deems controversial - would be suitable in Scotland.
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How many Orange Walks are there and where are they going ahead?
In total, Scotland will see 184 Orange Walks across 15 council areas in Scotland. Glasgow, which historically has held the most, will see the largest share - 81 (44%) this year. North Lanarkshire will see 30, West Lothian 20 and South Lanarkshire 14. In Falkirk, 12 walks are scheduled, as well as eight in East Lothian and four in both Renfrewshire and East Ayrshire.
Capital City Edinburgh will see three Orange walks, while South Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will see two. West Dunbartonshire, Perth and Kinross, Inverclyde and East Dunbartonshire will all host one.
The above graph also contains figures for 2019 (pre-pandemic) 2021 and 2022. You can click each council area individually to see the change in number of Orange walks over time. There were no parades held in 2020 as the country was under Level 3 and 4 lockdown restrictions during marching season.
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How does this compare to pre-pandemic levels?
Almost all of the council areas which held Orange walks in 2019 have processions scheduled for this year. Only Stirling, which had two walks in 2019 and one in 2021, does not have any scheduled. Data was not available on North Ayrshire, it was also unavailable in 2019, but four were held in 2021.
North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire typically come second and third in the rankings after Glasgow, but this year West Lothian takes the third spot with 20 processions.
Although the figures are rising - they have some way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels, where 414 were held across Scotland, 192 of which were in Glasgow.
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