PRESS RELEASE Girl Power comes to town! The MoonWalk Scotland 2019

Posted on June 10, 2019

From Girl Power….to Power Walking! As the internationally renowned Spice Girls finished ‘zig-a-zig-ah-ing’ the City of Edinburgh on Saturday night, another extravaganza was hitting the streets of the Capital – The MoonWalk Scotland.

Walk the Walk Founder and Chief Executive Nina Barough (front centre) with the Spice Girls in 1997

The world famous decorated bras were the highlight of the night! Women and men were inspired by this year’s special “Circus” theme, creating colourful bras that had passers-by checking to see if the Big Top really had come to town!

Organised by breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, what at first glance may have looked like a bit of fun, really was a huge challenge. Children aged 10 and over walked 6.5 miles - many taking part in their first charity event - women and men walked half and full marathons and a few completed a double marathon 52.4 miles, all starting at Midnight!

Throughout the years, many celebrities have created bras to help Walk the Walk raise awareness, from the Spice Girls in 1997, to this year’s bras signed by The Proclaimers, Tunnock’s and Val McDermid and created by various designers. These bras are used in exhibitions to highlight the fight against breast cancer.

Now in its 23^rd year, Walk the Walk has raised over £131 million (£21.5 million in Scotland).

Christine McLaughlin, Chief Finance Officer for NHS Scotland in the Scottish Government completed the Half Moon with a team of friends and family, called The Optimists, raising more than £11,500. Christine is still undergoing treatment for breast cancer herself. She said: "Doing The MoonWalk has been the thing that’s kept me going for the last six months, something that I’ve aimed for all the way through. Going out for walks with all my friends has been a fantastic experience and the kindness and generosity of everybody that’s helped us along the way has been overwhelming, so I would encourage anyone if they were thinking of doing The MoonWalk, to do it next year. It was such a lovely atmosphere out on the route. Everybody you meet, whether they’re volunteers, or people in the street who stop to ask you what you were doing and to wish you well, - they're just amazing. A real feeling of camaraderie that you just don’t get anywhere else."

Founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk, Nina Barough CBE said: “The MoonWalk Scotland 2019 was the most awe-inspiring night! Having all our ten year old walkers on the stage, full of excitement at their very first Walk the Walk challenge was just wonderful. I explained the importance of what the youngsters were doing and I think it shocked people to imagine that they will be in their forties by the time we expect to have a cure for breast cancer. I think that reason alone should keep people walking, so that we can give their generation the chance of life, which currently doesn’t exist. It was very clear that people had really trained and it was just so overwhelming impressive. Currently, we’re hoping to raise in excess of around half a million pounds – watch this space!”

To download free to use photos click here.

For more information, photographs and quotes, contact:

Sally Orr at Walk the Walk: 07796 080 675 [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

Decorated bras

The decorated bra is what makes Walk the Walk unique and participants wear these to complete the charity’s events
It is largely due to the bra that Walk the Walk has raised over £131 million
Each year The MoonWalk’s in Scotland and London have different themes and walkers delight in using their imaginations to decorate their bras
Children aged 10-12 years old wear white t-shirts featuring pink bras to complete the charity’s events
Through talking to men who have had breast cancer, Walk the Walk’s “men get breast cancer too!” campaign created special pink t-shirts for male MoonWalkers, featuring blue bras

The MoonWalk Scotland 2019

Walkers took part in one of four challenges: New Moon (6.55 miles), Half Moon (13.1 miles), and Full Moon (26.2 miles) and Over The Moon (52.4 miles).
Walkers taking part in the New Moon, Half Moon or Full Moon are asked to raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship, with Young Walkers asked to simply raise as much as they can.
Walk the Walk is the principal funder of the Maggie’s Centre at Gartnavel, Glasgow and Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert. A grant was also made towards the Lanarkshire Centre in the grounds of Monklands Hospital in Airdrie. Maggie’s Centres offer support to people diagnosed with all types of cancer, as well as providing emotional support for their families.
Walk the Walk has also funded the renovation of Ward 6, a new theatre and renovation of the Mammography Unit at the Breast Cancer Institute at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital.
Walk the Walk is committed to providing funding to hospitals across Scotland and the UK to purchase Scalp Cooling systems, special machines which are helping many people undergoing chemotherapy to retain their hair. Walk the Walk has funded 57 Scalp Coolers in 26 Scottish hospitals.

Walk the Walk

Walk the Walk specialises in fitness and Power Walking challenges.
HRH The Prince of Wales is the official Patron of Walk the Walk.
As a grant-making charity, all funds are raised for Walk the Walk and then granted to where the charity feels they will do the most good.
Walk the Walk funds are granted to projects that not only support research, important to all our future health, but also support a variety of projects that are supporting cancer patients now throughout the UK.
To date grants have been made to charities and organisations throughout the UK including Breast Cancer Now, The Breast Cancer Haven, Penny Brohn UK and hundreds of NHS Hospitals and Trusts for which we supply Scalp Cooling Systems.
The charity also has a community grant fund which each year grants to smaller organisations. Helen Rollason Cancer Charity, Tenovus Cancer Care, The Christie, Cancer Kin, FACT and others, all receive funds which enable them to continue their work.
‘The MoonWalk’ is the flagship event of the charity currently held in Scotland, London and Iceland.