If you’re heading out this evening you might see some of Edinburgh’s biggest buildings bathed in cyan blue.
Landmarks all over the city are being lit up to raise awareness on World Parkinson’s Day .
To help spread the word, passersby can join the Photobomb for Parkinson's UK, where they take their own selfies with the buildings and upload them to an interactive map.
In the city centre alone, the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Royal Scottish Academy, Jenners, The Dome, the Balmoral Hotel, the Royal Bank of Scotland on Princes Street, and St Andrew’s House will all take part.
The BT Murrayfield stadium, George Watson’s College in Morningside, and Victoria Quay in Leith will also be given a blue spotlight.
More than 80 landmarks all over Scotland are confirmed to be joining in the Light Up Scotland for Parkinson’s project .
Parkinson’s is a complex neurological condition with more than 40 different symptoms. There is currently no cure.
The condition affects roughly 12,400 people in Scotland, making it the second most common neurodegenerative condition after Alzheimers.
That number is expected to double in the next 50 years as the population ages and grows.
In spite of this, Parkinson’s UK has found that there is little awareness of the condition across the UK.
In a survey released today, they said that 87% of people with Parkinson’s have faced harassment in public.
Many have been accused of being drunk, laughed at, or called unfriendly, with over half of them cancelling or avoiding social events out of embarrassment over their symptoms.
The charity launched a new campaign today called Parkinson’s Is to help combat that lack of understanding.
The campaign will tell the stories of real people living with Parkinson’s and show what their everyday looks like.
Steve Ford, Parkinson’s UK Chief Executive, said: "At the root of this huge problem is that even though it's the second most prevalent neurodegenerative condition after Alzheimer’s, people don’t fully understand what Parkinson's is or how it affects people.
"It's heartbreaking that so many are cancelling or avoiding social situations due to embarrassment about their Parkinson's symptoms, or fears about how people will react to them.”
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