The World Naked Bike Ride is a peaceful protest that intends to get its messages across by generating public interest. We want other road users and spectators to be pleasantly surprised and take notice. We do not behave badly!

The ride aims to attract attention to its themes by being a fun spectacle. Riders do not block roads, move slowly, cause damage, lock onto things, climb up, or leave a mess behind. It is a non-aggressive, lawful campaign. Extensive route and organisational details are shared with the Police.

Legality

The Edinburgh WNBR organising committee has been working closely with Police Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council since 2019, our first ride in which participants were allowed to cycle naked. They are fully aware of the nature of the protest and supportive of our right to make it.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no law against nudity in Scotland and you should not be arrested simply for being nude on this protest. This was established in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Using nudity to intentionally cause harassment, alarm or distress may be illegal, but, clearly, that is not the intention of the World Naked Bike Ride.

Details of the ride are registered with the police and the council in advance. Don’t act offensively and you are unlikely to be arrested. Nevertheless, please do follow any instructions from the police – even if they don’t have the law on their side. Remember that there are also many other laws that apply to you – just as they do on any other day of the year.

For further details in a format you can print out and carry, you might also like to see the Public Place Naturism legal guide published by British Naturism. You can also read the guidance from the College of Policing.

Please note:

The above links apply only to England and Wales; Police Scotland doesn’t have a detailed document equivalent to the one for England and Wales. Police Scotland considers every case on its merits, but may also take into consideration the England and Wales document. Click here for more information relating to Police Scotland.

Nudity during the ride

This is a “naked bike ride”, so clothing is optional. We recommend that riders wear shoes for safety reasons. The protest has a carnival feel, so you are encouraged to adorn yourself with colourful body paint and slogans, wear fancy dress, disguise yourself a bit (e.g. sunglasses, helmet, mask) or remain partially dressed – be as bare as you dare. You will probably want a rucksack, panniers or a bicycle basket to carry your belongings. As the ride starts and finishes in the Meadows, there may be a facility to store your belongings while you ride – this will be confirmed closer to the ride date

There is no law against nudity in Britain, but please don’t exercise your right to nudity in Edinburgh before the ride or spend an unnecessarily long time dressing at the end, as it will impact our ability to make arrangements with police and get cooperation from the authorities in future years. Feel free to undress in the UK at any other time of the year, as this will not affect the WNBR.

Many passers by and photographers who know about the event will take photographs before the ride begins and try to find us along the route. There will be lots of people with cameras and phones. However unwelcome they are, in most cases they are not breaking the law and have a right to be in the same public places that we are. We try hard to minimise the problem and expect all participants to be ready to come to the aid of anyone who needs help, although you must keep within the law.

If you are uncomfortable getting undressed in front of people, remember that you only need to disrobe when the ride starts, and you should put your clothes back on as soon as you reach the finish. If you wear clothes that can be quickly removed, you could leave the start dressed, pull over, remove your clothes and rejoin the ride. Likewise, you can slip some clothing on just before the finish. Please dress and disperse as soon as you reach the finish unless you enjoy the attention of photographers and spectators!

Traffic, congestion, rest breaks and the need to re-group mean the protest will stop for several minutes at various points throughout the route. If you don’t like the idea of being photographed while waiting, bring something you can cover up with quickly and easily put on and take off.