Men's health movement put on spectacular display

One hundred drones took to the Edinburgh skies at Inverleith Park to Mark the start of Movember.

Measuring in at an impressive 120m wide by 50m high, or roughly the size of a football pitch, 100 drones became one giant moustache to celebrate 20 years of Movember changing the face of men's health.

This year marks 20 years since the charity, was founded in a pub in Melbourne, Australia by two friends. Since then, the charity has become the biggest global men’s health movement, leading the charge in encouraging men to adopt healthy behaviours, challenging health systems and confronting gender norms to reduce health inequalities and save more lives. 

Since 2003 Movember has championed men’s physical and mental health by tackling three of the biggest issues affecting men globally; testicular cancer, prostate cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. In that time, they have funded more than 1,320 men’s health projects around the world. 

Anne-Cecile Berthier, UK & EU Country Director for Movember said: “We’ve projected moustaches onto iconic buildings, but we’ve never flown a football pitch sized moustache across the country. For 20 years we've challenged the status quo. Shaken up men's health research. And funded over 1,320 health projects globally to change the face of men’s health.

"And we're not slowing down any time soon. We hope our campaign will continue to inspire people to get involved and do their bit for men’s health this Movember.” 

Momentum for men’s health is building, but global focus remains limited.

As of 2021, only seven countries have developed a national men’s health policy. Healthcare systems are often not designed with a gender lens, or they are simply not available to men when they need them. 

Movember believes that by focusing on the root causes of men’s ill health, it can improve men’s health more broadly. This means challenging behaviours, evolving norms of what it means to ‘be a man’, and improving the systems and settings that men interact with so that we can improve men’s health, create generational change and healthier societies. 

As a global health movement that can truly engage men like no one else, Movember is uniquely positioned to lead the charge. 

In the UK, 3 in 4 suicides are men, 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer, and testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men.