Iceland gets a spectacular ‘Rainbow Road’ for Pride
To celebrate Reykjavik’s Pride festival, which finished on Sunday (9th August), one of the city’s central streets was painted as a giant rainbow. Organisers came together to paint the road ahead of the festivities, while onlookers were invited to join in.
“It was lovely. A large number of children lent us a hand and some even brought their own paint brushes,” said Reykjavik Pride director Eva Maria Thorarinsdottir Lange.
Among the helpers was Dagur Eggertsson, the Mayor of Reykjavik, who picked up a roller and painted part of the yellow stripe. He posted a photo (above) of the action on his Facebook page, adding, “This is one way to make our city livelier, more human and simply a better place by great collaboration and beautiful thinking.”
The annual event draws in around 100,000 people over the course of a week, making it one of Iceland’s biggest events and one of the largest pride events globally. First held in 1999, when around 1,500 people attended, the festival culminated at Saturday’s parade and concert.
Despite grey skies and cold weather, a resilient crowd of around 40,000 gathered to watch the parade. The undeniable highlight was Páll Óskar – an Icelandic pop star and national gay icon – and his float, a pink and glittery Viking ship.
The rainbow road is set to remain until the end of summer.
#ReykjavikPride is the most amazing pride in world. Rainbows have conquered every corner of city and it's wonderful! pic.twitter.com/L45paEW5SR
— Nitin Sood (@nnsood) August 8, 2015
The #ReykjavíkPride Parade at the weekend couldn't fail to brighten up a cloudy day! Pink sequin viking ship anyone? pic.twitter.com/Mta1nMuagu
— Inspired by Iceland (@iceland) August 11, 2015
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