Denmark: Copenhagen quietly renames city centre ‘Rainbow Square’
Copenhagen has quietly renamed a square in its city centre “Rainbow Square”, in honour of the LGBT movement.
The city council had been seeking to rename the area – formerly known as Town Hall Square – for over a year, and had considered naming it after gay rights pioneer Axel Axgil or singer Hannah Bjarnhoff.
The Danish capital’s council initially agreed on naming it Regnbuepladsen (Rainbow Square) in February this year, passing a resolution with 36 votes for, and just 9 against.
However, after protests from some locals, nothing has marked the name for months on end – until signs were quietly put in place this week, with little fanfare or attention.
Danish news website XQ28 reports that the signs were quietly installed “in the dark of night between June 30th and July 1st”, making the name official.
The sign in the centre of the square reads: “Rainbow Square. Named after the rainbow flag: A symbol of the struggle of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people for equal rights, as well as of tolerance and open mindedness”.
XQ28 jokes the unveiling “was not much of an event”, but Copenhagen presumably spent its events budget hosting the Eurovision Song Contest this year – where it provided weddings to three Russian same-sex couples.
The Mayor of the Technical and Environmental Administration Morten Kabell said in February: “We want to contribute to the fight for liberty and equal rights for sexual minorities.
“I’m pleased that a vast majority of the Copenhagen City Council back the name ‘Rainbow Square’. The square is located just next to the City Hall and will be seen by thousands of Danes and tourists every year.”
(Photos: Tejs Lindhardt)
