#1 Rainbow Flag

Listen to Norwich Pride secretary Deb explain the history behind the rainbow Pride flag, and the day in 2019 that Norwich city centre became a rainbow.

Rainbow Flag image credit: Unsplash.

Transcript: Rainbows are everywhere during Pride month. Helping create the colourful, joyous atmosphere that is so uplifting. Our vision here at Norwich Pride has always been to ‘turn Norwich into a rainbow’. In doing this we hope the city becomes a place where everyone can feel safe and proud to be themselves. But what are the origins of the rainbow flag as an LGBT+ symbol? It has its roots in the ‘Gay Rights’ movement of the 1960s and 70s where the LGBT+ community were in the midst of a battle for equal rights. Gilbert Baker, an artist, was asked to come up with a new symbol for the community. Something positive, that celebrated love. Baker thought that “a gay nation should have a flag, to proclaim its own idea of power. We needed a flag to fly everywhere.” He was dancing in San Francisco under the glitter ball and remembers, “We were all in a swirl of colour and light. It was like a rainbow. That’s the moment when I knew exactly what kind of flag I would make.” Baker’s design featured 8 coloured stripes and included a dark indigo and a hot pink, both lost over the years. That first rainbow flag design was flown on 25th June 1978 at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. However, it wasn’t until 1994 that the rainbow flag was truly established as the symbol for LGBT+ pride. In June that year Baker achieved a world record when he created a one mile-long flag to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
In 2003 Baker was commissioned to produce another giant flag, this time marking the 25th anniversary of the flag itself. For old time’s sake Baker included the two lost colours from the original. This flag measured one and a quarter miles stretching across Key West, Florida, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. It was called "Rainbow 25 Sea to Sea" and was carried by 5,000 people! The flag was divided afterwards and sections were sent to hundreds of cities worldwide. For our 2019 march Norwich Pride were delighted to be able to bring a huge section of that very same historic flag to Norwich. We borrowed it from the European Pride Organisers Association and they brought it to us in a huge yellow suitcase. I was Volunteer Co-Ordinator for the day and spent a lot of my time rushing between venues connecting with people and helping make sure the day was running smoothly. We had our base in the wonderful ‘WellBeing Centre’ close to Chapelfield Gardens and in the middle of the day, close to the start of the march, I was running back there and crossed in front of City Hall. There were thousands of people lining the streets. The atmosphere was electric and everywhere you looked there was colour. All the wonderful colours of the rainbow. Spirits were high and anticipation was building. Bands were playing, dancers were dancing, people were hugging friends and petting rainbow dressed dogs. The Pride Pop-Up stall was heaving with Pride Goers buying flags of every colour and excitedly, and proudly, draping themselves in their flag of choice. Ready for the march. I paused as I was crossing Bethel Street and turned my back to the market, just to take it all in. The march was being expertly lined up by our March Leader back down Bethel Street ready to make its familiar round-city tour that would end in Chapelfield Gardens for the festivities. And just at that moment the Gilbert Baker flag was suddenly let loose from the suitcase and held down its full length by hundreds of volunteers. It was gently lifted high into the air, and this amazing symbol of the history of our community spread itself the length of the street, unfurling in all its glory, gently undulating as it settled. The most enormous cheer erupted from the crowd at the sight of it. I felt so moved. It made my day that we could feel safe and proud in this place on this day and I could see that we had fulfilled our mission at Norwich Pride. We had ‘turned Norwich into a rainbow’. It’s a wonderful memory that I will always cherish.