Rainbow Crossing Marks Arrival Of Wimbledon's First LGBT+ Bar


Crossing also flags up support for this year's Pride in London events

Rainbow zebra crossing in Wimbledon

A stunning rainbow has landed in Wimbledon to celebrate the town’s inclusivity, welcome its first LGBT+ bar, and support this year’s Pride in London events.

 

Merton Council has installed a 'Rainbow Crossing' in Wimbledon Broadway by the recently opened CMYK bar. The multi-coloured crossing has been created in the design of the rainbow flag - which has been adopted, across the globe, as a symbol to celebrate the LGBT+ community and its diversity.

 

The month long Pride in London event, which kicks off tomorrow (June 8), is to bring a host of cultural treats to venues across the capital in addition to its famous parade in Central London. The festival aims to celebrate the creativity of the LGBT+ community, challenge prejudice and campaign for equal rights for members both at home and abroad.

 

Cabinet Member for Women and Equalities, Councillor Laxmi Attawar said: “We are really proud to have created a Rainbow Crossing in our borough to show a blaze of colourful support for members of the LGBT+ community. We want to extend a warm welcome to the CMYK bar which is a wonderful addition to the diverse cultural offer we have in Merton. The development is part of our ongoing commitment to celebrate the huge contribution the LGBT+ community brings to Merton and help raise awareness of the challenges LGBT+ people continue to face. Merton is one of the most welcoming and safest boroughs in London and this high profile colourful artwork is a great reminder to us all, that as a community we value diversity.”

 

Patrick Lyster-Todd, Secretary of Merton LGBT+ Forum, said, "This is an amazing and symbolic undertaking by the London Borough of Merton, not just to mark this year's Pride in London but also the opening of Wimbledon's first LGBT+ bar and club, right at its centre. I have been there several times already and it is the most welcoming, fun and safe place for all, with marvellous staff - but our local LGBT+ community must now rally around and support it wholeheartedly so that it becomes a vibrant new home for all of us."

 

Charlie Walker the General Manager at the CMYK bar, said he and his staff are delighted with the welcome they have received in Wimbledon. He said: “There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved."

Helen Clark Bell, the Chief Executive of the Love Wimbledon bid, said: “The bright, beaming rainbow that has landed on Wimbledon Broadway celebrates Wimbledon’s new LGBTQ bar which is a beacon of the town centre’s inclusive community. Building a sense of pride in Wimbledon has been a key objective for Love Wimbledon. What better way to celebrate this than to have a rainbow pedestrian crossing installed outside CMYK, the first LGBTQ Bar in Wimbledon.”

 

Around one million people attend the annual Pride in London parade in Central London which is to be held, this year, on Saturday 6 July. For more information visit: prideinlondon.org


To find out more about Merton’s LGBT+ Forum, visit: mertonlgbtforum.org.uk.

June 7, 2019