Rainbow flag to fly from Leeds Civic Hall as city marks the end of LGBT History Month

The rainbow flag will fly from Leeds Civic Hall this weekend as the city proudly marks the end of LGBT History Month.

The iconic flag, a worldwide symbol of the LGBT community, will fly from the Civic from today (Friday) until Monday, Feb 29.

The flying of the flag will bring a month of events celebrating diversity across the city to a close which has included a series of talks, workshops and networking opportunities.

As part of the programme DJ Stephanie Hirst visited the city to give an inspiring insight into her transition and Leeds City Council’s LGBT staff network delivered the first ever Gender Identity training which gave participants the opportunity to get to grips with some of the unique challenges faced by the Trans community.

Out in Leeds art workshops were also held for older LGBT people in the city and a mini film festival was held at a number of local venues.

Councillor James Lewis, deputy leader of Leeds City Council, said: “It’s been a true credit to Leeds to see people from so many walks of life taking part in such a dynamic, vibrant and exciting programme of events to mark LGBT History Month.

“The iconic rainbow flag flying over Leeds Civic Hall this weekend is also an inspiring symbol of the progressive city we live in and shows how far we have come in accepting and embracing diversity .”

Leeds City Museum will also be marking LGBT History Month with a special event this Saturday.

The Love Has No Religion event will bring people together in a bid to spark conversations about the LGBT community and religion whilst enjoying the surroundings of the museum.

Visitors will be able to enjoy arts music, media, workshops and discussion.

The event takes place from 11am until 3pm and has been organised to coincide with the end of LGBT History Month, which has run across the UK in February.

Leeds City Museum is currently hosting the Queer Stories display, which is open until May 15.

The display has been curated with local LGBT communities and reveals personal stories through objects like t-shirts, badges and flyers.

It also includes artwork, films, photos and testimonies from local people exploring the themes of arts, culture, sports health and identity.

As well as this weekend’s Love Has No Religion event, the museum will also see community curators on hand to talk about the Queer Stories project on March 5, 2pm until 3.30pm and then April 30, 2pm until 3.30pm.

For more details about Queer Stories, visit: http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/Pages/Queer-Stories.aspx

ENDS

Fore media enquiries, please contact:

Leeds City Council Press Office

0113 395 024