New Zealand airport welcomes visitors with massive rainbow
Pic: robgordon000 / Instagram
Visitors flying in to New Zealand are being welcomed by a massive rainbow painted next to a runway at Wellington International Airport to celebrate Pride.
“We’re proud to reveal what could possibly be the largest pride [rainbow] in New Zealand on the embankment of our runway!” said the airport on its website.
It explained that the rainbow will “welcome delegates attending the ILGA World conference and celebrate Wellington Pride Festival both taking place in March.”
Delighted social media users have already started posting images of the colourful 3000-square-metre strip from airplane windows as they fly in and out of the airport.
The grass was painted over the course of three days and is expected to last for about four weeks.
The Wellington Pride Festival is taking place from 8 to 24 March and promises to celebrate “the LGBTQIA+ community with two weeks of a diverse range of events, performances and activities organised by groups within the community”.
This year’s festival coincides with the ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World Conference also being held in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.
The mayor of Wellington, Justin Lester, told Stuff that he hopes to show visitors that the city is “one of the most inclusive cities on the planet”. He added: “The airport rainbow will be the first many ILGA attendees see and I am sure it will make them feel welcome.”
New Zealand is a generally accepting and progressive country when it it comes to LGBTQ equality. LGBTQ rights are protected by the New Zealand Human Rights Act, and same-sex couples have been able to marry since 2013. Sex between men was decriminalised in 1986.
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