London Pride 2023: Sadiq Khan announces five rainbow plaques to celebrate LGBTQI+ history

Mayor of LondonSadiq Khan has announced five plaques will be installed across the capital, celebrating significant people, places and moments in LGBTQI+ history.

In the coming months the rainbow plaques will be placed at sites in Greenwich, Peckham, Westminster, Ladbroke Grove and Haringey. The London LGBT+ Forums’ Network and Studio Voltaire received funding from the Mayor’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm and Wandsworth Oasis.

There are currently only two plaques in London as part of the national scheme to identify hidden and lost LGBTQI+ heritage - one for Oscar Wilde at Clapham Junction Station and one for My Beautiful Laundrette on Wilcox Road, Vauxhall.

Rainbow plaques

The new plaques will be:

• Beautiful Thing at the Greenwich Tavern – a celebration of the landmark 1996 coming out and coming-of-age film that was set in Thamesmead and Greenwich. The plaque will be unveiled on Sunday July 23 along with a special screening of the film at Greenwich Picturehouse.
• Black Lesbian and Gay Centre, Peckham – the first centre established in Europe to provide advice and support to the community.
• Jackie Forster, Westminster – honouring the life of the hugely influential journalist and activist who helped to found social group and long-running publication Sappho.
• London Lighthouse, Ladbroke Grove – a pioneering centre and hospice for people with HIV and AIDS offering a respite for people marginalised or abandoned following their diagnosis.
• Section 28, Haringey Civic Centre – the site for a number of protests after the council launched the first of its kind Lesbian and Gay Unit to highlight and support the rights of LGBTQI+ communities.#

Sadiq Khan

The mayor announced the new plaques at his annual Pride reception at City Hall on Wednesday, ahead of London’s Pride celebrations this Saturday.

Sadiq Khan said: “London is a beacon of inclusion and diversity around the world, but we still have work to do to ensure that our public spaces fully reflect the many different communities that make up our great city.

“As we look ahead to our capital’s Pride celebrations this weekend, I’m delighted to announce that five new rainbow plaques will be installed across our capital in honour of significant people, places and moments in LGBTQI+ history.

“These plaques are a symbol of the enormous contribution that our LGBTQI+ communities make to all our lives and I hope to see many more installed in the future as we build a fairer, more equal city for everyone.”

London LGBT+ Forums’ Network

David Robson, of the London LGBT+ Forums’ Network, said: "Rainbow Plaques commemorate incredible unsung people, moments and cultures alongside precious organisations and places. I’ve particularly loved the many suggestions from and conversations with communities in boroughs all over London, exploring our rich and diverse histories. Our communities have led this project, and long may that continue. There are so many hidden LGBTQIA+ histories at risk of being lost forever. This project goes some way in reminding people that we have always been here, in good times and bad. With these five new plaques, we will soon have seven permanent tributes across London. We don't want to stop there. I am excited to begin conversations of where we go in 2024 and beyond."

Studio Voltaire

Joe Scotland, director of Studio Voltaire, said: “We are delighted to expand our partnership with London LGBT+ Forum’s Network with the support of the Mayor’s Office to realise an unprecedented number of Rainbow Plaques across the capital. While there have been significant advances in the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, many individuals and communities continue to experience significant discrimination and hostility. It is vitally important to commemorate and celebrate key moments in LGBTQIA+ histories. We are extremely grateful to all who have supported and participated in the project and look forward to unveiling them to the people of London and beyond.”

Black Lesbian and Gay Centre

Dr Helen Deane, former chair of the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre, and Veronica Mckenzie, filmmaker and director of Under Your Nose, said in a statement: “We are delighted that the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre will receive this recognition. Dr Helen Deane was the last Chair and Management Committee member of the BLGC at a time when the centre faced severe funding cuts. With the closure of the premises, she moved the helpline to her home to ensure this critical resource continued to serve the community. Veronica Mckenzie attended the Friday group, and was involved in early discussions about the need for a dedicated space for the black community. She later documented the journey to establish the first Black Lesbian and Gay Centre in her film Under Your Nose.”

Rainbow Plaque project

Juliet Jacques, writer and filmmaker, said: “It's an honour to be involved with the Rainbow Plaque project. Who we choose to commemorate, and how and why we do so, says so much about a society, and in a time of rising anti-LGBTQIA+ prejudice and lawmaking, I think it's vital to celebrate the achievements of our writers, artists, politicians, activists and others who have made such a difference to our past and present.”

Jonathan Harvey, writer and actor, said: “I am so touched that the film is being commemorated in this way. As filmed in that pub on a blazing hot day nearly thirty years ago, little did we know that the film would still be touching people today.”

Haringey Council

Haringey Council leader Cllr Peray Ahmet said: “With only five locations being selected across London, we are thrilled to have been chosen to install a new rainbow plaque in Haringey. It is fitting that the Civic Centre has been chosen as we were the first council to establish a Lesbian and Gay Unit to highlight and support the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. From pioneering campaigners like Femi Otitoju, who led the unit, to the first same-sex couples to marry in our borough, Haringey’s LGBTQIA+ history is full of inspiring figures and important milestones. And the struggle for equality continues with the fight for trans recognition, including the implementation of the council’s Trans Equality Policy in 2021. I hope the rainbow plaque gives Haringey residents the opportunity to reflect on our borough’s rich LGBTQIA+ heritage.”