ADOT is proud to partner with Galop for the second year in their ‘It’s Not All Sunshine and Rainbows’ campaign. While Pride is intended to be a time of celebration and protest, it also coincides with a significant increase in demand for Galop’s hate crime support services. Last Pride season, Galop saw a 60% rise in LGBT+ hate crime victims seeking support compared to any other three-month period throughout the year.
This Pride month, Galop and creative studio Gravity Road launched a campaign to highlight that Pride season is not all sunshine and rainbows. With the support of ADOT, media time was donated to launch the campaign at Outernet, London, throughout June. The aim was to raise awareness and highlight the impacts of hate crimes on the LGBT+ community by showcasing content across the Outernet district, including the VISTA screens, the Now Trending space, and surrounding information screens.
Galop’s centrepiece, ‘Storm Shelter,’ utilized the immersive Now Trending space from 14th-30th June. This installation invited audiences to step into the eye of the storm, surrounding them with huge screens and spatial audio. The striking visuals aimed to take people out of their comfort zones and into the turbulent experiences faced by the LGBT+ community. The audio featured testimonies read by influencers, celebrities, and allies from within the community. The journey concluded with an epic crescendo, greeting the public with a towering rainbow symbolizing a hopeful future.
Supporting Galop is crucial to ADOT, as the foundation is deeply committed to promoting unity, especially during Pride. Outernet shares this mission, aiming to break stigmas and create a safer, more inclusive world for the LGBT+ community.
Scott Neal, Creative Director of Culture and Lifestyle at Outernet London, said: “Outernet sits at the heart of central London in Soho, a culturally significant area for the LGBTQ+ community. We continually celebrate and represent the community with diverse programming that creates an inclusive district year-round. Given the shocking drop in the UK’s ranking on ILGA’s Rainbow Europe Index of ‘safe’ countries for LGBTQ+ people—from 1st place in 2015 to 17th place in 2023—Outernet is proud to partner with Galop again. We hope this stunning campaign on our Now Trending screens encourages everyone who visits to help bring back the sunshine and fill the UK with rainbows once more.”
This campaign aims to change perspectives and inspire positive changes reflected in ILGA’s Rainbow Europe Index of ‘safe’ countries for LGBT+ people. During Pride month, when the LGBT+ community is most visible, Galop sees the largest increase in abuse and violence. By highlighting this, Galop hopes to garner even greater support across the capital.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but with your help, it could be.
The forecast for Pride month deserves a much brighter outlook. Visit galop.org.uk/donate to help clear away the bad weather for the LGBT+ community. By supporting Galop, you’ll be providing advice, support, and advocacy to thousands of LGBT+ victims of abuse across the UK.
