London gives the green light to LGBT traffic lights to celebrate Pride festival
The city of London has altered around 50 traffic lights to welcome the LGBT community attending the Pride in London festival.
Sadiq Khan poses in front of the new traffic lights
New designs of the green man were erected on (Sunday 19 June) to bring in the festival the following week. Among these updates is a same sex couple holding hands, installed around the Trafalgar Square area.
It’s all part of a TfL push to support the LGBT community, inspired by a similar campaign in Vienna in 2015.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said: "One of the greatest things about this city is our differences and every Londoner should be proud of who they are.
"I am very proud of our LGBT+ community here and I am looking forward to working closely with them as their mayor."
Alison Camps, director at Pride in London, said: "It's fantastic that London is a city so keen to celebrate Pride that even traffic lights can be used. This small symbol is a big gesture from the Mayor of London and TfL, and we're delighted to have their support.
"For many people acceptance and tolerance is a luxury they don't have, and these lights are another display of how welcoming and accepting London is. Our campaign this year is called #nofilter, letting people live their lives as they want to. These lights are a perfect display of that, saying that our city recognises each and every one of us for who we are."
The outlets were installed free-of-charge by Siemens.