“Just remember: no rain, no rainbows,” reads a neon sign in Belfast’s Commercial Court, a popular pedestrian street with a permanent art installation of multi-colored umbrellas.
For Belfast, this message is multi-layered. Beyond dealing with literal precipitation–this is Northern Ireland after all–a new queer generation is guiding Belfast out of a tempest and into its rainbow era.
During the three-decades of unrest known as “The Troubles”–when sectarian violence plagued city streets–there was little time for Northern Ireland to focus on LGBTQ+ rights. Now, 27 years since the Good Friday Agreement (also called the Belfast Agreement) brought peace, Belfast is emerging as a welcoming destination, with new tours teaching our community’s history, a friendly queer nightlife, and a recently unveiled stained glass window commemorating the city’s LGBTQ-rights movement, permanently illuminating City Hall.
Read my Gay Travel Guide to Belfast, Northern Ireland in GayCities.
