Find out who’s up for a prize at this brand new event celebrating our community’s queeroes
Sue Perkins, Paris Lees, Dr. Ranj Singh, Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley will all be honoured as queer icons and the likes of Michelle Collins, Lorraine Kelly OBE and Sadiq Khan are amongst the allies honoured this year along with brands such as H&M, HSBC and many others.
The Rainbow Honours is a celebration of those who have stood out in their support for the LGBTQ+ community, taking place this December.
Prizes will go to the people and organisations who show commitment to equality all year round in categories such as LGBTQ+ Icon, LGBTQ+ Champion, LGBTQ+ Campaigner and Trans Advocate.
This is a unique evening of celebration to shine a light on those unsung champions who give up their spare time to volunteer, work tirelessly and strive to make the world a better place for the LGBTQ+ community.
There’s no doubt that the LGBTQ+ community has made amazing strides in recent years, yet LGBTQ+ people still face prejudice in the workplace, education and across social media.
That’s why this event will reward those wonderful individuals and organisations who further LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion. We will honour those who dedicate themselves to fairness for all and deserve our accolades – they are, after all, the UK’s Rainbow Heroes.
The star-studded awards ceremony is set to take place on 4 December 2019, in partnership with DIVA, Europe’s leading magazine for lesbians and bisexual women, and LGBTQ+ digital platform, Openly. The event will also feature LGBT+ community champions who are striving to influence change in the quest for true LGBTQ+ equality.
The full shortlist of honourees can be found here: rainbowhonours.com/rainbow-honours-shortlist-2019.html.
This year’s judging panel includes Openly editor Hugo Greenhalgh, DIVA magazine editor-in-chief Carrie Lyell, trans icons Jake Graf and Hannah Graf MBE, Queer Britain CEO Joseph Galliano, leader of Women’s Equality Party Mandu Reid and Paralympian Claire Harvey.
LGBTQ media partners are Thompson Reuters Openly and DIVA.
Duncan James said, “I am honoured and proud to be hosting the 2019 Rainbow Honours, where we will celebrate and honour the achievements and accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community. This is something that is very close to my heart and I look forward to a fun and exciting evening.”
Courtney Act said “As our community makes leaps and bounds with acceptance and visibility in the mainstream it’s important to maintain focus on the so too often unsung heroes who are doing amazing work. This is our chance to celebrate them, lift them up, and amplify their voices and stories. I’m so honoured to host this special night and celebrate the achievements of our queer community.”
Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, said: “Shedding a light on the untold stories of LGBTQ+ people around the world is core to the work of Openly, the Foundation’s dedicated LGBTQ+ digital news platform. We pride ourselves on impartial, authoritative and trustworthy coverage of global issues. Openly provides an alternative source of credible news and in doing so, works to break down global stereotypes or ignorance. For this reason, we are delighted to be supporting the Rainbow Honours to celebrate LGBTQI heroes, networks and allies who do so much to advance LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion.”
Linda Riley, co-founder of the Rainbow Honours, said: “The event is an end of year celebration to honour LGBTQ+ heroes and our allies. We have named this the Rainbow Honours as only too often the ‘Rainbow’ is brought out around Pride season and then put back in the closet so to speak. Our mission is to ensure the rainbow flag is proudly flown all year round. Although the first event is being held in the UK, the intent is to have the #RainbowHonours in as many countries as possible eventually. We are proud to be raising funds to support Queer Britain and also Europe’s best loved lesbian/bi women’s magazine, DIVA.”
The Rainbow Honours will take place Wednesday 4 December at Madame Tussauds, London.
For more information visit rainbowhonours.com.
Only reading DIVA online? You’re missing out. For more news, reviews and commentary, check out the latest issue. It’s pretty badass, if we do say so ourselves.
