City says no to Rainbow Square

The third LGBT-themed name for a square is turned down by city politicians

A former car park adjacent to City Hall remains unnamed after the City Council turned down a proposal to name it Regnbuepladsen (the Rainbow Square).

The square was originally to be named after Axel Axgil who formed the first gay rights group – now called LGBT Denmark – and in 1989 was the first Dane to enter into a civil partnership. He died in 2011 aged 96.

The name was dropped, however, after allegations surfaced that Axgil had a connection to Nazi groups and was implicated in paedophilia.

READ MORE: Axel Axgil dropped as square name

Keen to keep the theme, the council then proposed Hannah Bjarnhof, a lesbian actress, but LGBT Denmark argued she wasn’t appropriate as she wasn’t a significant cultural figure.

Regnbueplads was subsequently suggested, but was voted down today by the Socialdemokraterne who argued that it wasn’t necessarily certain that the square needed to be named.

The Technical and Environmental Administration have yet to determine whether the square will become incorporated into Vester Voldgade and, until they do, the Socialdemokraterne say they can’t vote in favour.

READ MORE: City considering Lesbian compromise for city square name

Support for Rainbow Square
The Radikale and Enhedslisten both support naming the square after a symbol for the gay community.

“It’s about time that we celebrate Copenhagen’s openness and the fight for equal rights for sexual minorities,” deputy mayor for technical and environmental affairs, Morten Kabell, told Politiken.

“The square close to the City Hall is perfect as Town Hall Square and the inner city were central to the LGBT community’s fight for equal rights. It was hear they were persecuted by the police in the 1960s. It was here that the first civil partnership was entered into. Not least, it is here that the LGBT community celebrates Copenhagen Pride every August,” Kabell said.

 

 

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