Rainbow quarter officially opened in city centre

The first official LGBTQ+ friendly area in Nottingham has been opened.

Plans for the Rainbow Quarter - made up of Broad Street, Carlton Street and Heathcote Street in Hockley - were announced at Notts Pride in July 2025.

At a ceremony on Wednesday the LGBTQ+ friendly area, similar to Manchester's Gay Village, was launched.

Sam Harvey, co-director of the Nottingham Pastel Project is spearheading the initiative, and said the quarter was "really going to increase Nottingham's visibility on the LGBT stage".

Speaking to the BBC, Harvey said he wanted the Rainbow Quarter to "increase visibility of what the LGBTQ community are facing".

Harvey added a "defiant show of solidarity and rainbows" was much-needed at the moment.

In a speech at the event on Wednesday, Harvey said there would be heritage plaques as well as murals in the quarter and added safety initiatives were being worked on.

Harvey added there was also "scope" for establishing a dedicated venue for the LGBTQ+ community within the area.

"I think it's going to be one of those things that's going to absolutely benefit everyone.

"It's going to benefit businesses, it's going to benefit the city centre and it's going to benefit the community," he said.

Matt Shannon, executive member for community protection, neighbourhoods and equalities at Nottingham City Council told the BBC the quarter would give "full recognition" to the city's LGBT community.

"We also want this to become a destination for people to come and travel to, and just bring visitors into the area," Shannon said.

The Labour councillor pointed to Manchester's Gay Village as an "ambition" for what the area could be like.

"This can be a real drive to people to come into Nottingham to experience all the fantastic independent venues we have around us," Shannon added.

Author and historian CJ DeBarra told the BBC they felt "incredibly emotional" about seeing events like Pride and the opening of the Rainbow Quarter.

"It makes me incredibly proud and emotional to think of how many people struggled to be out, struggled to come out, struggled to walk down the street holding hands for fear of violence, rejection or stigma.

"This is so incredibly public and it's so incredibly wonderful," they said.

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