Iceland: Reykjavik street turns rainbow for Gay Pride

Paint the town... rainbow colours

A huge rainbow has appeared in the centre of Iceland's capital city - but it's underfoot.

One of Reykjavik's central streets has been painted in rainbow colours as part of the city's annual Gay Pride festival, the Visir news website reports. Dozens of people gathered to help to transform the road, including Mayor Dagur Eggertsson, who grabbed a roller and took on the yellow section. "It was lovely. A large number of children lent us a hand and some even brought their own paint brushes," says Reykjavik Pride director Eva Maria Thorarinsdottir Lange.

Reykjavik Pride is one of Iceland's biggest events, attracting more than 100,000 visitors during a week of festivities, equivalent to about a third of the country's population.

The mayor describes the rainbow as "more powerful and beautiful" than he could have imagined. "This is one way to make our city livelier, more human and simply a better place by great collaboration and beautiful thinking," he says on his Facebook page. The rainbow will be kept until the end of the summer, according to the Morgunbladid website.

Locals of all ages helped to paint the road surface by hand

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