The Big Rainbow in Daylesford will be Australia’s first ‘Big’ landmark dedicated to the LGBTQI community.
Australia is earning itself quite a reputation for iconic ‘Big Things’. There’s the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, Big Merino in Goulburn, Big Pineapple in Woombye, Big Potato in Robertson and the Big Ned Kelly at the Glenrowan Tourist Centre. Heck, there’s even a Big Prawn in Ballina.
The regional Victorian town of Daylesford is soon to become home to another ‘big’ landmark with The Big Rainbow .
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around the region here.
Australia’s first “big” landmark dedicated to the celebration of regional LGBTIQA+ pride and inclusion, the 12 metres wide and six metres high Big Rainbow was designed with members of the LGBTIQA+ and First Nations communities.
Earlier this year, in a larger-than-life show of support for the regional LGBTQIA+ community, Tinder unveiled Australia’s newest “Big” landmark, ‘the Big Rainbow’ which sat pretty in its temporary home in Sydney before announcing it was on the lookout for a new regional location as part of the Big Rainbow Project.
After thousands of submissions and over 50 regional towns suggested, it came down to a final four towns: Daylesford, Hay, Broome and Katherine, with voting up to the public to decide its future home in regional Australia, to champion diversity, inclusion and self-expression.
With 16,000 public votes cast, Daylesford was the clear winner in becoming the final destination for the Big Rainbow.
It seems like a perfect match for Daylesford, the Traditional Land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people, which is known as the rainbow capital of regional Victoria. It’s also home to Chillout Festival, one of the longest-running events celebrating regional LGBTQIA+ pride, so we think it would be pretty special to see the landmark there.
“Daylesford is the home of the ChillOut Festival, the longest-running regional LGBTQIA+ festival in Australia, and home to many rainbow families. Council will soon initiate a period of community engagement to tap into the community’s local knowledge and perspectives about the best-suited location for the Big Rainbow which will celebrate our vibrant and inclusive community,” Hepburn Shire Mayor Cr Tim Drylie said.
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The Big Rainbow will be installed in Daylesford over the next six months.
Mayor Drylie said that the council will launch a consultation with the local community to decide the best location for the Big Rainbow in Daylesford. The council has shortlisted four locations – Lake Daylesford, Lost Children’s Park, Victoria Park and the Daylesford Community Skate Park.
“We are so grateful for the support that people across the country have shown us in voting for Daylesford to be the home of The Big Rainbow. We have a long history of supporting our LGBTIQA+ community and visitors to our town, and we hope that The Big Rainbow will be an example of what it means to show love and support to everyone. We’re looking forward to having the community help us decide where the Big Rainbow will live,” added the Mayor.
The council is also hoping that the Big Rainbow will prove to be a big drawcard and attract more tourists to Daylesford.
“We see people seeking out the Big Pineapple in Queensland and the Big Merino in New South Wales, we believe The Big Rainbow will continue to add to our visitor experience in the beautiful Daylesford and Hepburn Shire,” said CEO Bradley Thomas.
Find out more about the Big Rainbow Project here.
