Rainbow Honours: Fun, Inspiration and Emotions at the first LGBTQ+ Award in London

4th of December 2019, London. A very cold night and an unusual queue for that time, in the evening, outside Madame Tussauds. At 7pm a door opens, a red carpet is on the floor: the Rainbow Honours are starting.

The awards have been organised with DivaMagazine and Openly, and GlitterBeam has been shortlisted in the “Small Brand” category. Let us stop here a second to say thank you to all of you: the shortlist was based on an open public vote, where people can nominate every organisation/person that, in their opinion, was worth the award. We were extremely surprised to see that we were shortlisted. It’s a big achievement for us in the few months of GlitterBeam’s life, and a huge encouragement. We were the only radio station in the room! But let’s go back to London. At the entrance a medal was given to every nominee, and some photos taken; after this, we were able to jump on the “Spirit Of London” ride: jumping on a black taxi and witnessing the historical and cultural events that have shaped London into one of the greatest cities in the world. A lift brought us to the third floor: a glass of champagne and open bar for all, while the room was becoming increasingly busy. The best of the LGBTQ+ businesses and personalities was there.

Last stop of this “mini-tour” was the “World Stage”; we sat on our table , met other nominees and the dinner started. 9:30pm… it’s time for the show with the stunning Courtney Act and the very handsome Duncan James. Both comfortables on the stage as presenters, they introduce guests and awards.

Here are the winners:

Lifetime Achievement Awards – Sue Sanders

LGBTQ Icon – Sue Perkins

Media Moment – “Brookside” (First Lesbian Kiss in a UK soap)

Celebrity Ally – Sadiq Khan

Campaigner/Influencer – Peter Tatchell

Marketing Campaign – Skittles

Charity – AKT

Corporate Ally – Keziah Halliday (NHS England)

Trans Advocate – Adrian Harrop

Large Organisation/Brand – Touchstone

Small Brand – Spanners With Manners

Housing Provider – Catalyst Housing

LGBTQ Champion – Bobbi Pickard

New LGBTQ Network Group – Prism Jacobs

LGBTQ Network Group – AdobeProud Network (Adobe)

We have heard inspiring speeches, amazing stories, incredible talent, from that stage. We haven’t won in our category (congratulations to “Spanners with Manners”!) but that wasn’t the point at all. The point was to meet amazing people that every day in their business, in their life, actively help the LGBTQ+ community; the point was to see all those smiles, all those chats, all those people gathering and meeting together. 11pm…The award show ends, the Dj and the entertainment kicks in until late night.

Everyone is now back to their activities, in their amazing job to support and help the LGBTQ+ community…until next year for another magic night full of rainbows.