Sweden praised for ‘imaginative’ LGBT-friendly traffic lights

Stockholm is set to install LGBT-friendly traffic lights in celebration of the city’s Pride week.

The Swedish capital will join numerous European cities in setting up the lights, which will replace a lone figure with same-sex couples holding hands or embracing.

With separate lenses for green and red lights, there will be 96 images of LGBT partners flashing across Stockholm between July 31 and August 6.

“We want to show that we’re an LGBT-friendly city – and show that even in tough traffic!” the capital city’s deputy mayor Daniel Helldén told news outlet The Local.

“We stand for one Stockholm for all,” he added.

And he suggested that the move could become permanent, saying: “It would of course be nice to have them up all year round.”

However, he explained that the final decision would be down to the transport authorities.

The announcement means that Pride Park, near the Olympic Stadium in the centre of the city, will be surrounded with images of same-sex couples.

Helldén said that responses to the plan had so far been “generally very positive,” with residents having praised their city for “caring and having some imagination”.

Last year, before hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, the city put traffic lights in place which played winning songs from previous years.

Loreen’s ‘Euphoria’ – the winning song from 2012 – could be heard at a red light.