The Leeds Freedom Bridge is a

railway bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

(HUL4/53) that crosses over the area known as gayleeds on

Lower Briggate Briggate is a pedestrianised principal shopping street in Leeds city centre, England. Historically it was the main street, leading north from Leeds Bridge, and housed markets, merchant's houses and other business premises. It contains many his ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

. This area is also where an annual LGBT+ parade

Leeds Pride Leeds Pride is an annual LGBT Pride celebration held in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Leeds Pride is one of the biggest free pride events in the UK. History Leeds Pride first took place in August 2006 (then called Leeds Gay Pride ...

finishes, the bridge is now painted in the rainbow colours of the

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. History In the 18th century, American Revolutionary ...

. The bridge was due vital repairs by

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...

but it was suggested by LGBT+ campaigner Thomas Wales that they should take this opportunity to re-paint the bridge in the rainbow colours of the Rainbow flag, in order to relate to the

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

area of Leeds surrounding it. The maintenance work on the bridge began in September 2016 and was completed with the paintwork just in time for Valentines Day in February 2017. Once it was completed it became known as the 'Freedom Bridge’ a term coined by local LGBT+ activist Ross McCusker, the term itself relates to the rainbow paintwork which is inspired by the San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker's Freedom Flag. Thomas Wales mentioned that the idea came about because it had been mentioned by a few individuals that they wanted to highlight the changing, progressive landscape of the city. Leeds City Council and local business' also contributed their support to the project.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Leeds Bridges in West Yorkshire Listed buildings in Leeds