Utrecht’s Rainbow Canon: timeline of queer history

1730 Sodomy trials
A wave of persecution started in Utrecht

1816 Thirthy 'Utrechtenaren' convicted
Sodomites outlaws under the Code Pénal

1911 Homosexuality in criminal law
Thousands persecuted and convicted

1940 World War II
The pink triangle

1947 'Utrechtenaar' banned
The unwanted connotation of ‘homosexual’

1950 Establishment of COC Utrecht
Utrecht's oldest queer organisation

1958 Nightlife
Molly houses, condoning pubs, women’s cafes and gay bars

1963 De Kringen
Support groups for ‘homophiles’

1969 PANN
Largest queer youth organization in the Netherlands

1971 Group 7152
Oldest organization for lesbian and bi-women in The Netherlands

1974 Churches Information Working Group
Group of Christian lesbians and gays

1975 De Heksenkelder
First Dutch women’s bookshop and cafe

1979 COC above ground
Visible in the city

1982 Gay and lesbian studies
Utrecht students and teachers make homosexuality visible

1986 National Pride Day
Three times in Utrecht

1987 AIDS
Healthcare innovation in the university hospital

1997 Pink Spring en Midzomergracht
Festival that celebrates diversity

2005 EuroGames
International sports event

2007 Annie Brouwer-Korf Award
Annual LGBTQIA+ City Award

2013 Symbols in public space
Crossing, traffic lights and cycle path

2017 Utrecht Pride
Largest LGBTQIA+ event in the city

2020 Death Saïd Zankoua
Violence, exclusion and discrimination