#louis rainbow project

[louisupdates]

Louis reacts to the rainbow lights fan project (during Common People), HAMBURG [29.8.2023] 📸 alwaysghits_, niallerry1309

[takemehomefromnarnia]

10 years of Rainbow Direction!

Exactly 10 years ago a girl named Danny printed out this rainbow poster and took it to the first concert of One Direction's Where We Are tour:

Anniversaries are always a bit arbitrary, and Rainbow Direction's was always a hard one to pin down.

This blog is just a day or two short of celebrating 11 years and without it Rainbow Direction would have never existed, because the people who were at the start of it would never have met, but its purpose and setup were entirely different and RD was still far from being developed.

The suggestions that eventually took form in "Project Rainbow Direction" were first submitted to the blog in late 2013. The first brainstorm between Kat, Li and Ellis about it, and further strategy talks with Ed and Molly took place in the early months of 2014. The project was announced in February. Haven and Red submitted their winning poster designs in March. Amy developed a logo and opened a merch store for us in early April.

While we've often referred to that midnight brainstorm on a cold January day as the origin of rainbow direction, that was only its conception. We don't even have a record of which date it was. We could also have chosen any of the more pin-downable dates: announcing the project, announcing the poster contest winners, opening the store. But really, all that Rainbow Direction was at those moments, was an idea, a plan, the hope that we had that it was within our, the fandom's power, to change something for the better for the LGBTQIA+ fans in it.

For months all of us, and especially Li, had worked tirelessly to encourage people to sign up and commit to bringing a rainbow poster to a show.

And then the big moment was there. First day of tour. The moment of truth. Would the people we'd encouraged actually have the courage to take a rainbow to a show, and stick it up in the air? Would it matter to people? Would it actually change something?

10 years on, we know that it did. So much more than we could ever have imagined.

But that was was anything but self-evident at the time. We had no idea. We nervously monitored the wwa tag and the blogs of those who had signed up, and then, after a few days, finally this report appeared. Danny from Bogota shared the first Rainbow Direction fan report.

I think if you'd ask any of us who were here at the time, they'd remember fondly how knowing that someone had actually done it, something happened in the real world, and if one person had done it, more would, how that sparked a fire in our hearts. A ball of warm feelings, not quite the same feeling as before. Before, there had been buzz and excitement and drive, but this, this felt different. Hope. A sense of the personal strength, and collective power, that could come from this if we could make it grow. It took a lot of hard work from a lot of people who committed themselves tirelessly to the campaign, but grow it did.

Thanks to Danny. Thanks to all of you who at some point or other, crafted something rainbow at home, took a rainbow to a show, put a rainbow on your blog, showed that you believed in your own power to change something, and showed the LGBTQI+ people in the fandom that they mattered, and that you cared.

It has been quite the roller coaster ride. As the coordinating group, we've had many ups and downs, and by now, for most of us, our attention has been drawn away from the fandom by our real lives and new pursuits. But regularly, when one of us checks in and sees the rainbows at one of the boys' shows, we share, revel, and sit amazed at how this thing, that once took so much effort on our part to get one, two, three people per show signed up, has grown into a regular staple, with people spontaneously taking it upon themselves to organize for entire venues to light up in a coordinated rainbow pattern, to design new posters and rainbow outfits, or to hand out hundreds of mini rainbow flags in the audience. This community has taken it up as its collective responsibility - let's get those rainbows out. How beautiful is that?! You are all so so amazing.

Thank you, you beautiful people, for becoming a part of this, for making it your own, for making it better, for carrying it forward, into the future.

So long!

[anxiouspunk]

lights for saturdays ↳FITF Tour 2023, Accor Arena, Paris

[so-idialed-9]

"This looks fucking amazing." 😭 all I've ever wanted in life is for Louis to have this level of rainbow moment.

Twitter

full video from Team 1D Feance on IG

FITF tour Paris, 10.14.23. Well done Paris and Team 1D France

[sunshineandlyrics]

✨🏳️‍🌈✨ The rainbow lights and flags, (almost exactly) from Louis' POV during the Rainbow Megamix ✨🏳️‍🌈✨

FITFWT Hollywood Bowl, 30 June 2023

[rainbowmegamix]

Rainbow Megamix :: Help Needed!

The Rainbow Megamix Mini Project has been going officially for a week now and it keeps growing with each show looking incredible, the rainbows flying during All This Time and SIBWAWC. Every volunteer reports how excited people are to wave their rainbows during those songs and the flags are always gone incredibly quickly, giving them a rush of excitement and happiness seeing them fly high after.

The project has already been an amazing success, but we still need your help!

We have one show that as of now does not have any volunteers to help pass out flags that we will send to you! If you are attending the show in Hollywood, Florida and are willing to be of assistance, please let us know! You can find all of the up to date volunteer information here, and if you're willing to volunteer for any of the other upcoming fitfwt shows, please reach out. We would love to have you! Thanks again! 🌈 13 July - Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood (Hollywood, FL)

[fitfwtvancouver]

We've set up a donations page to help us achieve a sea of rainbow lights and flags. This admin's personal favorite, Milan last year in April. But oh, there were so many!

We expect people to bring their own flags, but due to the lack of pride flags at the shows this year, we hope to provide people with some with whatever money we can raise. If you can help out, any amount is appreciated!

If not, please reblog and share around ! :D THANK YOU!

[crinkle-eyed-boo]

give him a rainbow lights project during megamix🥲 I know he's missing it and wondering where it all went. I read on twt ppl saying there's no queer anthem like otb so ofc there are no flags. have ppl even heard FITF in entirety😭

Anon, I totally agree that the Megamix is SCREAMING for a rainbow project, especially during SIBWAWC. I mean...why ELSE does Louis keep saying "Keep it going" during the whole "surrounded by lights" bit? Because as someone pointed out last night (I think it was @londonfoginacup)...there's no SINGING during that section. So what EXACTLY does he want to keep going?

The lights. Duh.

I am definitely not the person to undertake a project of this kind of magnitude (the IRL job is mentally draining and takes up so much of my bandwidth) but I am going to answer this ask in hopes of someone who IS that person seeing this post. I will be the first person to put up my assigned colors in Nashville and New York if this becomes a thing. You have my word on that.

FWIW, just because there hasn't been a set song, doesn't mean there haven't been rainbows! I've seen them at every show I've watched. But I totally get missing the en masse moment that OTB created.

IF LOUIS REALLY WANTED TO CAUSE CHAOS HE COULD JUST...IDK...PUT IT BACK ON THE SET LIST. IT'S A NINETY SECOND SONG BOO!

[larentslovechaos]

the rainbow project was so beautiful tonight 🏳️‍🌈

[kieumy]

somehow fitfwt has managed to be gayer than ltwt and the bar was REALLY high

[savebylou]

Fan project for Face The Music [📷:LouiesConnected, FITFWT Bogotá, 28.05.24].

[louisupdates]

Rainbow project for We Made It, Louis Tomlinson, SUPERBLOOM FESTIVAL [8.9.2024] 📸 faith.in.lt

[whoreforlarrystuff]

[aestheteinreverie]

the same moment :’)

@lhrry , I hope you know how much these projects matter to queer people in the fandom who only quietly watch and cry. Thank you for everything you do. I am so happy for you and us. 🤍

[so-idialed-9]

Team 1D France's full video for Saturdays via IG

[sunshineandlyrics]

Louis and his band's reactions to the Paris lights fan project by @ Team1DFrance 🥹❤️✨

FITFWT Paris, 14 October 2023