Renaissance World Tour: “Pride starts now” with Beyoncé’s queerest extravaganza ever
Beyoncé has just delivered her queerest show to date. After paying homage to the Black and Brown LGBTQ+ pioneers of ballroom with her lauded seventh studio album, the pop icon continued to showcase her allyship during the opening night of the Renaissance World Tour in Stockholm, Sweden (10 May).
As the show began, rainbow colours were projected on the screen; resembling static bars that appear on a television when there’s no signal.
It was, in fact, the groundbreaking Progress Pride Flag. (Read our brief history on the queer term “mother!” because you’ll be hearing it a lot throughout this article.) The aforementioned flag includes the six rainbow hues in Gilbert Baker’s original iconic design, but includes the trans colours and black and brown tones to better reflect the trans community, queer people of colour and to honour the lives of those who died from complications with AIDS.
The designer, Daniel Quasar, said their aim was to “shift focus and emphasise to what is important in our current community climate.” Fans lauded the star for the inclusive message, with one Twitter user writing: “BEYONCÉ INCORPORATING THE PROGRESS PRIDE FLAG INTO HER STAGE IS A NEW LEVEL OF MOTHERING WOAH.” Another wrote: “Beyonce’s concert is centered around black queer culture, the progressive pride flag is in fullscreen and the dancers are part of the ballroom/vogue scene, in this climate against the LGBTQ+ community?
