Rainbow QuarterThe independent guide to gay Blackpool

Be You: the Be Who You Want To Be programme

Be Who You Want To Be, now usually called Be You, is Blackpool Council's plan to recognise and invest in the town's LGBTQ+ quarter, the streets around Queen Street, Dickson Road, Lord Street and Springfield Road in Claremont and North Shore.

What it is for

The idea is simple: a neighbourhood where anyone can go out, socialise and celebrate difference without fear of homophobic, transphobic or any other abuse. Alongside that, it aims to celebrate the town's long LGBTQ+ heritage, bring new life and investment to the area, and build inclusion across the wider town.

The plan grew out of 2023 proposals to formally recognise the gay quarter. A survey and focus groups in autumn 2023 shaped it, and the council's executive approved the action plan on 22 January 2024. It was drawn up with local businesses, the Renaissance charity, the town's hoteliers and Blackpool Pride, and later partners include United Youth Alliance and the Blackpool Rainbow Alliance.

The action plan

The plan has eight themes:

  • Streets and public spaces: tidier footways, greening, better lighting and Illuminations-style feature lighting, with Queen Street, Dickson Road, Abingdon Street and Lord Street as priority streets.
  • Safety and security: a CCTV review, an extended Pub Watch, a night-time safe space, more patrols, Street Angels, Ask for Angela, a safer-taxi scheme and bystander training.
  • Arts, heritage and culture: a new culture hub at the Grundy and Central Library, support for queer arts groups, public art, and recording local LGBTQ+ history.
  • Young people: a youth survey, a youth voice group and a youth-led look at night-time safety.
  • Health and wellbeing: a trans and gender-diverse health needs assessment, better mental health support, improved sexual health access including PrEP, and work towards ending new HIV transmissions.
  • Business: promoting the evening economy and exploring a café-culture approach.
  • Marketing and communications.
  • Governance: a friends group, an LGBTQ+ forum and a high street board.

Delivered so far

  • Rainbow crossings (March 2024): two Dickson Road zebra crossings and the Dickson Road and Springfield Road junction in Progress Pride colours, with rainbow lamppost wraps. One crossing was vandalised the day after it was painted, and the council referred it to police.
  • Streets: Progress Pride street signs, planters on Lord Street, Queen Street, Dickson Road and Springfield Road, and more than 30 new lighting columns.
  • CCTV: a new camera on Lord Street, with more planned.
  • Defibrillators: around £4,000 raised by the community for public-access defibrillators outside venues.
  • Growth: 29 LGBTQ+ venues, 15 of them new, creating about 52 jobs, by January 2026.
  • Events: the first Rainbow Quarter Street Party at Pride 2026, run by more than 20 local businesses.

The quality marks

In January 2026 the council adopted the Be You brand and two quality marks:

  • Be You Business Quality Mark: for bars, clubs, restaurants, hotels and shops that offer a genuinely welcoming environment. It was developed by the council's public health team with Renaissance, which runs it. Venues complete an audit and can then display a Be You window graphic.
  • Be You Youth Provider Quality Mark: led by United Youth Alliance, for organisations that build LGBTQ+ inclusion into their work with young people.

Separately, several Blackpool organisations hold Lancashire LGBT's long-running inclusion quality mark, including both main colleges and a group of town-centre GP surgeries. See quality mark GPs and colleges.

How a business can join

Contact Renaissance at 102 Dickson Road (01253 311431) about the Business Quality Mark. Youth groups should contact United Youth Alliance. Businesses can also join the local business group, sign up to Pub Watch, Hotel Watch and Ask for Angela, and take part in the Pride street party.