4-Mile Laser Rainbow Flag Lights Up SF for Pride Weekend

The majesty of San Francisco’s Market Street will be rekindled Friday, June 24, with a 4.1-mile laser Pride flag that will stretch from the Ferry Building to Twin Peaks.

Dubbed WELCOME, the massive art installation is the brainchild and collaboration of San Francisco- based arts non-profit Illuminate and Nu-Salt Laser International. It will recall the city’s early history as a gateway to the world while redeclaring its modern aspirations of inclusivity, warmth and openness – an especially important message today.

With a 49-foot width and a length exceeding four miles, the installation will consist of six colored laser beams emanating from the Ferry Building, shooting horizontally above Market Street, rising at a subtle 3-degree angle to overtake Twin Peaks in the distance.

Ben Davis, the creative mind behind Illuminate and its flagship project The Bay Lights, is excited to welcome back visitors and reclaim San Francisco under the banner and spirit of Gilbert Baker’s Pride Flag. “As our City rises from the ashes of COVID and invites us to return,” Davis explains, “we are calling the six beams of light that will shine from the Ferry Building down the corridor of Market Street … quite simply, WELCOME.”

In tandem with WELCOME’s 3-day presence, project underwriter Peak Design has invited its vast network of Bay Area photographers and creatives to chronicle the installation and share images and video via social media with the hashtag #WelcomeSF.

“This installation is one of the coolest things we’ve ever supported and we invite all of our creative community to come and visually document the spectacle,” said Peak Design Founder, Peter Dering. “San Francisco has always been our home, and we’re proud to celebrate the LGBTQ community and remind the world what SF stands for: Love and inclusion.”

WELCOME will illuminate Market Street from 9:30pm to midnight on Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26. For more information, please visit: Illuminate

 

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