On Saturday, British band Years & Years appeared on Polish reality TV show The Voice of Poland.
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During the performance, the band’s lead singer, Olly Alexander, wore a bright, rainbow outfit.
The outfit was believed to have been worn at the request of a Polish LGBT publication, Queer.pl.
Aaaa! @yearsandyears in @TVP this Saturday! Sending love from Polish LGBTQ community. We'd love to see a rainbow on our national TV, can we count on you @alexander_olly? :) ❤️🏳️🌈 @TheVoicePoland @PinkNews @gaystarnews @AttitudeMag @outmagazine @Independent https://t.co/qE1fekZVMH
Alex Brzana and Magda Dropek, employees of the publication, told BuzzFeed News that it reached out to Alexander, who is gay, and the band following the news of their appearance, in the hope they would give some sort of support to the Polish LGBT community,
“Considering Olly’s engagement in LGBTQ issues we knew he’d be down to do it,” said Brzana. “Especially that the director of Polish national television Jacek Kurski once said that same-sex couples can’t be shown in dating shows (Poland’s version of First Dates), because Polish Constitution and Polish law say that family is a union between a man and a woman.”
First Dates Poland and The Voice of Poland share the same network, TVP, making the latter the perfect place for the gesture.
In Poland, discrimination against LGBT people is illegal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
In the end, Alexander wore rainbows more than once.
wait for it...
The performance on The Voice of Poland was a huge success.
@alexander_olly thank you for wearing this rainbow outfit! we need it in polish TV 🌈
@alexander_olly amazing performance tonight babe 💖🌈
When gay British singer and LGBT rights advocate @alexander_olly agreed to perform on Polish state TV, whose director has barred same-sex couples from dating shows, @queerpl asked him if he could display a 🏳️🌈 symbol. He went one step further and wore one https://t.co/ze8KDhbGnk
And Queer.pl and fans of the band were extremely grateful.
i love how @alexander_olly wore nothing but rainbows for his performances on polish tv. we stan a gay king. homophobic poland is shaking
“We are very happy that Olly heard our and our readers’ message,” said Dropek. “The LGBTQ community in Poland doesn’t have equal rights, we don’t have civil partnerships or same-sex marriages, and homophobic and transphobic hate crimes are not barred in our penal code, there’s no anti-discrimination education in schools. We still face many difficulties, especially in our current political situation. That’s why any gesture of solidarity is very important for us.”
Following the reaction, Alexander tweeted, thanking his fans.
thanks @queerpl for your support and all the polish bbs who asked me to wear a rainbow ❤️🧡💜💙💛 https://t.co/TMAAyBgLWc