Oldebroek city council’s new conservative coalition has ended the municipality’s rainbow flag display and scrapped its diversity and LGBT policies, prompting a public backlash in the Dutch town. The coalition described the flag as “unchristian.”
In response, resident Kjeld Mooi paid for a full-page rainbow flag advertisement in the local newspaper, with more than 250 donors helping to fund the campaign. He said the community should protect vulnerable people if it the municipality will not do so.
The rainbow flag had been flown on the town hall since 2021, after discussions with residents about safety, resilience, and acceptance for LGBT people. Oldebroek is now said to be the first Dutch municipality to include the removal of LGBT and diversity policies in a governing agreement.
The decision has also revived concern about hostility toward rainbow symbols. Last year, a resident who had hung a rainbow flag outside his home found two bullet holes in one window.
The backlash became visible on Thursday, July 9, when hundreds gathered outside city hall and councilors left their first meeting to a sea of rainbow flags. Organizers said the protest was not just about a flag but the municipality’s wider policy shift.
