Rainbow Riots

We are proud to share this international interview featuring our founder, Petter Wallenberg where his personal journey as a q***r artist and activist is closely connected to the work for LGBTQ+ rights, often under extremely challenging conditions.

In this video you can see rare footage of some of the most dramatic incidents that have taken place during Rainbow Riots ten years in Uganda, such as when Wallenberg and our Ugandan team were held hostage during a violent police raid of Pride Uganda.

The message that runs through the interview is clear: keep dancing, even when they throw stones. 🌈

They May Throw Stones at Me, But I’ll Keep Dancing | Story of Swedish Q***r Activist In this episode of 1001Lives, Swedish artist, musician, writer, and LGBTQ+ activist Petter Wallenberg shares his powerful journey.From expressing himself as ...

Yesterday, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, our founder Petter Wallenberg held a seminar for decision makers in Sweden to honour the often-forgotten LGBTQ victims of the Holocaust.

Hundreds of thousands of gay men were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered. Forced to wear pink triangles. Treated as less than human.
After the war, they received no apology or recognition — many were imprisoned again.

Today, LGBTQ+ hatred is rising again.

We’ve seen this before.
We know where it leads.

Remember. Speak up. Stop hate before history repeats itself. 🕯️🏳️‍🌈

Happy New Year, everyone! 🎉

2025 has been an incredible year for Rainbow Riots! We proudly celebrated a decade of work in Uganda—one of the world’s most challenging environments for q***r people. 💕

Our key achievements include:

-Conducting vital legal workshops that empower LGBT Ugandans to navigate and avoid victimization under the country’s anti-gay legislation.

-Collaborating on a dynamic exchange program involving a major London university and Swedish high schools.

A highlight was our founding director, Swedish artist Petter Wallenberg international music collaboration:

The project united Ugandan LGBTQ+ voices with US drag legend Lady Bunny on a powerful track, ”My love is the way it is supposed to be.”

Launched during World Pride 2025 in Washington, D.C., and showcased by the Embassy of Sweden, the song was hailed as a ”fabulous WorldPride anthem” by Attitude magazine.

We were also honored to win the ”World Pride Impact Rainbow Advocacy 2025 Award” from Our Pride (USA)!

Thank you for all your support! 🩷

Here’s to even more impact in 2026!🥳🥳🎉🎉

We are so thrilled to reveal that we have won a WorldPride Impact award from Rainbow Advocacy and the Charter for Compassion!

The award is for our collaboration between the Ugandan LGBTQ+ community, our founder, Swedish artist and activist Petter Wallenberg and American drag superstar Lady Bunny on the WorldPride 2025 anthem ”My love (is the way it is supposed to be)”

This recognition is wonderful and a great compliment to the work we do as Rainbow Riots joining together LGBTQ + communities across the world to make a change. The award gives a very important and much needed sense of pride to one of the most marginalised communities.

As one of our members in Uganda, where it is illegal to be LGBT, puts it:

”This project gave me a platform to express my identity openly and safely. It strengthened my confidence, self-worth, and visibility as a trans woman. It was also healing and empowering to transform my lived experiences into art that others could connect with. It also built solidarity among LGBTQ+ people while showing the wider public that our voices, struggles, and creativity matter."

The project was funded by Svenska institutet

✨Empowering some of the world’s most marginalized LGBT+ communities to stay safe and strong! ✨🌍

Check out this photo of Rainbow Riots founding director, Swedish artist and activist Petter Wallenberg, with our team in Kampala, Uganda. 💕🌈

In Uganda, being LGBT+ is illegal and dangerous, but Rainbow Riots has been standing strong for ten years, fostering resilience and hope within our community. 🌈

Beyond creative projects, we’re committed to capacity-building — recently hosting a 2-day legal and advocacy workshop with 20 brave participants in Kampala. Led by legal, security experts, and human rights advocates, our goal is to help marginalized Ugandans understand the anti-gay law, navigate risks, and find safe ways to advocate for change. 💕🌈

Together, we can build a future where no human is punished for being who they are! ✊🏽💙💕💪

With funding from Svenska institutet

🌈 Pride is more than just celebration — it’s a powerful moment for freedom, advocacy and solidarity. Our founder, Swedish artict and activist Petter Wallenberg, has dedicated his life to fighting hatred through creativity, working for LGBT rights in some of the world’s most dangerous countries and fighting against hate crimes in Sweden. He knows firsthand the importance of never taking our rights for granted.

This year, we are proud to announce that Petter has been invited to share his journey and insights at Stockholm Pride through two inspiring seminars:

🗓️ Thursday, July 31 ⏰ 12:00 PM – Pride House Panel with the Swedish Arts Council: Addressing the rising threats against q***r artistic expression worldwide.

🗓️ Thursday, July 31 ⏰ 3:00 PM – Pride House Discussion on The Rising Threats Against LGBTQIA+ Rights Globally — a vital conversation with politicians, activists, and artists about the urgent challenges we face.

Join us for these important talks on resilience, rights, and the power of creativity in the fight against hate. We hope to see you there! 🌟

🎉 We’re beyond thrilled to share the great response to our founding director Petter Wallenberg’s new single, “My Love (is the way it’s supposed to be)” — featuring New York drag legend Lady Bunny and q***r voices from Uganda, where it is illegal and dangerous to be LGBT. 🤩🌍

This isn’t just a song — it’s advocacy in the face of rising threats. We’re therefore grateful to see world-leading LGBT media & organizations like Yahoo, GLAAD, and Attitude championing this single and celebrating the cause. 🌈✨

For 10 years, Rainbow Riots has been on the ground in Uganda, fighting for LGBT rights in one of the world’s most hostile countries for q***r people. Music gives us a voice, a platform, and a way to make the world listen. Let’s keep pushing for change — because love is the way it’s supposed to be. 💪🌈

With funding from Svenska institutet