The multicultural Swedish city of Malmö has spent an estimated 900,000 Swedish kronor (£76,409/$108,045) on a 20-foot high pink unicorn as part of a World Pride event set for August.
The 20-foot high and 33-foot wide pink unicorn sculpture was unveiled in the public square in the heart of the city and is said to be a collaboration between Malmö’s local government and Malmö’s Pride organisation.
Local Social Democrat official Andreas Schönström, chairman of the Technical Board of the City of Malmö, commented on the new sculpture in a press release, saying: “The unicorn becomes a spreader of joy in the city, both among children and adults. Even in its colourful shimmer, it also carries a serious message when it reminds us playfully of the equal value of all people.”
“It will also be exciting to see what names the children give the unicorn when images of it are disseminated in different contexts,” Schönström added.
Anna Tenfält, project manager for World Pride in Malmö, praised the new sculpture, saying: “There’s something magical about unicorns. They symbolize how there is strength in breaking norms and being different.”
According to a report from the Swedish newspaper Expressen, the project cost the municipal government 900,000 Swedish kronor (£76,409/$108,045).
Andreas Schönström defended the cost of the sculpture, saying that it was worth the price and will be displayed around the city after the World Pride event in August.
The move comes after St Pauli church in the city unveiled a pro-LGBT painting at the church’s altar in December 2019, featuring same-sex couples and transgender characters in a scene from the Garden of Eden featured in the Book of Genesis.
Just weeks later, complaints emerged over the painting — not from conservative Swedish Christians, but from left-progressives who claimed the painting reflected badly on transgender people as they were depicted in a way that could be interpreted as associating them with the snake of the Garden of Eden.