The town’s police station has been turning heads after dark since Saturday night, when exterior rainbow lights were switched on for the first time.
They will remain in situ for the duration of Winter Pride.
It is the first police station in New Zealand to be lit up in support of the rainbow community.
Queenstown police diversity liaison officer Detective Constable Alex Cully said each year the police had seen other businesses around the resort town show their support for the rainbow community and Winter Pride by flying the flags, and had sometimes joined in, "but it just felt like it wasn’t quite enough".
"This year the thought occurred to us to do this, and making it a real talking point for everyone that’s in Queenstown for Winter Pride — we got the go-ahead, and we decided to do it ..."
"They came up with the inspiration for how it was going to look and have just been super-supportive to our cause," Det Const Cully said.
Winter Pride co-director Martin King said seeing the lights switched on was a "pretty emotional" moment.
"I think when public institutions, like police, actually show their commitment through doing something as a public statement, you know that it is really hard fought for.
"So you know there are people internally who are saying ‘we need to do better; we need to show that we actually care’.
"By them doing that, it changes people’s lives.
"It also sets a standard for other people to go ... ‘if the police can do it, we probably should be having a think about it, too’."
She hoped to see other police stations follow Queenstown’s lead when Pride festivals were held in other parts of the country to show their support and ensure members of the LGBTQIA+ communities felt safe.
Winter Pride runs until Sunday.
