{"id":1440,"date":"2018-11-20T05:39:02","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T04:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=1440"},"modified":"2025-08-20T07:58:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T06:58:17","slug":"couple-lgbt-lights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/couple-lgbt-lights\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Couples&#8221; pedestrian lights"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/couples.jpg\" alt=\"red light with couples design\" class=\"wp-image-6387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/couples.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/couples-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Vienna has various iconic images&#8230;the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stefansdom\/\">cathedral roof<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/riesenrad\/\">giant Ferris wheel<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/mapsgeography\/the-danube\/\">Danube<\/a>, the lights at pedestrian crossings. Um, hang on&#8230;the what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Lights feature both mixed and same-sex couples<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Popular photo motif for visitors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Easy to find near the city centre (see map below)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/travel-and-weather\/\">Travel in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/eurovision-2026\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"83760\">Eurovision 2026<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Eurovision legacy<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/queercouplescrossing.jpg\" alt=\"Couples pedestrian lights\" class=\"wp-image-49301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/queercouplescrossing.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/queercouplescrossing-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(One love)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yep, the pedestrian traffic lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since their appearance in 2015, the &#8220;couples&#8221; red and green symbols have proved a huge hit with both visitors and the world&#8217;s media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can thank the singer, Conchita Wurst, for their appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in 2014, Conchita&#8217;s rousing performance of <em>Rise like a Phoenix<\/em> won the Eurovision Song Contest for Austria<sup>1<\/sup>, a win that came with the privilege of hosting the following year&#8217;s event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For those who don&#8217;t know, the Eurovision TV spectacle is a big deal in Europe, attracting over 180 million viewers each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In honour of the 2015 contest, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/eurovision-2026\/#viennaeurovision\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"83760\">held in Vienna&#8217;s Stadthalle<\/a>, the city authorities took the opportunity to make a statement on equality, sexuality and tolerance by installing &#8220;couples&#8221; red and green lights at around 50 locations.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/queercouplescrossing1.jpg\" alt=\"Lesbian pedestrian crossing lights\" class=\"wp-image-55633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/queercouplescrossing1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/queercouplescrossing1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(One love part 2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each light has either a mixed, all-female or all-male couple in both &#8220;stop&#8221; and &#8220;go&#8221; versions; each one generally features a heart somewhere on the image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The original plan was to take the lights down after the event, but they proved so popular that they stayed. Which is just as well, given Eurovision&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/eurovision-2026\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"83760\">return to Vienna<\/a> in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as their value as a social statement and tourist attraction, the new symbols actually improve road safety. One study revealed that fewer people <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/cross-the-road-safely-vienna\/\">cross the road<\/a> at red when the lights feature the couples, rather than the usual single man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where to find the lights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1TXPbw4n95F1Z-nTLYpQIgWY4fp6eiKu_\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>On my travels, I&#8217;ve been marking the couple lights as I come across them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The map above shows those I&#8217;ve found so far. You can tell which side of Vienna city centre I live on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look out for them around many of the tourist hotspots, such as the Rathausplatz, near the State Opera House, up the main shopping street (Mariahilfer Stra\u00dfe), or at either end of the MuseumsQuartier. Just keep your eyes open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>Last time I visited, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/austrian-history\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"10113\">House of Austrian History<\/a> even had a display with the dress Conchita wore during her winning appearance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vienna has various iconic images&#8230;the cathedral roof, the giant Ferris wheel, the Danube, the lights at pedestrian crossings. Um, hang on&#8230;the what? The Eurovision legacy (One love) Yep, the pedestrian traffic lights. Since their appearance in 2015, the &#8220;couples&#8221; red and green symbols have proved a huge hit with both visitors and the world&#8217;s media. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1440","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-transport","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1440"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85312,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions\/85312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}