The 2025 Rainbow Honours shortlist has been revealed, bringing attention to the unsung heroes in the LGBTQIA community who work tirelessly throughout the year to promote equality, and drive change.
Notable nominees this year include Charli XCX, Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, Ncuti Gatwa, the Pet Shop Boys and Sir Elton John. The winners will be revealed at a star-studded awards ceremony on Friday 27th June at London Hilton on Park Lane.
Rainbow Honours 2024
Now in its fourth year, the awards sees a range of categories curated to celebrate individuals, organisations and unsung heroes who help to make the world, and the workplace, a better place for others.
With pioneering icon and founder Linda Riley leading the charge, the Rainbow Honours have expanded rapidly since their launch in 2022 and are now a major event on the entertainment calendar during Pride Month.
Speaking ahead of this years ceremony Riley says: “These awards recognise individuals, celebrities, brands and allies who have shown unwavering support for the LGBTQIA community over the past year. When stories of homophobia are rife across media, it’s so important for us to take a stand and shine a light on the positivity in the community. All these nominees’ dedication to advancing LGBTQIA rights, and the event will showcase their accomplishments fostering awareness and inspiring further progress.”
See the full list of nominees below:
Celebrity LGBTQIA Champion of the Year – Sponsored by FT
Cynthia Erivo
GK Barry
Iz Hesketh
Jaxon Feeley
Jonathan Bailey
Max Balegde
Ncuti Gatwa
Richard Gadd
Rylan
Yasmin Finney
Media Moment of the Year – sponsored by HSBC Innovation Banking
BAFTA – Mawaan Rizwan winning Male Performance in Comedy
Big Boys – Final Season
Big Brother – Ali Bromley winning
CNN – Ben Hunte joining as an Anchor & Correspondent
Coronation Street – Carla and Lisa kiss
EastEnders – Suki and Eve wedding
Heartstopper – Charlie and Nick storyline
Hollyoaks – Carter Shepherd storyline
Hunted – Jaxon Feeley winning
The Traitors – Leanne Quigley winning
Campaigner or Influencer of the Year – sponsored by Allianz Commercial
Ben Pechey
David Furnish
Ella Morgan
James Barr
Jayne Ozanne
Lady Phyll
Laura-Rose Thorogood
Marty Davies
Munroe Bergdorf
Ted Brown
Celebrity Ally of the Year – sponsored by Paramount
Balvinder Sopal
Charli XCX
Dame Arlene Phillips DBE
Dermot O’Leary
Esther Ghey
Jordan Stephens
Olivia Colman CBE
Sade
Sally Lindsay
Tyrone Mings
Musician of the Year
Anthony Lexa
Cat Burns
Darkoo
Jason Patel
Lola Young
Noahfinnce
Nxdia
Pet Shop Boys
Sir Elton John
The Last Dinner Party
Community Initiative of the Year – sponsored by Centrica
GIN UK
Goal Diggers FC
Pride in Ageing
Proud 2 b Parents
Rainbow Toffees
The Rainbow Lottery
Tomorrow Meets Today
Trans+ History Week
UK Black Pride
We Create Space
Charity of the Year – Sponsored by GSK
Fighting With Pride
Just Like Us
LGBT Foundation
London Friend
Micro Rainbow
MindOut
Not a Phase
SAYiT
Switchboard
The Proud Trust
Outstanding LGBTQIA Network of the Year
Pride – Amey
Proud Network – CBRE UK
Pride Matters – Colt Technology Services
BeYou@Entain – Entain
Spectrum UK&I – GSK
Pride – Haleon
Proud@Sainsbury’s – Sainsbury’s
Pride – Softcat
PLUS – Sopra Steria
PRISM – Specsavers
Pride Alliance – Walgreens Boots Alliance
Wipro Pride – Wipro
Outstanding LGBTQIA Network (Utilities) of the Year
Pride Network – BT Group
+ – Centrica
LGBT+ and Friends – E.ON
LGBTQ+ Supporters Network – EDF Energy
Pride Network – Octopus Energy
Pride in Ourselves – OVO
In-Fuse – ScottishPower
LGBT+ at Sky – SKY UK Ltd
Proudly – Virgin Media O2
LGBT+ Friends Network – Vodafone
Outstanding LGBTQIA Network (Finance, Insurance & Legal) of the Year
LGBTQ+ Network – A&O Shearman
OpenAG – Addleshaw Goddard
Pride Colleague Community – Ardonagh Advisory
Spectrum – Barclays
Breathe – KPMG
L&GBT+Allies Network – L&G
Lockton Pride – Lockton
Mpride – Metro Bank
LGBTQ+ Network – Simmons & Simmons
equaliTW – Taylor Wessing
Vibrant – Virgin Money
Head of Diversity of the Year
Paul Modley – AMS
Tim Hardy-Lenik – Belron International
Wayne Page – Brit Insurance
Vijay Chohan – British Airways
Geoffrey Williams – Burberry
Jane Grammer – Dorchester Collection
Jane Francis – EDF Energy
Kate Aldridge – England & Wales Cricket Board
Ian Tomney-Bell – giffgaff
Amber Sorrell – Haleon
Victoria Edwards – Lockton
Alessandro Storer – OVO
Corporate LGBTQIA Champion of the Year
Marie-Helene Tyack – Allianz Commercial
Lewis Bell – Booking.com
Daisy Reeves – Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
Tim Baros – Deutsche Bank
Annie Newman – GSK
Lee Isaacs – Just Eat
Andrew Lord – Leigh Day
Motie Bring – PPRO
Robin Panrucker – Taylor Wessing
Adam Jarvis – Tesco
Chris Edwards – Travers Smith
Matthew Herridge – Virgin Media O2
LGBTQIA Network Lead of the Year – Sponsored by CBRE
Stuart Wright – Baillie Gifford
Steven Waggott – Centrica
Kelvin Chen – Deliveroo
Mark Armario – EE
Lisa Gronberg – HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd
Jayne Mugglestone – Manchester Metropolitan University
David Enwright – Post Office Ltd
Carolyn Hopper – Quilter
Matt Mundy – RBC Wealth Management
Bryn Jones – ViiV Healthcare & James Wood – GSK
Jon Hilton – Virgin Atlantic
Julien Brain – Wipro
Large Brand or Organisation of the Year
Amey
Colgate-Palmolive
DHL Group
first direct
Gi Group
Haleon
Hyatt
LV=
Ocado Group
Ogilvy UK
Pfizer
Inspirational Role Model of the Year
Alex Wotton – Ageas
Michael Caley-Cook – AMS
Matthew Jones – Weightmans
Peter Geering – Frazer-Nash Consultancy
Melissa Brette Ogée – Park Hyatt London River Thames
Greg Turner-Smart – Rolls-Royce SMR
Gruffudd Evans – S4C
Michael Briggs – Shoosmiths
Adelle Barker – Sky UK Ltd
Anna Deignan – The Premier League
Siân Keall – Travers Smith
Barry Hembling – Watson Farley & Williams
Corporate Ally of the Year – Sponsored by Deutsche Bank
Emma Charlton – Amey
Pete Markey – Boots UK
Hannelore Bennett – CGI
Alan Holmes – Clyde & Co
Priyanka Patel – Colgate-Palmolive
Cadence Willis – Collinson Group
Rachael Somerset – Level
Simon Pryce – RS Group plc
Cui He – SHEIN
Katie Heppell – Sky UK Ltd
Karen Myers – TD Securities
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