Around New England

Rainbow Flag Artifact Arrives in Provincetown With LGBTQIAPK-Oriented Cruise Ship

August 15, 2019

A cruise ship marketed to homosexuals arrived at Provincetown Harbor on the northern tip of Cape Cod bearing sections of a rainbow flag that the late designer made for the 25th anniversary of the original flag.

Gilbert Baker (1951-2017) designed the first rainbow flag in San Francisco in 1978. It had eight colors, but two of them (hot pink and turquoise) proved difficult to mass-manufacture, so the most common version of the flag nowadays has only six colors.

In 2003, he designed a 25th anniversary version, according to The Cape Cod Times. Sections of the flag are expected to be displayed in Provincetown during the visit.

Provincetown isn’t a typical destination for cruise ships, which in New England more commonly make stops in Newport, Rhode Island; Boston; Portland, Maine; and Bar Harbor, Maine. But this cruise ship, arranged by a travel company that touts “serving the entire LGBTQIAPK community,” arrived in Provincetown at 3 a.m. Thursday, August 15, according to The Cape Cod Times.

Provincetown has the highest percentage of same-sex couples in the United States.

The ship is scheduled to leave Provincetown at 5 p.m. Friday, August 16.

Cruises arranged by the company are restricted to people 18 and older.

The cruise ship, called Celebrity Summit, is built to hold up to 2,218 passengers.