Pride House Birmingham will begin two and a half weeks of sweeping action on Friday with the aim of ensuring “difficult and difficult conversations” take place in a safe space at the Commonwealth Games.
The center is located in the heart of Birmingham’s gay village of Wynner House, just 100 meters from the Smithfield site, which will host beach volleyball, basketball and wheelchair basketball.
It will open its doors this week, with many LGBTQ+ events lining up every day. Entry will be free and must include visitors, athletes, fans, staff and volunteers.
On Friday, the panel will discuss the inclusion of transgender people in popular sport before DJ sets take place in the evening to celebrate their opening, with activities, shows, shows and entertainment until the last day of the Commonwealth Games in August.
Pride House Ambassador Amazin Leithy told the Palestinian Authority News Agency: “Owning a home of pride is very important for LGBT athletes.
“We need our own safe space to advocate for equality where LGBTQ+ athletes feel it is a place for them to be safe, but also to have these challenging and challenging conversations where we can bring different communities together.
“It’s a great time across the sport to bring everyone together to have these conversations.
“Inclusion of trans people is the last frontier. We’ve seen what happened in the US – and even in the UK – about Lia Thomas and now she’s swimming said that transgender women can’t compete at an elite level against other women, so I think it’s very important that we start Pride House With the inclusion of transgender people in the world. Sport to keep him always on top of minds.”
This year’s Commonwealth Games are the first to fully incorporate Pride House, which will help ensure the message of ‘Celebrate, Share and Educate’ reaches a wider audience in relation to the competitors.
We need our own safe space to advocate for equality where athletes from the LGBTQ+ community feel it’s a place for them to be safe, but also to have these tough, difficult conversations where we can bring different communities together.
The Ambassador of the House of Pride Amazin Laithy
Of the 72 countries participating in Birmingham 2022, at least half still have anti-LGBTQ+ laws, but LeThi believes current hosts can shape conversations about how to improve these issues in the coming years.
“It’s making sure you leave a legacy behind and I think the UK has that responsibility because a lot of the anti-LGBTQ+ laws came from the Commonwealth and the UK is colonizing those countries,” he added.
“We now have a moment to get things right in terms of bringing all of these countries together at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and really stand up for equality.
“We just remind all these countries of the reasons why it is important for LGBT people to be able to go out and be proud of their sport without any kind of backlash.
“I think as we host, we have a moment to define the legacy we want to leave behind and shape the conversations we want to take to Australia (in Melbourne 2026).”
Vietnamese-born Leithy is set to speak at Pride House Birmingham in August about next year’s Gay Games, where she also serves as an ambassador, which will be held in Hong Kong.
After experiencing sexism, homophobia, and racism during his journey from runner to bodybuilder, one of LeThi’s goals was to see more children of Asian descent thrive at the highest level in the sport.
She believes the increased appearance of British Asians at Birmingham 2022 could act as a catalyst for more popular participation, with Issei Wong – who has a Cantonese heritage – recently selected for England’s cricket team at the Games.
Lethe added: “There is a conversation the UK needs to have with itself at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham about diversity and inclusion in British sports and the reasons why we don’t see how many ethnic minority athletes we should see in the sport. Elite.
“When you consider that the landscape in the UK has changed, what should we do at the grassroots level so that more black and Asian children can play sports?
But in that crucial moment when Issei Wong appears on screen at the Commonwealth Games and a British-Asian boy sees her for the first time, they will realize they can represent the UK and England too.
“I believe Team GB, Team England and all UK sports organizations have a responsibility to promote root access to sport for the Asian community.”
