Countries Criminalizing Homosexuality Unlikely To Host Commonwealth Games, Official Says

Katie Sadleir, CEO of The Commonwealth Games Federation, has announced that countries which criminalize homosexuality are less likely to host the future games, according to Gay Times.

Speaking ahead of the 2022 Games taking place in Birmingham from July 28, Sadlier said considering human rights records was important to the organization.

Of the 54 countries in the Commonwealth, 35 criminalize same-sex activity with many of these laws in place being from British colonial times.

“I think one of the things that is really important about the Commonwealth Games is its values – humanity, destiny, and equity are embedded in most of the things that we do,” she told the BBC.

This means some countries in Africa and the Caribbean are less likely to host the games in the future.

Team GB and Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley has previously called for countries criminalizing same-sex relations to not be able to host big sporting events.

This comes after FIFA faced backlash for allowing Qatar, where there are limited LGBTQ+ rights, to host the 2022 World Cup.

Sadlier has also confirmed that athletes will be able to wave the Pride flag on the podiums for the first time.

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