EU backs exhibition at new Pride House for London Olympics
The European Union has pledged financial support for an exhibition on pioneering gay sport figures at the newly-resurrected Pride House 2012.
The exhibition, ‘Against the Rules’, will feature at Pride House in Limehouse Basin during the London Olympics, which begin next week.
The new Pride House 2012 is a project of Pride Sports UK, in collaboration with the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF), the Federation of Gay Games, GLISA International, the LGBT Consortium, and the Pride House Foundation and aims to offer a welcoming space for all athletes, staff, spectators and friends of London 2012.
Originally planned to go ahead on Clapham Common, it was revealed in April that the original Pride House event had become “commercially unviable”.
The new event will be open from 3 to 7 August at CA House in Limehouse Basin on the river Thames, with the Pride House 2012 festival continuing in various venues through 12 August, the day of the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Lou Englefield, Executive Director of lead partner Pride Sports, said: “We want to offer a place for LGBT people and friends to meet, relax, and enjoy the London Olympic experience. But we also want this to be a learning experience and a resource for local and international visitors.
“An exhibition like ‘Against the Rules’ offers a particularly engaging and inspirational way to contribute to this educational mission.”
37 panels related to homophobia and LGBT sport, including biographies of athletes like Amelie Mauresmo, Billie Jean King, David Kopay, Greg Louganis, Imke Duplitzer, Judith Arndt, Justin Fashanu and Tom Waddell make up the exhibition.
It is presented by the EGLSF with the financial support of the European Commission (DG Education and Culture) as part of the project coordinated by the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation on “Preventing and Fighting Homophobic Violence in Sport”.
Lou Manders, co-president of the EGLSF spoke of the impact of the exhibition: “The exhibition was created several years ago; in 2010 the EGLSF produced an English version, which has since been presented across Europe at a variety of competitions, conferences, and other venues, for both an LGBT and ‘mainstream’ audience.”
His co-president Armelle Mazé added: “It’s an effective mix of background information on the history of LGBT sport and individual portraits that inspire and move viewers. We thank Pride Sports for making this display at Pride House 2012 happen, and the European Union for financing this event.”
