Kazakhstan loses out on Olympics bid to Beijing amid anti-gay concerns
Kazakhstan has missed out on a bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, with Chinese capital Beijing being awarded the honour.
Concerns had been raised that Kazakhstan might be awarded the 2022 Winter Games, after last year’s Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia.
LGBT people in Kazakhstan are living in a “climate of fear”, facing regular hostility and discrimination – even though homosexuality has been legal in the country since 1998.
In May the country threw out an anti-gay billwhich banned “promotion” of homosexuality – similar to a Russian bill in 2013 – as an action to protect minors.
The bill was taken down as it was “not in line with the constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, however it’s previous drafts still gotpassed through the senate.
This isn’t the first time Kazakhstan has been accused of homophobia.
In 2014, the Mayor of the country’s capital Astana claimed that the media had been “promoting homosexuality” and “brainwashing” children.
Beijing will host the games in 2022, after successfully hosting the Olympics in 2008.
In doing so, the Chinese capital becomes the first to host both summer and winter games.
