80 Gays Around the World: Part 9) Pride and Prejudice in Moscow

Last time: The eccentricities of 29) Caligula (12-41 AD) led to the posthumous removal of his image from statues, the modern equivalent being removed from photographs like 30) Nikolai Yezhov (1895-1940), a Soviet official who had an affair with 31) Filipp Goloshchyokin (1876-1941), the man who organised the assassination of the Romanovs, though one who was assassinated earlier was 32) Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (1857-1905).

Before the well-known Russian Revolution of 1917 there was the Russian Revolution of 1905. 32) Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (1857-1905) was one of its most prominent victims.

The causes of the 1905 revolution were the same as those in 1917. Attempts to modernise and industrialise the Russian empire only led to the peasant class moving into urban areas for work, and workers’ rights was the most widespread reason for protests.

In January 1905 workers marched through St. Petersburg to the tsar’s palace to hand in a petition calling for more workers’ rights. Troops were instructed to keep the peaceful protestors out of the city centre. For some reason, troops began shooting at them and several hundred protestors (the actual number is debated even today) were killed. The event is known as “Bloody Sunday” and is regarded by many historians as the start of the 1905 revolution.

As a nephew of the Tsar, Grand Duke Sergei received high political office. He was appointed Governor General of Moscow in 1891 and although he was a great philanthropist and supporter of various charitable causes the same cannot be said about his politics. He wasn’t a great politician. By the time of the Bloody Sunday massacre he had resigned the governorship, but he knew that as part of the regime that was creating the problems he knew he was a likely target for assassination.

In February Sergei went to a concert at the Bolshoi Theatre. There an assassin awaited him, but when the assassin saw that Sergei’s wife and children were with him, his attempt was abandoned.

The Grand Duke’s wife was Princess Elizabeth von Hessen (1864-1918), a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria and the sister of the founder of the Mountbatten family. Despite having very happy marriage and fathering children, rumours of Sergei’s homosexuality were common during his lifetime. It’s difficult to find firm evidence for this one way or the other but it has been a subject of discussion in several historical books and biographies about the period for it to be ignored. Sergei’s supposed homosexuality was never publicly acknowledged. At that time it would have been difficult for him to admit to it, being a devout Roman Catholic, and with the pressures of being a member of the Imperial family and the scandal it would have caused at the time.

We can understand why Sergei could have felt entrapped by his homosexuality, if he was homosexual or bisexual. The growth of the Socialist and Communist movements in his lifetime were very vocally homophobic. Almost the entire history of Russia since then has been anti-gay. The old homophobic Communist laws that were removed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 came back with the election of an ex-Soviet KGB agent as its current President. He began re-introducing the Communist laws punishing homosexuality from 2010 onwards.

Two days after the aborted assassination attempt, the assassin saw his opportunity again. He spotted Sergei’s open carriage taking him to his former governor’s office. He threw his bomb straight into Sergei’s lap and it exploded instantly. The Grand Duke was literally blown to bits, the carriage driver was mortally wounded, and the assassin severely injured.

I mentioned in my “Pride Tops” and “Pride Bottoms” lists that Pride marches were banned in Moscow for a hundred years in 2012. Moscow has got the closest Russia has got to any form of annual physical Pride march.

The first Moscow Pride was held on 27 May 2006. The city council banned it but it took place anyway. It drew a number of high profile international activists, including Oscar Wilde’s grandson, Merlin Holland. The march was marred by violence and arrests and was eventually broken up by the police.

Successive Moscow Pride marches were similarly banned (except in 2009 when it served as Slavic Pride). In June 2012 all Pride marches in Moscow were banned for 100 years. The last one before the ban was on 28 May 2011. This also attracted international activists, including Dan Choi, Andy Thayer, and 32) Louis-Georges Tin (b.1974) who were all taken into police custody and later released.

Louis-Georges Tin may not be a name you’re familiar with, but I’m sure you know what his contribution to the global lgbt community is. He founded what is now called the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). The original name was simply International Day Against Homophobia. Transphobia was added in 2009, and Biphobia in 2015.

Tin was born on the French Caribbean island of Martinique. He began his anti-racist and lgbt activism whilst at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.

There’s few details online about the precise timeline of events that led to the formation of IDAHOBIT, but it’s clear that by 2004 Louis-Georges Tin had organised a campaign to create a special day for victims of homophobia and abuse every 17th May.

But why did he choose 17th May? On that date in 1990, the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its International Classification of Diseases. Although not universally supported, IDAHOBIT has been officially recognised and continues to be promoted by many governments around the world.

Long before scientists accepted that homosexuality was as normal as heterosexuality they classed it as a mental illness or a disease. The famous psychologist Sigmund Freud regarded homosexuality as a type of paranoia. One of the leading figures in persuading medical science that homosexuality was not an illness or disease was a gay psychiatrist called 34) Dr. John E. Fryer (1936-2003).

In 1972, Fryer attended a convention of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in Dallas. His purpose was to give a speech calling for the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness as labelled in the APA’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”. However, in making the speech Fryer had to publicly declare his own homosexuality, and in doing so was afraid of how this would affect his professional career and medical license. Therefore he made his speech in disguise, wearing a large wig, rubber mask, oversized clothing, and using the pseudonym of Dr. H. Anonymous.

There had been calls for the declassification of homosexuality before, but Fryer made the right speech at the right time. The APA removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses the following year. For this speech Dr. John Fryer has earned his place in American lgbt history as one of its leading champions who paved the way for the World Health Organisation to follow in 1990. It’s undoubtedly the only thing Fryer will be remembered for, but like everyone else, he had a life outside his activism.

John Fryer was also an accomplished pipe organ player and choirmaster. As a youngster he leatnt how to play the piano and he quickly progressed to the pipe organ. Believe me, I’ve did both in my local Methodist church when I was younger, and they are different instruments requiring different playing techniques. Wherever Fryer lived he offered his services as an organ player. During his tenure at Temple University in Philadelphia, he played the organ for their graduation ceremonies.

He was also the choirmaster at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. No doubt he played their pipe organ as well. Sadly, the church closed in 2007, but the organ was saved and is now located in Old St. Joseph’s Church nearer the city centre.

As for the rest of the property, the building was sold to the Waldorf School, who still own it. The stained glass windows, which John Fryer would have seen every time he stepped into the church, went elsewhere, including one of only three surviving windows designed by 35) Violet Oakley (1874-1961).

Next time: We rest in piece among some musical lgbt icons and find unexpected objects in the rain.

Pride Bottoms

Its an unfortunate fact the plate tectonics hasn’t left as much habitable land for humans south of the equator than it has north of it. Consequently, the southernmost Prides (that are not part of Polar Pride) actually take place nearer to the equator than the cities of Copenhagen (55° 40' N), Moscow (55° 45' N), and Edinburgh (55° 57' N).

As I’ve said in the last two days, Polar Pride has been difficult to include because of its non-public nature. I’m tempted to include Polar Pride as a multi-location regional Pride. It can easily be regarded as a regional Pride but it needs to be more accessible to the general public. Hopefully, my quandary will have been resolved in time for my article to celebrate the next Polar Pride on 18th November.

With reference to the illustration given a couple of days ago regarding the tilt of the Earth. When its winter in the north, its summer in the south, and dates of Prides in the southern hemisphere reflects this. This might be blindingly obvious to you, but believe it or not there are still people who don’t understand this.

So, here are the top 5 southernmost Prides as of June 2026 in reverse order. Their locations are shown on the map.

5) MARCHA DEL ORGULLO, RIO GALLEGOS, Argentina – 51° 37' S

Orgullo (Spanish for “Pride”) is the term used throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Rio Gallegos is the capital city of Santa Cruz, Argentina’s southernmost continental province (see also numbers 3 and 1), and is the furthest south of any Pride on the whole American continental landmass.

The first Pride in Rio Gallegos was the Marcha de Orgullo (Pride March) held in November 2017. There had been many Prides in Argentina before this, since at least 1992, and Rio Gallegos was one of a few cities across Argentina that were forming their first Pride events in 2017, joining others in protesting against the growing number of transgender murders and increasing homophobic attacks.

All of Argentina’s provinces now have provincial Prides with marches and events held throughout each province. Rio Gallegos is the central location for Orgullo Santa Cruz. They are held throughout November and often have another smaller march in June.

4) FALKLANDS PRIDE, STANLEY, Falkland Islands – 51° 41' S

The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory, meaning its 3,662 inhabitants (according to the 2021 census) are British citizens.

The first official Pride in the Falklands was on 23rd June 2013 in Stanley, the capital town. There was an unofficial Pride in 2012 organised by local radio DJ Scott Betts at the last minute. Luckily, he had plenty of time to organise the next one with the help of the Falkland Islands government and local community.

This year’s Falklands Pride took place on 10th June and included its first US Pride Month reception at Government House, but there was no Pride march this year.

3) MARCHA DEL ORGULLO, RIO GRANDE, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina – 53° 47' S

Rio Grande is a city on the island of Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost of Argentina’s provinces. Its Marcha del Orgullo is organised as part of the provincial Pride celebrations by Orgullo TDF (Tierra del Fuego Pride). See also number 1 on this list.

2) SOUTH GEORGIA PRIDE, KING EDWARD POINT, South Georgia Island – 54° 17' 

South Georgia, like the Falklands, is a British Overseas Territory. Its Pride march is undoubtedly the smallest.

The southern summer population on South Georgia (December to March) rarely rises above 30. That’s because it has no permanent population, consisting of scientists, naturalists, naval and military personnel and the occasional civil servant. However, as an Overseas Territory, it has its own form of government headed by a Commissioner with international diplomatic status (and his/her own flag). The Commissioner is always also the Governor of the Falkland Islands.

Also, South Georgia has roads. So what, I hear you say. Well, try having a Pride march without one. Even though it can’t claim to have the shortest Pride march (that record is still officially held by Paekākāriki Pride, New Zealand), it can easily claim the record as having the fewest participants. At the island’s first Pride In December 2019 there were only 20 marchers. Being a remote island with a small population, there is the high possibility that South Georgia could have a Pride without any lgbt people attending.

South Georgia is one of the remotest islands on Earth, and holds the record for the remotest Pride from other land. The nearest land, and the nearest Pride, is in the Falklands about 1,400 km (870 miles) away.

1) MARCHA DE ORGULLO, USHUAIA, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina – 54° 48' S

And the prize for hosting the southernmost Pride on Earth goes to the southernmost city on the planet, and the capital city of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia. The city has earned the popular name of “The End of the World”, a name used a lot in the publicity for its Pride march and events every November.

Just like the Marcha del Ogullo in Rio Grande (number 3 above), Ushuaia’s Pride is the central location of the provincial Pride and also organised by the Orgullo TDF.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Here are some more Prides which didn’t quite make the lists but are still notable and have some special significance.

SOUTHLAND/MURIHIKU PRIDE, INVERCARGILL, New Zealand – 46° 24' 

The southernmost Pride outside Argentina and the South Atlantic takes place on South Island, New Zealand, in its most southern city, Invercargill. It has two official names, one in English and the other in Maori, which both mean the same thing. The next Southland/Murihiku Pride will be held throughout March 2027.

MARCHA DEL ORGULLO, EL CALAFATE, Argentina – 50° 20'  S

If you don’t agree with my inclusion of South Georgia Pride (and I won’t object if you do) then number 5 on the southernmost list would go to the city of El Calafate in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. Its Pride celebrations are part of the provincial Orgullo Santa Cruz.

McMURDO STATION, ROSS DEPENDENCY, Antarctica – 77° 50' S.

Until the creation of Polar Pride in 2020 the furthest south that a Pride was held was on this US scientific base in June 2018. Because it was not publicly advertised and restricted to the base’s employees (its inhospitable, remote location not helping) I didn’t include it in the southernmost list above. It has since become part of Polar Pride and when I’ve amended my criteria points to make all Prides in the polar regions eligible it will definitely count as one of the southernmost Prides.

ARCTIC PRIDE, ROVANIEMI, Finland - 66° 30' N

There are several places in the Nordic countries that use the name Arctic Pride, none of them connected to each other. The first in Rovaniemi took place from 22-24 February 2013. The reason I’ve given it an honourable mention is because the city is famous for something else. Rovaniemi is the home of Santa Claus (or Joulupukki to be more accurate, the two characters are not the same and have totally different back-stories, but most people don’t understand this). Why does this matter? A couple of years ago I wrote how this home of “Santa Claus” was created though the direct influence of one lgbt person. I hope to write something about Roveniemi Pride and “Santa Claus” in this year’s Advent series in December.

TROMSØ ARCTIC PRIDE, TROMSØ, Norway – 66° 39'N

This is perhaps the most well-known Arctic Pride in the Nordic countries. From its earliest days it has marketed itself as the most northern Pride on Earth, and still does even though I’ve shown in these last couple of days that it isn’t been since 2010. That’s even before the first Tromsø Arctic Pride took place in November 2014. It actually just missed being in the top 5 northern Prides, being number 6. This year’s Tromsø Arctic Pride takes place from 12 to 15 November with the march on the 14th.

INUVIK PRIDE, INUVIK, Northwest Territories, Canada – 68° 21' N

The North American continent has not yet had a Pride above 69° north. So far the northernmost North American Pride had taken place in Inuvik, a town in the far north of the Northwest Territories of Canada. The first took place there on 21 April 2018.

NORILSK PRIDE, NORILSK, Russia – 69° 20' N

With Russia having the most land above the Arctic Circle it might be of interest to know what could have been its most northern Pride had it not introduced its anti-gay laws. The record goes, not surprisingly perhaps, to the world’s most northern, most polluted, and coldest city, Norilsk, in the Krasnoyearsk krai (a sort of province). It lies on the northern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau. Permission to hold the first Norilsk Pride was rejected in January 2018. This may have made it the remotest Pride held on a continental landmass (i.e. with no sea or ocean in between). The nearest other Pride would have been in another Russian city, Salekhard (66° 32' N) Salekhard 968 km (601 miles) away, whose first Pride for January 2017 was also banned. Otherwise, the nearest Pride that has actually taken place would be Moscow Pride 2,870 km away.

And there you have it. Over the past two days I’ve listed what I believe are the 10 Tops and Bottoms of Prides with a handful of extras thrown in. Don’t forget that the information given in both lists is correct on the date of publication as far as I have researched, and that any one of them could easily be replaced before next June. And also don’t forget that I’ll be writing about Polar Pride on 18th November.

Pride Tops

Now that you’ve digested yesterday’s Pride criteria points let’s get down to the nitty gritty and see which Prides are held nearer to the North Pole than any others.

I should point out that there is also an annual Polar Pride. This is held by people working in research bases in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. It’s not really a public celebration, but neither is it a commercial one. However, Polar Pride feels very much like a regional Pride, and it is an important celebration of lgbt inclusion in sciences. I have had difficulty placing it comfortably in any of my criteria points. I will cover it in more detail on the next Polar Pride on 18th November when I hope to have come to a solution.

The map above shows the locations of the following 5 Prides. Bear in mind that they are not measured in distances from the bottom of the map, but in distances between the North Pole and the Arctic Circle.

I’m sure you know what the Arctic Circle is, but it might help if I explain what it is in case you’re not sure.

Its all due to the tilt of the Earth as is spins. The tilt never changes – the Earth does not always point towards the Sun. The illustration below explains it best. The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line that is a little over 66° north of the equator. You can see that above the Arctic Circle the Sun shines 24 hours a day in the summer because all of that area of the Earth is tilted towards it. That’s why the area is called the Land of the Midnight Sun. And in the northern hemisphere winter you don’t see the Sun at all because it’s tilted away.

Let’s get on with listing the top 5 northern Prides. If you ever lower yourself and consult Google’s AI (which unfortunately I had to do to ensure I looked at all sources available), none of these locations will be mentioned. Hopefully, after I publish this, AI will finally get it right. As I’ve said since AI was invented, Artificial Intelligence is for people who have none of their own or too last to do any research. So, let’s discover the truth about the top 5 northernmost Prides in reverse order.

5) BARENTS PRIDE, KIRKENES, Norway – 69° 43' N

There can’t be many places where a city’s Pride is always held in a totally different country. Barents Pride may be the only one.

The inaugural Barents Pride, held in Finland near the Russian border, was in 2018. Even though it doesn’t comply with the criteria that Prides arranged due to a specific event after 2000 would not be considered, it’s included because of its continuity and current compliance with at least 3 other points.

Barents Pride was formed in response to the homophobic laws being introduced into Russia from 2010 onwards. The Russian lgbt community was sparked into action, but the anti-gay laws meant that protest was illegal and all participants could be arrested. This included the lgbt community in the Russian city of Murmansk (68° 58' N).

All was not lost, because across the border in the Finnish city of Kirkenes just over146 km (90 miles) away activists were organising protests that were legal. Activists from both cities joined together to create the first Barents Pride in Kirkenes, named after the Barents Sea which is the part of the Arctic Ocean that forms their joint coastline.

Of course, the Murmansk activists cannot make themselves known publicly for fear of arrest, so they tend not to advertise their presence at Barents Pride except to the Kirkenes lgbt community. Lgbt attendees from other Russian cities have also attended.

This year’s Barents Pride continues to serve as Kirkenes Pride and unofficial Murmasnk Pride and will take place in late September.

4) SÁPMI PRIDE, UTSJOKI, Finland – 69° 54' N

Europe is home to several multi-national Prides (I will cover these in more detail next year). The northernmost of these is Sápmi Pride, held in the northern regions of Norway, Sweden and Finland in the region called Samiland, the general area popularly known as Lapland. This area is the home to the ethnic people called the Sámi.

Sápmi Pride began in 2014 in Sweden and is held in a different location every year in one of the three above-mentioned countries. Sadly it cannot be held in the Sámi region of Russia because of the country’s anti-gay laws.

In 2020 Sápmi Pride was due to be held in Utsjoki, Finland, the furthest north that it been held. I’m sure you’ll know why it was cancelled (covid, of course). However, like the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Sápmi Pride in Utsjoki was just postponed for a year and was held in 2021 between 5 and 8 August.

This year’s Sápmi Pride also takes place in Finland in Inari (68° 54' N) on 8 August.

3) ALTA PRIDE, Norway – 69° 58' N

Alta was the first location north of the Arctic Circle to have a Pride. The current Alta Pride committee is apparently unaware of that their first Pride was held in 2010.

The first Alta Pride that is currently recognised by the committee took place from 25 to 28 August 2022, though there were a variety of lgbt events taking place the year before. The reason why I know about the 2010 Pride is because I made notes of media reports of it in my archives when it happened.

It has been common throughout history for younger generations to assume they are the first to do or think of anything important or new, like organising Pride. There may not have been any research done, or no contact with older generations who experienced such events. Although their intensions may be praised, younger generations have to learn that many people who were born before them are still alive and much can be learned from these older generations. Just because youngsters have left school, college or university it doesn’t mean they know everything. Sadly, they think they do, and it happens too often and youngsters are spreading a distorted view of history (“presentism” is mainly to blame, but my rant can wait for another day!).

I have to credit Alta with what history and what contemporary media reported, copied into my archives at the time, and say that the first Alta Pride was in 2010. This year’s Alta Pride will be from 20-23 August.

2) HAMMERFEST PRIDE, Norway – 70° 96' N.

The northernmost Pride on continental Europe. This is not a stand-along event like most Prides but is part of annual cultural festival held in the town of Hammerfest called Hammerfestendagen (Hammerfest Days). The festival usually lasts for a couple weeks and Hammerfest Pride is just one event among many. This year’s Hammerfestendagen is from 13-19 July.

Even though Hammerfest Pride is not a stand-along event it does have its own independent organising committee, programme of events and march. This year, their Pride march will take place on 16 July.

And the current record for being the location of the northernmost Pride on the entire planet goes to…

1) LONGYEARBYEN PRIDE, Svalbard, Norway – 78° 13' N.

Possibly also the remotest Pride in the northern hemisphere, furthest from any other human habitation. Longyearbyen is the main town on the Norwegian island of Svalbard almost 800 km (nearly 500 miles) from the northernmost point of continental Europe. It has a population of around 2,500.

The first Longyearbyen Pride was held on 17 August 2019 and was organised by Svalbard native Lene Leanette Dyngeland (b.1967). It has been held every year since including 2020. Svalbard is such a remote island that there was little chance of covid ever reaching it. This year’s Longyearbyen Pride will be on the last weekend in August.

The nearest other Pride to Longyearbyen is the above-mentioned Hammerfest Pride 870 km (540 miles) away.

So congratulations to the inhabitants of Svalbard and Longyearbyen. It is very unlikely that their record will ever be broken unless one of the very few towns in the northern part of Svalbard has its own Pride. The only other settlements further north are in Greenland, Canada and homophobic Russia, and it doesn’t look like any of them with be hosting a Pride any time soon. Don’t forget what I said above about Polar Pride. Some of their events may take place further north, but they are not really public in the strictest sense. More about that in November.

Tomorrow we’ll go as for away from Longyearbyar as possible when it comes to celebrating Pride and look at which five are the southernmost and nearest to the South Pole, as well as some honourable mentions.

City Pride - Sydney

Following on from the Venice carnival we arrive at the actual day of Mardi Gras. For those who are unfamiliar with the origin of Mardi Gras, perhaps a little information may help. In medieval times Christians put aside several weeks of fasting and abstinence before important Christian festivals like Easter and Christmas. The most common terms for these periods are Lent and Advent respectively. Lent begins tomorrow, the day after Mardi Gras. In preparation, Christians would eat up all the food that they were going to deprive themselves of all the way up to Easter, especially meat. They would also celebrate with carnivals. Actually, “carnival” comes from a 15th century Italian term meaning “remove meat”, which implies the word was created specifically for Christian Mardi Gras celebrations. Today people have generally dropped the fasting element.

Perhaps the most famous Mardi Gras carnivals take place in Brazil and New Orleans, but undoubtedly the most famous lgbt+ Mardi Gras is that held in Sydney, Australia. This year’s Sydney Mardi Gras finished this past weekend. So, as a belated celebration, here is the latest entry in my “City Pride” series about Sydney.

The area I’ve concentrated on is just south of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Because Sydney has so much lgbt+ history it has been difficult to narrow it down to just 12 locations. Most of them may be known to a lot of Sydney citizens, but I have, as always, tried to find some lesser known locations, people or events that show the diversity of the lgbt+ culture in Sydney.

First of all, the area covered is in the Sydney Electoral District (except for a tiny bit of the bottom left hand corner of the map). The current MP for the Sydney electoral district in the New South Wales parliament is Alex Greenwich (b. 1980, into a princely dynasty from Georgia – the country, not the US state), who has been the representative since 2012. He was the first openly gay elected member.

The locations are listed from north to south.

1) Speaker’s Corner, The Domain

John Webster (1913-2008) was a regular speaker at Speaker’s Corner for over 30 years. His distinctive voice is remembered by many older Sydney citizens of all political ideologies, genders and faiths. His opinion on all these issues evolved over the years. Briefly married twice, he is also known to have had gay relationships. His ashes were scattered around the Speaker’s podium.

2) St. James’s Church

In the summer of 1836 Rev. William Yate (1802-1877), a British missionary fresh from New Zealand, was appointed chaplain to this church. It was while he was here that reports were made to the authorities of his homosexual activity with sailors and Maori youths. Yate protested his innocence, and no evidence of actual sodomy was proven. Nevertheless, he was dismissed and was sent back to the UK by December. He took with him Edwin Denison, the Third Mate he “befriended” on the ship that brought him to Sydney. He died as chaplain of the Mariners Church in Dover.

3) Sydney Town Hall

One of the locations that were part of the demonstrations that took place in Gay Pride Week 1973. On 15 September activists marched to the hall. Among the banners they carried was what I consider to be the world’s first lgbt+ community flag – a black flag with a pink triangle in the centre. Previous flags had belonged to specific organisations, but in Sydney this flag was adopted by all sections of the community. I write in more detail about the use of this flag here.

Currently, there are a record four lgbt+ elected members on the city council, Zann Maxwell, Matthew Thompson, Mitch Wilson and Adam Worling, all elected last October. Zann Maxwell was appointed the city’s Deputy Mayor.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Sydney Olympics. At the end of each day of the torch relay there was a ceremony involving the lighting of a “community cauldron”. On the night before the opening ceremony the final leg of the relay went from Sydney Harbour Bridge and down George Street to the Town Hall. The last torch bearer was the world’s top female golfer at the time, Australia’s Karrie Webb, who lit the community cauldron.

4) St. Andrew’s Cathedral

One of the few non-political Australian state funerals took place here in 1986. It was to honour the Australian ballet dancer and choreographer Sir Robert Helpmann (1909-1986). He is most famous for his role as the Child Catcher in the film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (a character invented for the film). Helpmann was the first in a long line of openly lgbt+ performers to play this character in its many theatre productions. These include Stephen Gately, Wayne Sleep, Paul O’Grady, Richard O’Brien, and The Vivienne.

5) Junction of William Street and College Street, Australia Museum

During WorldPride 2023, hosted by Sydney, many artistic expressions of lgbt+ culture were on display. One of the most unusual, located outside the museum entrance, was the Progress Shark, a huge life-size model of a great white shark dressed in a Progress Flag-inspired lycra swimsuit. Created by Sydney-based artist George Buchanan, the shark quickly became a tourist attraction and icon of WorldPride. Like many artworks created for the occasion it was taken down afterwards.

6) 110 Bathurst Street

This is currently a modern multi-storey building home to various businesses, but back in the 1920s it was a residential area. This address was, for a couple of years, the art studio and salon of Australian sculptor and artist Dora Ohlfsen-Bagge (1869-1948) and her partner Baroness Helene von Kügelgen (d.1948). Although they lived in Rome most of the time, Dora revisited Sydney and produced many works for Australian clients. These included designing the ANZAC medal, and many sculptures that are now lost or destroyed.

7) 29 Pelican Street

In 1948 this address became the home of Iris Webber (1906-1953), described by local newspapers as “the most violent woman in Sydney”. She is a perfect subject for one of my “Extraordinary Lives” series. Condensing her life down to a few sentences has been difficult, but here goes. Iris was married twice and had at least two female partners. She shot three men (including her first husband, and killing another) but was acquitted each time. She was either arrested or convicted of assault at least 4 times (twice with a tomahawk). She was arrested many times for busking and begging, illegally selling alcohol, and robbery (with her then partner Vera). Iris’s last court appearance was for contempt of court in 1952.

8) National Art School, formerly Darlinghurst Gaol.

This old jail once housed several notable lgbt+ prisoners, the most well-known being the bushranger known as Captain Moonlite (Andrew Scott, 1842-1880). Born in Ireland, Scott can be said to have been a bit of an adventurer, travelling the world fighting as something of a mercenary before arriving in Australia in 1867. While living as a lay reader in a church in the gold fields, he was masquerading as Captain Moonlite, robbing a local bank agent. Caught and convicted, Scott met James Nesbit in jail and the two formed a relationship. After release he struggled to find work, and attacked a cattle station with his gang. Nesbit was killed, but Scott was captured and later hanged in the jail.

The current art school opened in 1921 has had many lgbt+ alumni and has hosted many exhibition by lgbt+ artists.

9) Green Park – LGBT Holocaust Memorial

This monument, designed by Jennifer Gamble and Russell Rodrigo, commemorates the many lgbt+ victims of the Nazis during the Holocaust. The pink triangle that gay prisoners were forced to wear has become an iconic symbol of gay rights in the 1970s. The Jewish Museum is located across the road to the north on Burton Street. In this year when we remember the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II it is essential we recognise diversity of opinion by people on all sides, without anger, hatred, or violence.

10) 301 Forbes Street – Qtopia

Sydney’s first permanent lgbt+ museum, said to be the world’s biggest, opened here in February 2024 in buildings that were originally Darlinghurst’s police station. As the police station it was where people arrested on homosexual charges were held in custody. This included a large number of participants in Sydney’s first Mardi Gras in 1978, people who proudly sport the name of The 78ers. Sadly, a sign of the times included police brutality against those in custody. The museum also has sections on AIDS, and a reconstructed AIDS ward from the neighbouring St. Vincent’s Hospital where many AIDS patients were treated.

11) Junction of Campbell Street and Little Bourke Street

On the night of 31 March 1962, the body of Frank McLean was discovered several metres south of this junction. He was one of several gay victims of William MacDonald, whom the media labelled as “The Mutilator”. MacDonald picked his victims up in gay venues, took them to a private location and murdered them, slashing their bodies and severing their genitals. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in 2015.

12) Taylor Square – The Rainbow Crossing

Sydney’s famous crossing was first established in 2013 for that year’s Mardi Gras. However, due to concerns that people standing on it to take selfies put them in danger of being run over, the city removed it. This sparked as spate of graffiti chalk rainbow crossing popping up across the city in protest. Thankfully, the city council realised the importance of such a statement of identity and repainted crossing in 2019.

Game of Gay Thrones 9: Micro-monarchs

About three years ago I mentioned that I’d come across a few micronations that have lgbt+ monarchs. I suppose they are just as valid for inclusion in my Game of Gay Thrones series, as none are officially recognised by any member state of the United Nations.

Some micronations are established as part of political activism, as is the case with the Coral Sea Islands. Others are created by young people who are still attending school. With many other reasons, micronations are taken seriously by their creators and supporters.

Just to be clear, a micronation is no the same as a micro-state. Monaco and Palau are examples of micro-states. Their independence is recognised internationally at the United Nations. Micronations are not. You can find a lot of more detailed information on micronations online.

Today I have selected an lgbt+ monarch from one micronation on each of the generally accepted 7 continents, listed in no particular order.

Australasia/Oceania

Dale I, Emperor of the Coral Sea Islands

Perhaps the most well-known lgbt+ micronation, the Coral Sea Islands are situated off the coast of Australia. For more information see here.

North/Central America

Marie-Adélina I, Queen of the United Kingdom of Le Navasse

Navasse consists of several small uninhabited islands in the Caribbean, officially belonging to Haiti.

The micronation was founded in 2017 by a group of friends which included the black transgender activist Marie-Adélina de la Ferrierè, herself of Haitian descent. She was declared the sovereign of the new kingdom. Actually, Queen Marie-Adélina has a personal connection to the defunct crown of Haiti, as she claims descent from Henri I Christophe (1767-1820), the first King of Haiti. I haven’t been able to verify her descent, but succession to the Haitian throne was specifically restricted to male heirs only.

Antarctica

Travis I, Grand Duke of Westarctica (b.1980)

By international treaty, no nation can claim any territory on Antarctica, though scientific and research bases are permitted, and definitely no military bases. No new claims could be made after the treaty, and nations already established there were allowed to remain. Even so, there are still disputes over who has a claim over which part (see here).

In 2001 Travis McHenry, a US Navy Intelligence specialist at the time, founded the Achaean Territory of Antarctica on Marie Byrd Land, an unclaimed area due south of the Pacific Ocean. Three years later he declared it a monarchy and adopted the title of Grand Duke. However, because he was serving in the US Navy he was forced to “abdicate” after they threatened to remove his security clearance due to his activity in promoting his micronation.

After several years of involvement with other micronations Travis was persuaded to re-assume control of the territory, now renamed Westarctica, and he re-assumed the title of Grand Duke in 2012.

In 2014 Travis founded Westarctica Inc., a charity devoted to protecting the territory’s ecosystem against climate change.

Asia

Mona I, Empress of Schalamzaar (b.1996)

The Schalamzaar Empire existed between 2004 and 2023 in Iran.

The empire was founded by Mona Ghazvini, a Tehran native, who established herself as the monarch of the empire in 2004. As happens in all UN-recognised nations, Empress Mona found religious bigotry and persecution from several other micronations because she was Shia Muslim. An online conflict starting in 2014 which lasted several years resulted in Empress Mona withdrawing from micronationalism due to online bullying.

Mona returned in 2018 when she announced that she now identified as a transgender woman, and her former regal name had been dropped in favour of Mona. The Schalamzaar Empire was re-established as a constitutional monarchy. This lasted until the end of 2022 when Mona declared that the empire had been abandoned and renounced her royal status due to her busy personal life, but she did not rule out the possibility of a return some time in the future.

Europe

Amelia I, Queen of Lytera (b.2002)

The Kingdom of Lytera covers several residential addresses across southern England with its nominal capital in Ruislip, Greater London.

Lytera was created in 2010 by Amelia Banks, who identifies as bisexual and transgender, as a client state of Clubhausia, a micronation she founded with friends in 2008 at the age of 6. Amelia declared the independence of Lytera in 2017.

In 2021 Queen Amelia was made Princess of Essexia, another micronation. However, she was removed from power later that year. Undeterred, Amelia has claimed the throne of Essexia as its empress.

South America, Europe and Africa

Emperor Felipe I of Epasiera (b.2008)

The Empire of Epasiera is one of the few cross-continental micronations. It was founded in 2022 by Felipe de Oliveira Felmer who was then the King of Silbervia. Silbervia was founded only a day beforehand when Felipe declared his garden in São Paulo, Brazil, as a republic. King Felipe dissolved Slibervia to make way for the new Empire of Epasiera in October 2022.

The empire is divided into several duchies – 3 in Brazil, 2 in Europe, and 1 in Morocco called the Duchy of Cossobia. As far as I’m aware this is the only micronational territory in Africa ruled by an lgbt+ monarch (though information on South African micronations is sparce).

City Pride: Singapore

I haven’t done a “City Pride” for a long time. In fact, I think the last one I did was for Paris to celebrate the Gay Games in 2018. So, last year I decided it was time to highlight another city and its lgbt+ heritage. The question was, which city? Then I noticed I had a lot of readers in Singapore, and I realised that I knew hardly anything about its lgbt+ community, except for Pink Dot. So, after months of looking for appropriate points in Singapore’s queer history and culture I have selected the following. The main task was to find places that are grouped together which are as diverse as the community itself.

If you’re from Singapore I doubt any of these will be unknown to you, and I hope I have done my research correctly.

As before, the map is not intended to be used as the means for you to get from one location to another. It is intended purely as a rough guide to where the locations are situated. Many roads and streets are omitted, but I hope there is enough information for you to find them on proper maps.

1) Crocodile Rock, Scotts Road - The oldest and longest-running lesbian bar in Singapore, operating between 1992 and 2007. Alternatively known as Croc Rock.

2) KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Bukit Timah Road - More Singaporians have been born here than in any other hospital in Singapore, so naturally this would include a lot of lgbt+ people. However, the reason I put it on this list is because it was also the hospital which performed the first male-to-female sex-assignment surgery in the country in 1971.

3) Pelangi Pride Centre, Rowell Road - This is the original location of Singapore’s first lgbt+ centre. It was founded in 2003 by the city’s Action for AIDS (AfA) charity in the offices above their headquarters. Both the Pelangi Pride Centre and Action for AIDS have moved to other premises (see number 4).

4) Action for AIDS (AfA), Kelantan Lane - The charity’s present location. AfA was founded in 1988 by dermatologist Dr. Roy Chan (b.1955) who is still it’s President. Dr. Chan competed for Singapore in swimming at the 1972 Olympics.

5) The Substation, Armenian Street - The first independent contemporary arts centre in Singapore, founded in 1990 on the site of a former power station. It has organised many exhibitions of lgbt+ artists and interests. It was the venue of the monthly forum of People Like Us (PLU), 1993-4, an lgbt+ lobby group formed in 1993.

6) Suntec Singapore International Conference and Exhibition Centre - Venue of Singapore’s first National AIDS Conference on 12 December 1998. At this conference Paddy Chew became the first person in Singapore to come out publicly as having HIV. He died the following year. His life was the basis for the play “Completely With/Out Character” by Haresh Sharma. More recently, it was the venue for the wrestling competition at the very first Youth Olympic Games in 2010 (see number 8). Here, the oldest of the 9 lgbt+ athletes, 17-year-old Jenna Burkert, competed for the USA.

7) Rascals, Pan Pacific Hotel - Rascals was a club that organised a gay night at the Pan Pacific Hotel every Sunday. On 30 May 1993, Singapore police raided the club and interrogated its customers. It is regarded as Singapore’s “Stonewall”, an event which had a significant effect on the lgbt community and its future.

8) The Float, Marina Bay - With my specialist interest in the Olympics it comes as no surprise that I mention it several times. The very first Youth Olympic Games were held in Singapore in 2010. The opening ceremony was held at The Float, and is the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held on water, despite what Paris 2024 thinks. The Singapore Youth Olympics were also significant for currently having the most known lgbt+ athletes, 9, though none of them were publicly out at the time. Among them was British diver Tom Daley, the only one of the 9 who had competed in a previous Olympics (Beijing 2008, aged 14). If Tom makes it to Paris 2024 without injury, he will equal US equestrian rider Robert Dover’s record of competing at 6 Olympics. Only one lgbt+ Youth Olympian won a medal in Singapore 2010, a gold for Austrian sailor Lara Vadlau. She, like Tom Daley, has qualified for Paris 2024.

 9) Pink Dot, Speaker’s Corner, Hong Lim Park - Location of the annual Pink Dot Pride event. The first was held here on 16 May 2009, when it attracted the largest attendance for any gathering at Speaker’s Corner up to that date. The only years it was not held here were during the covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021 when they were held online. Pink Dot events have been held in other cities around the world, all following the same signature format of attendees wearing pink.

10) Boat Quay - Before this area was redeveloped in the 1990s, the streets around Boat Quay were popular cruising grounds for gay men.

The World's Most Homophobic Number?

It’s not a pleasant note to begin the New Year with, but 2024 may be regarded by some as a year to avoid because the number 24 is considered as unlucky as the number 13, particularly in Brazil. The only difference is that 24’s reputation stems from its association with homosexuality. Is it the world’s most homophobic number?

So many numbers are considered as either lucky of unlucky. Most of these beliefs are based on superstition or pseudo-numerology.

We don’t have to go that far back to discover why. To 1892, in fact. That’s within the lifetimes of two of my grandparents, both of whom lived into the 1980s. The story behind it involves a monkey farm, a zoo, and a lottery.

We’ll start with the monkey farm. Despite first impressions, the monkey farm, or the Fazenda do Macacos, was a complex of fruit orchards, gardens and sugar cane plantations in Rio de Janeiro. Once owned by the Franciscans, it got its name because it was over-run by monkeys in the harvesting season, all eager to snatch some fresh fruit.

The Fazenda passed from the Franciscans to the Portuguese crown, of which Brazil was still then a colony, in the 1750s. After independence in 1825 the first Emperor of Brazil, as the King of Portugal became, visited the Fazenda from Portugal for hunting and riding. After several years the emperor stopped visiting Rio and the Fazenda began to be neglected. By the 1870s the Rio municipal authorities were developing the area around the Fazenda. João Batista Viana Drummond, Baron Drummond (1825-1897) bought the Fazenda in 1872 and decided to create Rio’s first zoo on the site in 1888.

Entry to the zoo was free, but the baron received tax rebates and subsidies from the city council. This financial arrangement soon vanished the following year when Brazil became a republic. Income and attendance at the zoo fell, so in 1892 Baron Drummond came up with a lottery to raise funds, basing it on animals in his zoo.

The lottery was called the Jogo do Bicho, or Game of Beasts. Everyone visiting the zoo could buy a ticket upon which were printed the name of one of 25 different animals in the zoo. At the start of each day the baron would chose which animal would be the winning ticket. A picture of the chosen animal was revealed later that day, and holders of the winning tickets won the prize money. The winning animal was publicised in the Rio newsagents.

Very soon people were asking for tickets of their favourite or lucky animals. Then people began buying tickets without entering the zoo, and the whole thing blew up into a big gambling racket. Within four years some people were buying tickets in bulk, and these “intermediaries” began re-selling them on the streets for a profit. The lottery gradually evolved. Numbers were allotted to each of the 25 animals, and soon people began betting on their favourite number as well. Bets were taken in newspaper kiosks, on street corners and anywhere the “intermediaries” could attract custom.

By this time Baron Drummond was dead, and most of the money from ticket sales that should have gone to the zoo was going into the pockets of the “intermediaries”. In the 1890s the Brazilian government tried to crack down of gambling, but the Jogo do Bicho survived because police and local authorities turned a blind eye, and were probably being bribed. Officially the Jogo do Bicho was banned in 1946, but it still survives as an underground lottery, which everyone, including the government, knows about.

So, why did the number 24 in the Jogo do Bicho lottery become associated with the gay community and become so homophobic? It’s all about one of those animals featured on the tickets, specifically the animal that was numbered 24, a deer. In Portuguese this animal is called “veado”. In the mid-20th century the word “veado” began to be used as a derogatory term for gay men in Brazil, first appearing in print in 1956. Because the Jogo do Bicho was such a huge part of Brazilian culture, it wasn’t long before people were linking the number 24 with homosexuality purely because it was the number assigned to a deer on the lottery ticket.

The link between 24 and the deer may even have been a misunderstanding of the word “veado”, because there is another theory that says that “veado” is short for “transviado”, which means “deviant” or “immoral”. There may be no connection to a deer at all. But this hasn’t stopped 24 from being regarded as both unlucky, and unmanly. In Brazilian sport there are many sportsmen who refuse to play in a team (e.g in football) if their shirt number is 24. There have been a few cases in recent years of male footballers defiantly wearing 24 on their shirt, regardless of the homophobic abuse they receive from fans during a match because of it. Other people renumber their house if it is number 24, changing it 23.5. There are people who would prefer not to celebrate their 24th birthday, and celebrate being 23+1 instead. There’s even 23+1 birthday candles (pictured above).

Even though gambling in Brazil is illegal (mainly applying to casinos) the Jogo do Bicho still exists, though its 20th century history was polluted by the involvement of crime gangs and money laundering. But two surprising outcomes of their involvement is the formation of local football (soccer) clubs, and the growth of the carnival parade culture in Brazil.

Although crime gangs weren’t the only influence on carnival culture, the money they accumulated through their use of “intermediaries” to sell Jogo do Bicho tickets at a profit went towards keeping the local citizens on their side, so to speak, without having to make overt threats. To do this, the crime bosses gave money to local communities to set up football clubs (and we know how much Brazilians love their football) and samba dance schools (samba being a vital part of the carnival culture, which the Brazilians love just as equally). This was more effective in the larger Brazilian cities. It could be claimed that the famous carnival parades in Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo only became so big through the money given by crime gangs.

Back to the number 24 and homosexuality. Just like the Nazi pink triangle the lgbt+ community has begun to “reclaim” the number 24 and use it to help the cause of democracy. This was seen during Brazil’s municipal elections in 2012 when over 100 lgbt+ candidates stood for election. All candidates receive an official electoral number, without which they could not legally stand for election. Many of the lgbt+ candidates included the number 24 in their electoral number.

The 2012 election saw the largest ever number of lgbt+ candidates in municipal election in Brazil up to that time. According to Associação Brasileira de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais (ABGLT), a leading lgbt+ rights organisation in Brazil, there were only 78 in the previous election in 2008.

One of the 2012 candidates was Bia Ifran Oliveira (1969-2019), a transgender candidate for the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Worker’s Party) in the election to the city council of São Borja, her home city in the southernmost province of Brazil. The 2012 election was taking place several years before Brazil passed the law recognising non-reassigned transgender individuals’ right to legally change their gender on their birth certificates, so Bia was registered as a male candidate.

Bia was a hairdresser and stylist as a profession and was well-known figure in São Borja. She was president of the city’s prestigious samba school (not founded by Jogo do Bicho crime gangs as far as I can discover), which is also one of the biggest participants in the city’s annual carnival parade. Bia was also an lgbt+ activist. She was the first transwoman to run for municipal election for the Partido dos Trabalhadores. Below is one of her campaign adverts in which you can see her election number containing 24. In the election Bia won 339 votes, placing her 35th, which isn’t bad when you consider that she was up against 102 other candidates.

It remains to be seen whether the stigma attached to 24 in Brazil will finally disappear during 2024. After all, it’s the first time that the number has been part of the year number since it became a derogatory term. Brazil is one of those contradictory places – you hear so much about homophobia and transgender murders, yet at the end 2023 Brazil was placed higher than the UK and the USA in many equality indexes (I’ve never understood the USA’s self-declared place as a champion of lgbt rights anyway). Just in case you question Brazil’s placing, you can do what I did and look online (organisations which publish figures include the UN, World Population Review, Human Rights Campaign, Amnesty International, Equaldex, and many more).

But let’s forget about the stigma and homophobia of the number 24 and follow the example of Brazil’s lgbt candidates in 2012 and make 2024 the year in which we can all show that it is a year of hope, acceptance and enlightenment for all communities of every race, gender, politics, faith, non-faith, age, ability, culture, and opinion.

Birmingham Breaks Records

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games ended a few days ago and they broke all previous records for lgbt inclusion. But first, I’d like to reveal that lgbt participation goes way back to 1934 and the first known lgbt athlete at the Commonwealth Games (then called the British Empire Games) was Edwin Halstead (1907-1962). He competed under the name of Edith Halstead and won the silver medal in the women’s javelin competition. Not much is known about his personal life and I have very little to tell you, except that he transitioned before 1944. I’m digging around for more information and will tell you what I’ve found next month when I write about a special sporting centenary.

I had hoped to publish the updated list of Commonwealth Games athletes today. Unfortunately, some errors in the list were noticed at the last minute and I’ll publish it later this week after I’ve been through it again. Thanks to Jon Holmes of Sports Media LGBT+ and Pride House Birmingham for helping to compile this list and for spotting the errors. Errors like this have been dogging me all year and is affecting my ability to produce accurate information. I hope it is just “old age”! The information below has been double-checked and is correct at the date of publication.

The prelude to the Birmingham 2022 games, as mentioned in my previous article, was the Queen’s baton relay. I mentioned Lauren Price being among the first baton bearers as it left Buckingham Palace in 2021. Here are a handful of the other lgbt baton bearers with date and locations.

Rachael Grinham, Commonwealth squash champion: 17th March 2022, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia.

Ian Thorpe, Olympic and Commonwealth swimming multi-champion: 17th March 2022, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia.

Dame Kelly Holmes, Olympic and Commonwealth track champion: 7th July 2022, Tonbridge, Kent, England.

Colin Jackson, Olympic hurdler and Commonwealth champion: 8th July 2022, Basildon Sports Village, Essex, England.

Jason Watson, a.k.a. Jsky, BBC Radio Manchester and Gaydio presenter: 18 July 2022, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. (Jsky claims to be the first baton bearer to do so wearing high heels. This is unverified.)

Tom Bosworth, Olympic and Commonwealth race walker: 18th July 2022, Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

Piero Zizzi, Co-founder, Proud Baggies and Pride House Birmingham: 26 July 2022, Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

On several occasions the Queen’s baton relay ventured into the heart of the lgbt community. It was welcomed onto the stage at Cambridge Pride on 10th July, and went into Birmingham’s Gay village on 27th July. The last time anything like this happened was when the baton visited Toronto Pride House during the 2014 relay. 

On the last day of the relay the relay encountered a protest by veteran activist Peter Tatchell. With a small group of supporters he was protesting against the criminalisation of homosexuality in many Commonwealth nations. 

The relay culminated with the entry into the stadium during the opening ceremony on 28th July, carried by Olympic and Commonwealth diving champion Tom Daley. Accompanying him were six lgbt activists, each carrying a Pride Progress flag. This official statement made by the Birmingham 2022 organising committee also highlighted the homophobia around the Commonwealth. 

Birmingham 2022 can be called the Rainbow Games. The official presence of any lgbt flag during the opening ceremony is ground-breaking in itself, but the Commonwealth Games Federation made it very clear in December 2021 that there would be no objection to athletes carrying a rainbow flag onto the medal podium. This is in stark contrast to the Olympics. But, as we have seen at recent Commonwealth Games and Olympics, there’s nothing to stop spectators waving a flag.

The Pink Jack, the gay version of the UK’s national flag designed by David Gwinnutt, was seen several times at the aquatics centre. There was also a less well-know flag there on other days. The image below shows the Scottish version of the Rainbow flag depicting the Scottish lion.

Rainbows didn’t always appear on flags. The captains of the UK home nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) wore rainbow armbands in their matches. Similarly, Australia’s women’s rugby sevens captain, Sharni Williams, who wore rainbow headgear. More rainbows were spotted at other competitions. But the most rainbows in one place occurred during the opening ceremony. Every member of Team England wore badges of the Pride Progress flag. 

However, one important flag was absent. With hype surrounding homophobia in the Commonwealth there was no visible attention made to the exclusion of transgender athletes. In all my recordings of the events and review of other media I could see no transgender flag or statement from athletes about transgender inclusion, which has been a prominent debate this year. Double standards? After all, the Commonwealth Games is primarily about sport. 

Earlier this year US swimming debated the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s competition, sparked by the successes of Lea Thomas. There was a similar debate in British cycling over Emily Bridges which led to her being excluded from elite competition. As long as sport is divided into two gender categories the debates will continue into the foreseeable future. 

Here are some statistics from Birmingham 2022, which will obviously change as new information comes to light. There were 46 confirmed out lgb+ athletes (no transgender athletes), more than three times the number listed at the time of the previous games in 2018, 13 (a further 24 came out or have been identified since then). Only 5 athletes in Birmingham competed in male categories (compared to 6 out of the 37 athletes in 2018). Twelve out of the 72 competing nations had lgb+ athletes, ranging from the most populous Commonwealth nation, India, to one of the least, the Falkland Islands. 

A total of 16 members of Team LGB+ won medals in 8 events – 7 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze. All were won by female athletes. For the purposes of the official medal table they count as 5 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze, because team sports count as one medal even when all team members receive one each. This made Team LGB+ finish 14th on the final medal table (duplicating team medals with their national medals to take into account non-lgbt team members, and transferring individually-won medals from national scores into Team LGB+). Only one athlete, English squash player Sarah-Jane Perry, won more than one medal (1 silver, 1 bronze). All but 2 athletes finished in the top 8 in their event. No male athlete finished higher than 6th place, the first time since the 1970 games in Edinburgh, Scotland, that no men won medals. At the moment, even though more athletes competed in 2020, their overall results are lower than in 2018. 

What does the overall lgbt medal table look like? Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe remains at the top with 10 gold medals and 1 silver. Five of the athletes making their Commonwealth debut in Birmingham (Ashleigh Brazill, Rachael Haynes, Jess Jonassen, Tara Llanes and Megan Schutt) went straight into the top 30 with their gold medal wins. 

The highest climber from the pre-2022 table was boxer Michaela Walsh (Northern Ireland’s flag carrier at the opening ceremony) who moved up from 38th place to 17th with her gold medal adding to her previous 2 silvers. 

The most successful nation was Australia (no surprise there) with 5 athletes winning gold medals in 3 events (cricket, netball and rugby sevens). Their netball win was Australia’s 1,000th Commonwealth gold medal. 

England’s cricket captain, Katherine Brunt, earned her 100th cap at the first match England played in the tournament. 

Canadian 3x3 wheelchair basketball player Tara Llanes became the oldest ever Commonwealth Games medallist by winning gold at the age of 43. The youngest medallist in Birmingham was Australian cricketer Jess Jonassen, aged 29. 

I could be here for days rolling out information and statistics, but I think this is enough for now. If there are any specific statistics you’d like to know please ask in the comments below. 

If there’s one thing to take away from all this, to balance the negative issues surrounding lgbt inclusion in sport and the Commonwealth, is that we should realise we have seen a huge increase in lgbt visibility and participation in both the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics over the past four years. Long may it continue.