Games End for Huge Number of LGBTQ+ Athletes

The Olympic Games in Tokyo came to an end on Sunday evening, with a closing ceremony watched by millions via television and the Olympic flame was passed to Paris who will hold the games in 2024. Outsports, which is dedicated to following the fortunes of LGBTQIA sports teams and people globally reported that an unprecedented one hundred and eighty two out athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, which is around three times the figure for the previous event. Out athletes are important as they can reach people directly in homophobic countries. Tom Daley's dedication to his husband and son, for example, echoed on television screens in countries like Russia and Iran, where homosexuality is harrassed, brutalised and persecuted by fanatical governments. Looking back on the games, the usually conservative London Evening Standard Newspaper condemned the coverage of LGBTQIA participants by the Russian state media, who were dirty, smutty and obscene in their attempt to denigrate them.