Olympic bosses comment on gay games event ban
International Olympic Committee says discrimination is banned but fail to slap down Russian authorities who have outlawed Pride House from the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi
20 March 2012 | By Tris Reid-Smith, Andy Harley
Olympic bosses have backed equality at the 2014 Winter games but avoided criticizing Russian authorities who have banned a gay Pride House from the event.
The first Pride House was held at the Winter Olympics in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada and it set to be repeated at the 2012 games in London this summer.
But, as Gay Star News reported last week, a judge in Russia has backed the ban imposed by the authorities on organizing Pride House for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Russian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender campaigners had planned the venue to be a meeting place for gay sportspeople and their supporters with events including a sports competition and photo exhibition.
But judge Svetlana Mordovina ruled against them saying that Pride House would threaten the growth of the Russian population and therefore risk the country’s ‘territorial integrity’.
She described the event as ‘breaching the understanding of good and evil, good and bad, vice and virtue’.
Now the International Olympic Committee has responded about the ban to Gay Star News, although they stop short of criticizing the Russian authorities directly.
An IOC spokesperson told us: ‘The Olympic Charter does not allow for discrimination against those taking part in the games.
‘The IOC is an open organisation and athletes of all orientations will be welcome at the games.’
But the sparse response is unlikely to satisfy GayRussia activist Nikolai Alekseev who has pledged not to give up on the fight to have a Pride House in Sochi.
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