For the first time, men to be involved in Olympic victory ceremonies... but only in certain roles

I read a few stories about the announcement by LOCOG, the host committee for the London Olympics, that for the first time men would be involved in medal ceremonies.

Here's the start of the LOCOG press release:

London 2012 Victory Ceremonies podiums, ceremonial costumes, make-up and flowers revealed

The official London 2012 Victory Ceremonies podiums, ceremonial costumes, make-up and flowers have been revealed today. These components will be used across 805 Victory Ceremonies taking place in over 30 London 2012 venues.
Taking place soon after a medal event finishes, the design of the Victory Ceremonies has been created to be an exciting celebration of the achievements of every medal-winning athlete.
The unique design of the royal purple podiums and costumes has been created by students at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London. The students have worked with London 2012 over the last eight months to create and develop the designs.
When designing the podiums, the team of students - Gaetano Ling, Hong-Yeul Eom, Luc Fusaro, Heegun Koo and Yan Lu - used dynamic lines representing the energy that the Games and athletes represent. 40 podiums will be used across all the Victory Ceremonies and approximately 4,400 medal-winning athletes will stand on them to celebrate their success formally.
The ceremonial costumes will be worn by Games Maker volunteers in athlete and presenter escort roles and flower and medal bearer roles.

Other news reports said that for the first time men would be involved in victory ceremonies, which was great to hear. But some of these reports (and not just those from the Daily Mail) said that the roles would be segregated. This surprised me, and since the press releases from LOCOG weren't clear (for example this press release about make-up design, which says: "The make-up which will be worn by all the athlete and presenter escorts and medal and flower bearers", which implies that either women are in all roles, or men will be wearing make-up), so I asked the press service of LOCOG for clarification. 

They (promptly) responded: "The team is mixed and will be seen in the presentation very much as a team. The members of the team have 3 specific roles: the roles of leading the party (as presenter escort and athlete escort) are females, and the role of carrying the tray which holds the medal and flowers (flower and medal bearer) is male - a traditionally more decorative role. The medal and flower bearer leaves the party after the presentation has been made, whilst the female presenter escort and female athlete escort remain with the party for their exit from the presentation in front of the fans in the stadiums."

Why make an effort for equality, inclusion and parity by admitting that these ceremonial duties are not reserved for "decorative" females (good news), only to segregate the various roles according to gender?

In a context where the gender of Olympic volunteers has been an issue (for example the refusal of Iran to accept that the volunteer sign bearer at past opening ceremonies be a woman), LOCOG should show true equality and parity. This is definitely a good news/bad news kind of story.

-- Marc Naimark

Many in UK think London 2012 not meeting diversity goals; FGG points to responsibility of IOC

From GayStarNews, an analysis of concerns about LOCOG's commitment to LGBT inclusion in the London Olympics, featuring interviews with Gay Games Ambassador Chris Morgan and FGG VP for external affairs Marc Naimark:

GSN investigates what London’s Olympic organizers have done to involve LGBT people, give them a presence at the games and leave a legacy for gay sport
16 MAY 2012 | BY TRIS REID-SMITH

‘Hard to spot and easy to miss,’ that’s veteran activist Peter Tatchell’s take on the LGBT presence at the London Olympics.

If he’s right, it’ll be a sad irony. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people seem to have been integral to winning the games for London (diversity was a key part of the bid to the International Olympic Committee) and gay individuals and businesses will also play a big role in delivering the games.

But despite the efforts of many in one of the world’s most diverse cities and many more gay sports activists around the globe, there are only a handful of openly gay Olympic and Paralympic competitors due to take part.

And the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), who are in charge of this year’s games, have failed to give Gay Star News any reassurance that LGBT people will have a visible presence at the games.

[...]

Human rights and gay campaigner Peter Tatchell started discussions with the London 2012 Olympic organizers when the bid was won. And he supported LOCOG when it launched pin badges which combine the gay rainbow flag with London’s Olympic and Paralympic logos.

He told GSN: ‘I approached the organizers to ask how they intended to fulfill their promises, not just on LGBT issues but on all diversity strands. I had a series of meetings where we mapped out a whole range of ideas covering LGBT visibility in the opening and closing ceremonies and during the parallel Cultural Olympiad.

‘However since then the only things that have happened have been the pin badges and the recruitment of LGBT volunteers for the games. I am not aware of anything else the Olympic organizers have done or plan to do. It is a huge disappointment. The potential was enormous but the delivery was very weak.

[...]

Tatchell said: ‘The Olympic authorities have made a lot of noise about equality and diversity but haven’t got much to show for it. To the average person the LGBT content of the Olympics will be hard to spot and easy to miss.

‘They have absolutely failed to live up to their promises to the LGBT community and London’s other diverse communities.’

[...]

However the responsibility for gay people taking part in they Olympics and Paralympics themselves also falls on the International Olympic Committee and the national selectors.

Wasley particularly criticized the British team’s bosses for not doing more. The only two openly gay competitors in team GB this year are both in the Paralympics, equestrian Lee Pearson and sitting volleyball player Claire Harvey.

Wasley said: ‘It is just unacceptable that Team GB has only two openly gay athletes.

‘Gay people are taking part in delivering the games but delivering the games and participation are two different things.’

But even with two, Team GB may be outperforming other national sides. While GSN and many others know of other gay competitors who will be taking part this summer, they are not out. The only exceptions most experts can name are Australian diving hero Matthew Mitcham and gymnast Josh Dixon who may be chosen for the US Olympic team.

Marc Naimark, vice president of external affairs for the Federation of Gay Games, feels LOCOG itself can’t be blamed for this problem.

He told us: ‘LOCOG’s is a committee to deliver the Olympics. It is pretty unfair to expect a host committee to change the general outlook and principles of the organization that owns the event which is the International Olympic Committee.

‘They [the IOC] are promoting religious interference in sport. They have yet to take action against Saudi Arabia for excluding women. They have done nothing to promote LGBT participation in sport.’

One thing LOCOG is doing which might help is including LGBT visitor information in the ‘Athletes Guide’ which visiting competitors will receive. It’s the first time that gay and trans information has been officially available – although the details are not yet public.

LOCOG also say they were founder signatories to Government Charter for Action against Homophobia, have hosted Pride Sport events and expressed support for the LGBT the EuroGames.

Naimark said: ‘We take the commitment of LOCOG to diversity very seriously. I know there are people who are dissatisfied. Maybe their expectations were unrealistic. [The London bidding committee] promised an awful lot and perhaps people were a bit naïve in believing all those things were possible. It is very easy to criticize but it is more important to learn what was achieved and how it can be reproduced elsewhere.’

Another disappointment outside of LOCOG’s direct remit is the failure of London to host a Pride House. The idea of having a gay, bi and trans hub for the games originates from the last winter Olympics in Vancouver. However, despite much hype, organizers for 2012’s Pride House dropped plans for a festival on south London’s Clapham Common, saying they weren’t able to get the necessary commercial funding.

The 2012 Pride House team is still reported to be trying to set something up, but there has been no confirmation yet.

‘Much of our contact [with LOCOG] has been about a Pride House,’ says Naimark. ‘We were really keen that a Pride House would take place and that it would be aimed at the athletes. We still hope that something will happen.’

With plans for a Pride House at Russia’s Winter Olympics in 2014 being blocked by homophobic judges – although activists still want to go ahead with it – it’s too early to tell if the Vancouver’s initiative will be the last, as well as the first, of it’s kind.

[...]

For some gay people, the Olympics will be a triumph whatever the level of LGBT involvement.

Clare Balding, an openly lesbian sports commentator who will be BBC TV’s female anchor for the games, has already given her endorsement, telling the annual Stonewall dinner: ‘I firmly believe these London Olympics and Paralympics will be the most gay friendly ever.’

Others, like Stonewall and Tatchell, are critical, feeling that Britain’s investment in the Olympics has failed to deliver a games which celebrate the diversity of a country which has become a beacon for LGBT rights around the world.

Others still, are cautious in their praise but look to a better future.

Chris Morgan, a world champion powerlifter and Gay Games ambassador, said LOCOG had impressed him with its pin badges linking the London Olympics with the rainbow flag.

He said: ‘It is only a simple gesture but the significance of the Olympic Games allowing that to happen was huge.’

He hopes that London will win its bid to host the Gay Games in 2018 delivering, by the back door, an LGBT Olympic legacy after all.

Read in full HERE.

London 2012 rainbow pin back in stock!

The Olympic and Paralympic pins are back in stock and can be purchased online HERE.

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London 2012 have become the first Olympics and Paralympics to launch a special pin badge aimed at the gay community.

The first "Pride Pin Badge" was presented to former Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas, who recently announced that he was gay, at a special ceremony at the London 2012 headquarters in Canary Wharf attended by Stephen Frost, the head of diversity and inclusion for LOCOG.

There are two badges - one for the Olympics and one for the Paralympics - which combines the London 2012 logos with a rainbow flag, which is used to represent gay pride.

The pins will cost £5 each.

Stephen Frost speaks on London 2012's commitment to diversity

Toronto's Globe and Mail reports on a speech from LOCOG's Stephen Frost at the Canadian Supplier Diversity Conference:

Stephen Frost opened his speech in Toronto by acknowledging that, yes, he's a short, white bloke from England trying to make this summer's London Olympics more diverse and inclusive. But he was dead serious when he said the task is not about being politically correct; it's about doing smart business.

The head of diversity and inclusion for the 2012 Games didn't mince words. Pledging to make this summer's Olympics "a Games for everyone" was one of the biggest reasons London won the bid to be host. Speaking at a Canadian Supplier Diversity Conference on Friday, Frost said the challenges of delivering on that promise have been immense and at times "terrifying." But he believes they will create systematic change.

"LOCOG [London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games] is not a charity and we're not doing anything that doesn't make these Games better," Frost said in his speech. "It's easy to say things in your campaign, but it's an entirely different thing to deliver them. Well, there aren't enough PR agencies in the world to cover this up if we don't get it right."

[...]

Frost, himself a gay man, has involved former NBA player and gay athlete John Amaechi for perspectives on inclusion for gay and lesbians at the Games. He has also worked with British Paralympic wheelchair racing champion Tanni-Grey Thompson on issues of accessibility for disabled athletes and spectators.

"It's hard work, so often it just doesn't get done in many businesses or projects," Frost said. "But we need to reject tokenistic diversity inclusiveness. The Olympics often becomes a repository for the world's problems. The London vision will definitely empower change, enhancing the hiring of disabled people, including gays and lesbians and dealing with homophobia in sport, bringing cultural communities together. We're not going to solve the world's problems, but we are going to use the power of the Games for change."

Read in full HERE.

Blake Skjellerup in London

Marc Naimark, Blake Skjellerup, Steven Frost, Carl Schultz

Marc Naimark and Carl Schultz of the Federation of Gay Games were pleased to meet Olympic speed skater Blake Skjellerup in London, after his participation in the World Short Track Championships in Sheffield. They invited Blake to join a meeting scheduled with Steven Frost of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) at LOCOG headquarters at Canary Wharf, overlooking the future Olympic Park.

We were pleased at the productive discussions between the FGG and LOCOG and of the possible contributions of Blake to our common efforts.