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February 8, 2013
Johnny Weir advises gay athletes at Olympics to tone it down in Russia

Skating champ loves Russia but 'it's appalling they can censor their public'

Figure skating star Johnny Weir loves Russia where he is immensely popular with fans.

But anti-gay laws in the country have him warning his fellow gay athletes when they participate in the Winter Olympics next year in Sochi, Russia.

January 11, 2013
David Cameron backs London bid to host 2018 Gay Games

UK Prime Minister has pledged to ensure gay athletes and their allies will be able to use the Olympic and Paralympic Games venues

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has backed London’s bid to host the 2018 Gay Games today (11 January).

Ministers have pledged to help the organizers to negotiate the use of the Olympic venues for the competition, the Evening Standard reports.

London will go head to head with Paris, Orlando, Amsterdam and Limerick to stage the event.

December 17, 2012
Synchronized swimming - still discriminating against gay men

The equality fight in sport is not over - gay men continued to be excluded from synchronized swimming

At the London 2012 summer Olympics, there were only two sports that discriminated on the basis of gender - men were not allowed to compete in either the rhythmic gymnastics or the synchronized swimming competitions.

At the time there was quite a bit of media interest in the gender-discrimination aspect of these sports, but has anything changed? What next for campaigners?

December 7, 2012
Relive the Olympics and Tom Daley's tiny trunks

Remember your favorite London 2012 moments with a glossy photo collection

London's Olympic Games may seem like a long time ago now, but fans can now relive the excitement with a new collection of photos of the international tournament.

From British diver Tom Daley winning bronze in his microscopic trunks to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt rocketing past the finish line to win yet another gold medal, Capture the Games website has images of all your favorite moments from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

October 9, 2012
Rupert Everett: 'Sport and showbiz are still anti-gay'

Rupert Everett has claimed homophobia is still very much present in sport, due to the lack of gay athletes and torch bearers in the Olympics.

Rupert Everett has claimed the lack of gay athletes and torch bearers in the Olympics reflects how homophobia is still very much present in sport.

The 53-year-old actor, best known for his role in My Best Friend's Wedding, criticised the lack of gay people that took part in the Games, arguing that the commentators failed to discuss an openly gay person.

Everett said: 'You listened to the commentary and they would say "this is a mother…this is someone else." But they never said "this is an openly homosexual person."'

September 5, 2012
Get set and go for World Outgames 2013 in Antwerp

2013 is going to be a busy year for sporty gays and lesbians - one of the highlights will be the World Outgames that will be held in Antwerp

Antwerp in Belgium is getting ready to host it's own 'gay Olympics' next year - the World Outgames is a four-yearly LGBT sports event attracting competitors from around the globe.

Gay Star News recently caught up with Jerko Bozikovic, marketing and communications manager for the event, to get an update on what participants can look forward to from the worldOutgames experience.

How many athletes will be participating in the World Outgames in Antwerp?

We’re expecting between 8,000 and 10,000 athletes from all over the world.

August 9, 2012
Protest calls for lifting of gay games ban at Sochi Olympics

Peter Tatchell leads picket of Sochi Park in London, claiming Russian ban on Pride House is an 'attack on freedom of expression'

Campaigners led by veteran gay rights activist Peter Tatchell protested in London today (9 August) over Russia's ban on a gay event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Protesters picketed the Sochi House exhibition in Kensington Gardens holding signs demanding that the International Olympic Committee step in to force the Russian authorities to reverse their decision not to allow a Pride House at the games.

August 8, 2012
Protest against gay games event ban at Sochi Olympics

Campaigners call on IOC to intervene to lift Russia's ban on Pride House at 2014 Winter Olympics

Gay rights campaigners will hold a protest in London over Russia's ban on a Pride House event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Activists will picket the Sochi Exhibition in Kensington Gardens tomorrow (9 August), from 10.30am, to show their anger at the Russian Ministry of Justice's refusal to allow a Pride House at the games.

Russian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender campaigners had planned the venue to be a meeting place for gay athletes and their supporters with events including a sports competition and photo exhibition.

August 3, 2012
Lesbian volleyball player Natalie Cook to retire after Olympics

The Austrlian sports star, who has competed in five Olympics, has announced London will be her last

Lesbian sports star Natalie Cook is planning to retire from beach volleyball after the London Olympics.

As reported by Wide World of Sports, the 37-year-old’s Olympic career which stretches nearly two decades ended on Wednesday (1 August) with her fifth and final games.

‘The mind, and the body, needs a rest. Not a rest that I’m coming back from, but a rest forever,’ Cook said yesterday (2 August).

July 26, 2012
Activists protest Olympic ‘gender police’ over sex tests

International LGBTI activists say the new policy for testing if female athletes are ‘real women’ is ‘unscientific, discriminatory and ineffective’

With the 2012 Summer Olympics set to open tomorrow, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) faces a new scandal over its gender testing.

The gender verification policy is designed to determine whether intersex athletes should compete as women or men.

Intersex people may quite naturally produce higher levels of male or female than average for their identified gender.

July 23, 2012
Protesters call for Olympics chiefs to end gay hate in sport

Demonstration outside IOC's hotel in London urges for ban on Olympics ban for countries which discriminate in sport

Protesters called on Olympics bosses to enforce its charter on discrimination and end homophobia in sport.

Yesterday (22 July), renowned gay rights activist Peter Tatchell led the demonstration outside the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane, London, which is hosting the International Olympic Committee for the duration of the 2012 games.

'The IOC should disqualify from the Olympics countries that discriminate against athletes on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion/belief, sexual orientation or gender identity,' Tatchell said.

July 20, 2012
Speck of gold: Meet the openly gay Olympians

A tiny fraction, far less than 1%, of athletes at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics will be openly LGBT – meet the few who are going for gold

With Olympics bosses accused of failing to stand up for the rights of gay athletes, just how many out LGBT sportsmen and women are there competing in this year’s games? The answer: Not a lot.

According to blog Outsports.com, there are only 18 athletes playing for our team out of a total of 12,602. That’s a shocking less than 0.008%.

July 19, 2012
Olympic bosses 'all talk and no action' on gay rights

Activist Peter Tatchell slams IOC for 'ignoring' his calls for countries to sign equality pledge or face a ban from the games

Olympics bosses have been slammed as ‘all talk and no action’ after ‘ignoring’ calls to ban countries which discriminate against LGBT people in sport from taking part in the games.

In a response to Gay Star News, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) claimed ‘any unsporting behavior’ would be a ‘serious breach’ of the event’s charter.

July 18, 2012
Letter calls on Olympic bosses to stand up for gay rights

Activist Peter Tatchell calls on nations to sign 'equality pledge' for LGBT rights or be banned from London 2012

Activist Peter Tatchell has written an open letter to Olympic bosses urging them to make a stand for gay rights by banning homophobic countries from competing in the games.

In an open letter to Olympic chiefs Jacques Rogge and Lord Coe, Tatchell calls on participating countries which are known to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to sign a pledge supporting equal rights or be disqualified from the sporting event.

July 13, 2012
London hosts Olympic games you won’t find in a stadium

Tranny Olympics, the international celebration of transgender nightlife, returns to London for its fourth year running

To celebrate the raw talented diversity of London’s transgender nightlife, the London 2012 Tranny Olympics will be happening in Tower Hamlets, London on 4 August.

Unlike the main Olympic and Paralympic games, the 2012 Tranny Olympics will be showcasing acts of strengths and stamina not found on the sports field.

Bethnal Green Working Mens Club will be playing host to the event, celebrating London’s alternative nightlife with performances from international drag acts and DJ sets.

July 3, 2012
Race to host Gay Games heats up as five cities submit bids

Organizations from three continents bidding for the 2018 Gay Games X ahead of deadline on 15 July

With less than two weeks to go before the deadline closes, the race is on to host the tenth Gay Games in 2018.

Organizations from Rio de Janeiro, Limerick, London, Paris and Orlando have all submitted requests to the international Federation of Gay Games (FGG).

June 29, 2012
London’s gay sports teams want you to come out and play during Olympics

LGBT sports and athletics teams are to hold taster sessions during the Olympics period to attract new members as part of Out For Sport Week

London’s LGBT sports and athletics teams are hoping to attract greater interest in sport through a series of ‘taster sessions’ between the Olympics closing ceremony and the Paralympic Games.

The event will run from 15 to 19 August.

Sports on offer to anyone include, football, hockey, kickboxing, martial arts, running, sailing, swimming, synchronised swimming, tennis and water polo. Out For Sport Week is also working to include teams of rugby, volleyball, softball and rowing.

June 15, 2012
London prepares for World Pride

Gay 80s icon Boy George and R&B star Deborah Cox will perform on the main stage celebrating World Pride

The countdown to World Pride has begun, and promises to be bigger, bolder, and braver than ever before.

It promises to be one of the highlights of the London summer calendar, sitting comfortably next to the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Games.

World Pride will be taking over Soho, the gay heart of London, on 17 June to officially launch the event.

The festival will take place from 17 June to 8 July, with the main parade on Saturday 7 July.

June 11, 2012
Olympic legend Greg Louganis talks to Gay Star News about mentoring young divers

Four-time Gold Medalist tells Olympic hopefuls: 'Everybody there wants to see you succeed'

American divers have failed to win any Olympic medals in the last two Summer Games and won just one in 2000.

So who better to motivate them than the man who has won more diving medals in US history: Greg Louganis.

Louganis, winner of two golds as the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, two gold at the 1988 Games in Seoul, and a silver at the 1976 Games in Montreal when he was still in high school, was brought in by US Diving in 2010 as an athlete mentor to the Olympic hopefuls.

May 11, 2012
Gay Britons ready to carry Olympic torch

The official countdown to the Olympic Games in London has begun with a torch relay in Greece and the UK

Four gay Britons are preparing to carry the Olympic torch along its route around the UK, as the iconic flame is finally lit in Greece.

In a traditional ceremony yesterday (10 May), the flame was lit by the rays of the sun at the Temple of Hera, next to the historic ruins of the home of the ancient Olympic Games.

May 11, 2012
Gay Britons ready to carry Olympic torch

The official countdown to the Olympic Games in London has begun with a torch relay in Greece and the UK

Four gay Britons are preparing to carry the Olympic torch along its route around the UK, as the iconic flame is finally lit in Greece.

In a traditional ceremony yesterday (10 May), the flame was lit by the rays of the sun at the Temple of Hera, next to the historic ruins of the home of the ancient Olympic Games.

April 1, 2012
Olympics adds gay pink ring to flag

International Olympic Committee will unveil new flag at London closing ceremony for Russia and Brazil games to push LGBT sport

UPDATE: This was our 2012 April Fool's Day story. Whether we fooled you or not, we hope you enjoyed it.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is to alter the Olympic flag for four years in a global drive to tackle homophobia and transphobia in sport.

Gay Star News can exclusively reveal today (1 April) that a pink ring will be added to the Olympic flag to symbolize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex sportspeople.

March 20, 2012
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

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.