From the Pride House to public statements, the International Olympic Committee is hoping to raise awareness for LGBTQ issues at this year's Summer Olympics.
A record number of LGBTQ Olympians competed at the 2020 Tokyo Games (held in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic), and the IOC is looking to keep the momentum running with a variety of initiatives around the 2024 Games. Many include ways for athletes, fans, and media to get involved and find community with each other.
There has been a long history of athletes restricted from speaking out about important cultural or political topics at the Olympics. In 2021, Olympic organizers announced more leeway in the restrictions for the Tokyo Games, and these protocols will continue at the Paris Games.
"We strongly believe that Paris 2024 has a fantastic opportunity to communicate and demonstrate that this situation [of support for the LGBTQ community] has to evolve," stated Paris organizing committee President Tony Estanguet.
The relaxing of restrictions affects more activists than just those of LGBTQ rights, but there are still vague rules involved that could stifle athletes from protesting specific causes. In Tokyo, athletes could protest for basic concepts like peace but weren't allowed to wear anything specific for Black Lives Matter.
In Tokyo, the Olympics allowed the wearing of rainbow colors in a modification to its long-standing rule halting any sort of statements of belief or identity. The Paris Games have the potential to continue opening the door for these types of athlete statements.
Beyond these rules of the Games, the Summer Olympics will include something known as the Pride House, which will be on a barge located at Rosa Bonheur sur Seine on the Invalides harbor. It will serve as an activity hub and hangout spot for LGBTQ athletes, fans, and allies. The online program describes it as a space "to celebrate the LGBTI+ athletes and ensure their visibility with a programme of celebratory, cultural, and educational activities throughout the Games period."
The Pride House is based on traditional hospitality houses — often organized around particular cultures or countries. Pride Houses, organized by Pride House International, can be found at major worldwide sporting events. The Paris Pride House is the first one officially backed by the IOC. However, the first one to exist at any Olympic Games was at Vancouver in 2010.
This year, the Olympic Pride House has planned to go beyond the standard Olympic Games timeline with its work. It opened in mid-June and through September 8, volunteers are slated to visit different venues around Paris to interact with locals and visitors and raise awareness for LGBTQ issues. Agendas for the main locations are scheduled to be announced soon.
The 2024 Paris Games media kit also includes extra emphasis on proper language usage for stories relating to the LGBTQ community. The IOC lays out in detail many common terms used to describe LGBTQ identities and the proper way to discuss transgender athletes — highlighting the difference between sex and gender, pronoun usage, and more. Under a section titled "Problematic Language," the organization goes further into harmful terms to avoid, such as any language involving biological sex.
With many major sports' governing bodies regulations involving testosterone testing for trans women, the IOC also included a section on how to discuss athletes who have naturally high levels of testosterone to avoid stigmatization.
However, this year's Olympics is still seeing more restrictions on trans athletes. Though the IOC said it will not discriminate against athletes who meet their sports' requirements to compete, many of these federations have implemented restrictions that either limit trans women's participation or ban it outright. Some trans athletes who competed in Tokyo would now be ineligible due to new regulations.
The opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Games will be held July 26. For more information, go to olympics.com/en/paris-2024.
Lu Calzada is a Chicago-based freelance journalist covering LGBTQ issues and culture around the city. As a former Division 1 sports editor at Loyola Chicago, they especially enjoy reporting on the intersection between athletics and marginalized identities.
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