As the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games approach, GLAAD is gearing up for the highest-watched sporting event to put LGBTQ athletes on the world stage, promising that the Games will be the most innovative, most sustainable and most inclusive ever.
This year’s Olympics are scheduled to run from July 26 to August 11, and the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8. Most of the competition will take place in Paris, France, but some sports, such as sailing and surfing, will take place beyond Paris’ borders in Marseille and Teaaupo, Tahiti, respectively.
Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Olympic rings are seen on the Eiffel Tower near the restored “Arab Knight” statue on the Pont d’Iena in Paris on July 4, 2024. (GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP) (GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP via Getty Images)
The game is wide open
To embody the goal of accessibility and inclusivity, Paris 2024 has named the theme of the Olympic and Paralympic Games “Games Wide Open.” In line with this theme, the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will have full gender equality, setting a precedent for future Olympic Games and making history as the first Olympic Games to feature an equal number of male and female competitors.
To reaffirm its commitment to “making the Games wide open” and fighting discrimination, the Games will host a Pride House. An initiative of Fier-Play in collaboration with Paris 2024, the Pride House will serve as an “identifiable, safe and welcoming space for LGBTIQ+ fans, athletes and supporters” at the Olympics. This year’s Pride House will be a barge located in Rosa-Bonheur-sur-Seine, in the heart of the Games. The venue will be free and open to the public and will host a range of sporting, festive, cultural and educational activities throughout the Games.
Those who want to experience the Olympics in an LGBTQ-friendly environment and learn more about topics and issues related to the LGBTQ community can visit Paris’ Pride House and various pop-ups during the Olympics.
Tracking LGBTQ Olympians
More than 150 out athletes from at least 24 countries will compete for gold medals at the Olympics, with at least one out athlete represented in 32 sports, including refugee teams, according to OutSports.
The United States once again has the most openly LGBTQ athletes at the Olympics, with 28, accounting for nearly a fifth of all participants on the list. Following the U.S. team, Brazil (22), Australia (17), Great Britain (10) and Germany (9) have the most openly LGBTQ athletes.
“These athletes are a testament to the incredible strides the LGBTQ community has made around the world in sports and society at large,” Outsports co-founder Jim Budzinski said in a press release.
Nikki Hiltz of the United States after the women’s 1500m final on day three of the World Indoor Athletics Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on Sunday, March 3, 2024. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)
But Budzinski acknowledges that the battle is not yet won.
In many of the countries taking part in the games, it is illegal to walk down the street as an LGBTQ person or even to hold a pride parade.
“We hope that this list of LGBTQ team athletes will inspire people around the world, including in countries where it can be extremely difficult to come out, to keep moving forward,” Budzinski added.
GLAAD’s Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Guide
To ensure inclusive coverage of the Games, GLAAD partnered with Athlete Allies and Pride House France to create the GLAAD Paris 2024 LGBTQ Olympic and Paralympic Games Guide. The guide aims to empower and equip journalists, creators and storytellers covering LGBTQ athletes to tell their stories fairly and accurately. The GLAAD Guide also raises awareness about topics and issues relevant to LGBTQ communities around the world.
GLAAD’s LGBTQ Guide to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games includes LGBTQ language, terminology, and usage examples relevant to covering LGBTQ athletes at this year’s Paris Games, as well as comprehensive profiles of more than a dozen notable LGBTQ athletes.
GLAAD’s Paris 2024 LGBTQ Olympic and Paralympic Games guide covers a wide range of topics, including the history of LGBTQ athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Olympic policies regarding transgender athletes, and a list of notable LGBTQ Olympic hopefuls, including the world’s fastest woman, Shakyari Richardson, and the first openly LGBTQ Olympic sport climber, Campbell Harrison.
EUGENE, OR – JUNE 22: Athlete Sha’Carey Richardson reacts after winning the women’s 100m final during Day 2 of the U.S. 2024 Olympic Team Track and Field Trials at Hayward Field on June 22, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
While the guide celebrates the achievements of LGBTQ athletes, it also draws attention to the various threats LGBTQ people face around the world. According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA), as of July 9, 2024, there are 61 countries in the world that “criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity,” including seven that carry the death penalty under various circumstances. These laws put LGBTQ people at risk and under threat of state-sponsored violence. In the Olympic context, anti-LGBTQ policies and rhetoric, whether from nations, sports federations or individuals, severely impede athletes’ ability to truly compete.
Recently, sports federations such as World Athletics, which governs athletics, have changed their eligibility requirements affecting transgender and intersex athletes. As a result, athletes such as two-time Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya and NCAA Division II champion CeCe Telfer are barred from representing their countries at the Olympics. Similar policies are in place at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and World Aquatics.
Access GLAAD’s Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic LGBTQ Guide here.
Continuing coverage
GLAAD encourages reporters, creatives, and those covering the Olympics in any way to see supplemental coverage in GLAAD’s 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Guide, available in English and French.
GLAAD will continue to profile various LGBTQ athletes on GLAAD.org, highlighting their progress and celebrating the medals and victories won by LGBTQ athletes.
How to watch
A preview of the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will air on NBC at 12:00 PM ET on Friday, July 26. Live coverage of the Opening Ceremony will begin at 1:30 PM ET, with an extended encore in primetime at 7:30 PM ET/MT/PST the same day. The Opening Ceremony is expected to last more than three hours.
Check out the official NBC Olympics schedule here.
GLAAD’s 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Guide was created in collaboration with Athlete Ally and Pride House France, and produced by the GLAAD Media Institute, GLAAD’s training, research and consulting arm. Learn more at GLAAD.org/Institute and support GLAAD’s work here.
