Tom Daley gets unexpected show of appreciation from diving partner Noah Williams.

More LGBTQ+ Athletes
Are Involved in Many Sports

More than 190 LGBTQ+ Athletes participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics. With a few exceptions, they got little media coverage. In addition, more than 4,000 LGBTQ+ athletes participated in the 2024 EuroGames in Vienna in July just before the Olympics. The EuroGames are held every four years in some city in Europe. Then there were the GayGames held in 2023 in Guadalajara, Mexico and Hong Kong that drew over 5,000 participants. The GayGames are held every year, and they have been held in the US five times.

The LGBT Center of Raleigh hosted its most successful street fair and festival OutRaleigh in June.

The LGBT Center of Raleigh traces its history back for 30 years to the time of Triangle Community Works. The Center opened as a stand-alone location in 2010. The website of the Center has a detailed history of the various locations and programs of the Center up until the Pandemic, when it was forced to shut down except for an office space. Since 2019, it has been limited to small office spaces and various temporary facilities. The planned joint venture at 4 North Blount St. did not work out.

A report from the Executive Director Kori Hennessey:

photo: Guillaume Paumier, CC-BY

The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) lists 115 gay pride events starting May 10th and running through September 8th. That list doesn’t include any in North Carolina. I guess that a crowd of 65,000 people doesn’t compare to those in world capitals. In fact, there are 23 Pride Events in the state. The first Pride March started in 1981 in Durham on the East Campus of Duke. Beginning in 2000, Pride Events spread to communities outside the Triangle. Of course, everyone had to take a break during the Pandemic.

Gay pride events have been disparaged as just a lot of big parties. The balloons and costumes are our way of expressing joy. We are due a time of celebration. Given the long history of discrimination, public events in which the LGBTQ+ people can meet, are major steps in achieving public acceptance and understanding.