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This year, the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), which is celebrated on May 17 almost all around the world, got a significant back up by the European institutions and its representatives. Catherine Ashton, EU high representative in her statement on behalf of the European Union on the International Day Against Homophobia clearly reaffirmed the principle of non-discrimination which requires that human rights apply equally to every human being regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. The statement continues that "The European Union rejects and condemns any manifestation of homophobia as this phenomenon is a blatant violation of human dignity. It [...]

Klaus Wowereit, the major of Berlin and Dr. Theo Zwanziger, the president of the German Football Federation (DFB) opened on may 4, 2010 the exhibition "Against the Rules – Lesbians and Gays in Sport" from the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF) in front of 150 invited guests from politics, sport and lesbian/gay community. On 38 banners the exhibition shows the development of the lesbian/gay sport respectively the situation of lesbians and gays in sport from mainstream to elite sport. In his welcome speech Klaus Wowereit stressed: "We need to campaign, so that the same rules apply in stadiums [...]

The European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF) is proud to announce that its former Co-President, Conny Kempe-Schälicke has been shortlisted for the prestigious Tom Waddell award. The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) award, whose winner will be announced during this year’s global Gay Games event in Cologne, was named after the founding father of the global LGBT sports movement and honours those who have inspired excellence and leadership through their volunteering. Conny Kempe-Schälicke is well known in the global LGBT sports movement. Her reputation as a mover and shaker in LGBT sport spans more than twenty years, including ten [...]

The issue of gay and lesbian participation in sport is still a taboo subject that is usually only talked about behind closed doors, but rarely discussed in the open. There is hardly a single area of society in which the participation of homosexuals seems as abnormal as in sport. Even though society’s attitudes to sexuality have changed, the assumption still remains that sport and homosexuality do not mix; lesbians and gay men are still largely ignored or openly rejected in sport. However, the situation is slowly changing. Various social developments like the fact that sport is becoming a leisure activity [...]