LGBTQ+: Cardiff becomes first UK city to host EuroGames

Pride Sports Cymru said it was looking forward to welcoming the EuroGames to Cardiff in 2027

Europe's biggest annual LGBTQ+ multi-sports event will be held in Cardiff in 2027.

The Welsh capital will be the first UK city to host the EuroGames.

First staged in 1992, organisers say the event was set up in response to discrimination and to promote integration in sport.

Pride Sports Cymru, the team behind Cardiff's successful bid, said it was an amazing opportunity to showcase that Wales had a welcoming culture.

They said they expected up to 10,000 athletes from across Europe to compete in venues across the city.

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Duncan Cameron, chair of Cardiff Lions, the first gay and inclusive rugby union club in Wales, said it was a "huge benefit to raise the profile of inclusive sport".

The first EuroGames was held in The Hague in 1992 and the event in Cardiff in three years' time will be the 24th edition

"One of the greatest things about the EuroGames is that it's open to anybody, no matter how they identify. No matter who you are, there's a place for you to come and play," he said.

"A lot of people don't know that there are inclusive rugby teams or football teams or any of the other 30 sports that are going to be highlighted in the games here… so it's a great chance for us to show what we can do on a national and global stage."

The Cardiff Red Kites, an LGBTQ+ inclusive badminton club, will be helping to host the badminton competitions.

Neil Roberts, from the Red Kites, said the club offered a "sense of community".

"It's proven that a lot of LGBTQ+ people face barriers when they access sport, so clubs like this just help people to enjoy their sport and remain physically and mentally well in themselves too," he said.

He added hosting the EuroGames would hopefully "embed the culture that sport is something that everyone should enjoy regardless of who they are, who they love, what race or what background they come from".

"That's what we want, and I really hope the EuroGames will help promote that," he added.

Up to 10,000 competitors are expected to take part and this will include some transgender athletes. 

Some national and international sports governing bodies have banned transgender women from competing in the female category.

The Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board both currently require transgender women to apply to compete in the female category and review their applications on a case-by-case basis.

The EuroGames tournament is governed by the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation and is a "sports for all" event, meaning it is open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, age and skill level.

Charlotte Galloway said the EuroGames coming to Cardiff was an amazing opportunity to showcase that Wales has a really inclusive sport system

Charlotte Galloway, chair of Cardiff Dragons, Wales' first mixed gender LGBTQ+ football club, said all athletes can compete as their "authentic selves".

"People are allowed to identify and play in their authentic gender," she said.

"So that means that trans women can play in the women's category and trans men can play in the men's category - I think it's really important that we're able to do this because there's no other competition that's this big in Europe that allows gender non-conforming people, trans people and non-binary people to compete this way."

She added: "For us to be able to host these games and then provide that platform for trans-inclusive sports here in Wales, and by extent to the UK, that shows other clubs and other teams that sport is a place for trans and non-binary people.

"It also shows trans and non-binary people that sport is for them too."

Jess Williams said a EuroGames in Wales will be transformative for LGBTQ+ people in sport, and indeed the whole community

As preparations get under way, thoughts are already turning to what the legacy of the tournament could be.

Jess Williams, who was part of the Pride Sports Cymru team behind the bid, said: "Beyond 2027 we hope that this will increase the number of LGBTQ+ people participating in sport in Wales.

"We really want to grow a bit of a network of LGBTQ+ leaders in Welsh sport, and a EuroGames event coming to Wales could definitely help be the catalyst to that and for ongoing work in the years to come."

EuroGames 2024 will be held in Vienna, Austria in July.

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