Commonwealth Games 2022: Tom Daley campaigns for LGBT+ rights
- Published
Daley won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Olympic diving champion Tom Daley is campaigning for LGBT+ rights in the Commonwealth for a new BBC documentary.
It is illegal to be gay in more than half of the 54 countries competing at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Daley, 28, will make a powerful "historic" statement against homophobia at Thursday's opening ceremony.
"LGBT+ athletes must be safe and feel comfortable being their authentic selves without fear of persecution or death," he said.
In Tom Daley: Illegal to Be Me, which airs on 9 August at 21:00 BST, the diver, who says he has "experienced homophobia all my life", travels to counties including Pakistan and Jamaica - which have laws against same sex relationships - to ask what the sporting world can do to help.
He speaks to athletes facing persecution and advocates fighting for changes.
He then submits a manifesto of action points to the Commonwealth Games Federation "in an effort to create meaningful, long-lasting change that ensures major sporting competitions are open to, and safe for, everyone".
Then on Friday at Alexander Stadium, in a ceremony watched by more than one billion people, Daley will enter as a final batonbearer in the Queen's Baton Relay, accompanied by some of the athletes and advocates he meets on his journey and with the Progress Pride flag on display.
LGBT athletes will be able to wave the rainbow flag on the podium for the first time at the Games.
"I learnt so many really harrowing stories - one of the big things that came of it was visibility and being seen and that is why something that is happening at the opening ceremony is going to be quite the historic moment," Daley, who is not competing in Birmingham, told BBC The One Show.
Daley, a four-time Commonwealth champion added: "I've experienced homophobia all my life, competing in countries where it's illegal to be me and where I don't feel safe to leave the venue I'm competing in. If I feel like that as a privileged man, I can't imagine what day-to-day life is like for LGBT+ people around the Commonwealth.
"So along with some of these inspirational people, we're working on a campaign that we wanted to be more than just something you see in a documentary that you watch for an hour and then move on. We wanted it to be something that actually makes a difference.
"The CGF has been willing to talk and willing to hear what we have to say, and it's good to see they've started taking a stance towards more inclusion. Along with incredible LGBT+ people around the Commonwealth, we will make a difference.
"The Commonwealth Games Federation can be a shining example to other sporting organisations that sports really can be for everyone and with the pull power sports has, we can hopefully influence change to horrendous human rights laws that exist in so many countries around the world."
Tom Daley: Illegal to Be Me, will be shown on BBC One on Tuesday 9 August at 21:00 BST and also available on the BBC iPlayer.