Tom Daley: Olympic champion says Commonwealth Games LGBT+ manifesto is 'first step'

Olympic champion Tom Daley says his Commonwealth Games LGBT+ manifesto is "the first step" and that other major sports events now need to follow suit.

British diver Daley, 28, has worked closely with the Commonwealth Games Federation to draw up a number of action points.

They include a commitment to install Pride Houses within the athletes' villages at every future Games, sensitivity training for staff, and resources for asylum-seeking charities where LGBT+ people can seek safety.

"There are other sporting events that aren't taking a stand in any way," Daley told BBC Sport.

"There are so many examples of major events being held in places where it is illegal to be gay. For instance, the Fifa World Cup being held in Qatar, Formula 1 in Saudi Arabia.

"The silence speaks a thousand words."

In the lead-up to the Qatar World Cup this winter, 16 LGBTIQ+ organisations - representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer or questioning fans - have been engaging with Fifa, presenting action points on rights they want to see implemented before the tournament. They said in March that "progress has been slow". Tournament organisers have said "everyone will be welcome".

Within Formula 1, where races have been held in both Qatar and Saudi Arabia, individual drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have worn Pride colours during races.

It is illegal to be gay in more than half the 54 countries that competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Many of these include countries where laws were exported by the UK during colonial rule.

During the opening ceremony in Birmingham, four-time champion Daley joined athletes and advocates from different countries within the Commonwealth carrying 'Progress Pride' flags into Alexander Stadium.

"In the UK, I think the Pride flag can be taken for granted," Daley told BBC Sport. "For lots of people around the Commonwealth, it's a sign of safety and acceptance."

One of the flag-bearers was Jason Jones - an LGBT+ activist from Trinidad who, in 2018, won a legal challenge at the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago which decriminalised adult same-sex intimacy.

He said what happened at the opening ceremony was "a small step for LGBT+ people, but a giant leap in the sports world for LGBT+ people".

Daley added: "This was the first time any sporting event had anything so bold."

In order to draw up his plan, Daley spent much of the last year travelling to - or speaking to people from - a number of countries where laws are hostile to LGBT+ people, including Jamaica, Pakistan and Nigeria.

All of this is documented in a one-off film, which will be shown on BBC One on Tuesday, 9 August, at 21:00 BST.

Daley hears horrific stories of people being beaten, stoned and killed for their sexuality.

His initial stance was any country in which it is illegal to be gay should be banned from hosting the Games, but he has since modified that.

"There shouldn't be further oppression of telling people what they should and shouldn't do, but instead allowing the sporting federation to draw up a set of values," he said.

"That way, it's on individual countries to embrace those values if they do want to host the Games."