Tom Daley’s impactful trip to Pride House Down Under recalled in new episode of The Pride House Podcast

• ‘The Pride House Podcast’ episode 2 focusing on Gold Coast 2018 available now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
• Series is showcasing conversations related to sport and LGBTQ+ rights in the Commonwealth
• Created by the team at Pride House Birmingham, which will open in July for the 2022 Commonwealth Games

The energy and excitement of a Pride House is explored in the latest episode of ‘The Pride House Podcast’, which looks back at the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast.

It’s the second installment in the new series from Pride House Birmingham, which will open its doors and welcome visitors shortly before Birmingham 2022 gets underway in late July.

Each episode of the podcast features conversations that focus on the relationship between Commonwealth sport and LGBTQ+ rights. Guests include athletes, coaches, officials, administrators and those with other roles in sport, alongside human rights defenders from the 54 countries in the Commonwealth.

In episode 2, golden memories of 2018 Pride House Gold Coast are shared by its project manager, Matt Hall, and one of the lead writers on the ‘Australian LGBTIQ+ Sporting Trailblazers’ exhibition, Caroline Layt.

Among the reflections, Hall shares the story of a visit by British star Tom Daley and his then-fiance, the movie writer and director Dustin Lance Black, during the Games.

The couple were photographed at Pride House and also made return visits to the venue for some of the evening entertainments, which included musical and theatrical performances from local artists.

The focal points of the Pride House in Queensland were two full-scale exhibitions - one focusing on the fight for LGBTQ+ equality across the Commonwealth, and the other celebrating the national ‘Trailblazers’ whose visibility in sport had inspired other LGBTQ+ people and allies across Australia and the world.

Layt describes the process of researching and composing those profiles - both herself and Hall are pioneering athletes who featured in the exhibition too - and the impactful stories that most resonated with her.

The aim of ‘The Pride House Podcast’ is to celebrate the achievements of those providing representation for LGBTQ+ communities in Commonwealth sport; and to assess the progress made by human rights defenders based in the 72 nations (54 countries) whose athletes are expected to compete at Birmingham 2022.

Each episode also seeks to inspire potential volunteers to get involved and encourage participation in sport and physical activity, particularly for LGBTQ+ youth.

Through the sharing of stories and experiences, Pride House Birmingham hopes to rally wider support and allyship for the causes most important to activists and organisations advocating for LGBTQ+ rights; and broaden understanding of the pivotal role that sport plays in breaking down stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bi and trans people, all around the world.

Those interested in potentially volunteering can register interest now here.

To access the podcast, and also listen to the first episode which focused on Pride House Glasgow at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, go to: https://podfollow.com/the-pride-house-podcast

Quotes from Episode 2 - more available on request

Matt Hall on welcoming Tom Daley to 2018 Pride House Gold Coast:

“I had the privilege of meeting both Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black and giving them a tour of the venue. They were both thoroughly impressed with the whole set-up and they visited on more than one occasion – they came in at night as well to attend social events, out of hours, which they didn’t have to but they did it because I think they believed in the message of what Pride House was trying to achieve.”

Caroline Layt on preparing the ‘Australian LGBTIQ+ Sporting Trailblazers’ exhibition:

“I thought those interviews were really powerful and interesting. It was really a duty of mine to write them up powerfully too… I just thought a lot of those stories resonated with all of our experiences and the struggles we’ve had. We tried to portray them in the best way we could - and I think we did that.”

Matt Hall on a visit from Dean Nelson, who co-founded the very first Pride House at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver:

“Dean was blown away because the venue was right on the beach in the Gold Coast so it was an exceptional venue and then the fact we had two exhibitions running, daily panels of discussion on different topics, and nightly events… he thought we’d done an exceptionally good job.”