New exhibition in Berlin challenges Homosexuality in sport
A new exhibition by the FARE partner European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF) addresses the issue of gays and lesbians in sport.
On 4 May Klaus Wowereit, Mayor of Berlin and Theo Zwanziger, president of the German Football Association (DFB) opened the EGLSF exhibition “Against the Rules” in front of 150 invited guests from politics, sport and the lesbian/gay community.
The exhibition shows both the development of lesbian/gay sport and the experience of lesbians and gays in mainstream sport, from grass roots participation to elite competition.
The 38 exhibition banners feature the live histories of homosexual role-models in the field of sport including tennis star Martina Navratilova, Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis, the late FIFA referee John Blankenstein or the first open gay footballer Justin Fashanu.
In his welcome speech Klaus Wowereit stressed: “We need to campaign, so that the same rules apply in stadiums as in society. Sport and homosexuality are still not compatible in lots of people’s minds. We would like to help to challenge taboos surrounding Homosexuality and Sport.”
This statement was underlined by the speeches of Louise Englefield, co-president EGLSF, and Iris Hugo-Bouvier of UEFA.
