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This programme contains scenes which
some viewers may find upsetting,

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very strong language and
discriminatory language and content
from the start.

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I'm Tom Daley.
I'm an athlete, and I'm gay.

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It hasn't always been easy
for me to say that.

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TOM: Thank you very much.

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VO: In London 2012,
out of nearly 11,000 athletes,

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only 23 were openly LGBT.

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There were more athletes
called James at those Olympics

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than people that were out.

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There clearly were more athletes
that were closeted.

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I mean, I was one of them.

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CHEERING

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London 2012 was the pinnacle
of what I'd been dreaming of

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my whole diving career,

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but back then was probably when
I was most scared of being outed.

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It was terrifying, and this was
my way of being able to feel free,

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even though I was far from
feeling free in real life.

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JOURNALISTS SHOUT

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Since then, my life's changed,
and I'm a husband...

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TOM: Hello, Robbie!
..and a father to Robbie.

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TOM ON VIDEO: I met someone,
and, well, that someone...

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VO: Getting here wasn't easy.

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..is a guy.

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What I remember about it was you
literally shaking, like this.

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"Tom Daley is gay. I am now
ashamed of my country. Eww.

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"We can't have a bloody fag
representing us."

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But many gay athletes
have it so much worse.

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My stepdad found out
where I was living

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and he beat me
and he threw acid at me.

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In over half the countries competing
in this year's Commonwealth Games,

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being gay is illegal, and can lead
to horrific attacks.

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Sad doesn't even cover it.

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It's like something out of,
like, a horror film.

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Real dark horror film.

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I want to find out where
all this hatred came from.

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It honestly makes me feel sick
to be British.

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I get that. That's level one.

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Level two is, "Now what?"

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And now I'm launching a campaign

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to get the sporting world
to try and change things.

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I want sporting events to take note,
because we're not going anywhere.

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This is my trophy cabinet.

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At the top
we've got World Championships,

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then we've got Olympic.
And then down here we've got

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European and Commonwealth.

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On the Sydney Cricket Ground,

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it's the opening day
of the Empire Games,

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the Olympics of the British
Commonwealth of Nations.

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STARTER PISTOL FIRES

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The Games are on!

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The Commonwealth Games started life
as the British Empire Games,

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aiming to unite the countries
that were under British rule

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through sport.

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Here's some real high diving.

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By the time I competed,
the Empire was over

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and the Games had been rebranded.

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The Commonwealth Games
now takes place every four years

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and has a global audience
of 1.5 billion.

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This is the dive that Tom Daley fans
have been waiting for.

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So I got two golds in Delhi 2010.

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I mean, it's 12 years ago now.
It makes me feel a bit old.

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Then from Glasgow,
gold in the men's 10m individual

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and silver in the synchro.

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And then the last one...

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So here's the case for it.

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And there was a Commonwealth
gold medal in there.

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But now...

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..I've lost a Gold Coast medal.

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Robbie goes in here all the time
and just gets medals

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and puts them on and runs around
and calls them his necklaces.

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CLANKING

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Any of these gold?

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Oh, yes.

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That is my most recent
Commonwealth Games gold medal,

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which is from Gold Coast 2018.

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This year, the Games
is in Birmingham,

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with over 4,000 athletes
competing in more than 280 events.

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But there's an issue
that no-one's talking about.

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The Commonwealth is home to
a third of the world's population

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and is made up of 56 member states.

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In over half of them,
it's illegal to be gay.

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In many, you can get life
imprisonment - and in three,

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you could even be
sentenced to death.

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You start to question, should I feel
a little bit like, "Ooh,"

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about these medals,
or should I be proud of them?

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Because what kind of message
is that sending?

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I would be illegal to exist

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in 35 of the 56 sovereign states
of the Commonwealth.

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I mean, that's just outrageous.

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These days, most international
sporting bodies

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claim that they're inclusive
of LGBT people.

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But just this year,
the Football World Cup and Formula 1

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are both being hosted in countries

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which have the death penalty
for being gay.

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As a former medal-winner,
the Commonwealth Games

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is close to my heart,
and I want to convince it

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to become the first sporting event
to really take a stand.

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I've been told that sport
and politics shouldn't collide,

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but at the same time,
you have to acknowledge

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what's going on around you.

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My wish right now is to try and get
the Commonwealth Games to say

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that they will not allow any country
that has anti-LGBT laws

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to be able to host
the Commonwealth Games.

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And I know that is a bold wish,

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but it has to start somewhere,
to try and create some change.

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It's easy to think
I have the answer, but I don't know

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what it's really like to be a gay
athlete around the Commonwealth.

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I've decided to go to Pakistan -

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one of the world's most dangerous
places to be gay.

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I'm slightly nervous because
I'm going to a country where,

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you know, being gay
can get you the death penalty.

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It's a pretty intense thought.

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I still have so much to learn.

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I just want to be able to meet some
queer athletes, hear their stories,

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and also ask them what they think
is the right thing.

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What is it that you think

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that these organising committees
should be doing?

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Going to go to
Heathrow Terminal 3, please.

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VO: I am very aware that
I come from a place of privilege

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and I don't know what
the right solution is,

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but that's what
I'm hoping to find out.

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Pakistan has different shades
of opinion

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when it comes to homosexuality.

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But the country's laws emerged
from the British Empire

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and have changed to reflect its
conservative and religious culture.

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Today, the maximum punishment
for being gay is death by stoning.

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It's never been officially carried
out, but it's created an environment

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where vigilante groups
take the law into their own hands,

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and gay people live under the threat
of humiliation,

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blackmail and violence.

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I am concerned that people
will find out, like, why we're here,

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what we're filming,
what we're doing and, you know,

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we're going to extreme lengths

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to make sure that we are
keeping ourselves safe,

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but most importantly, the people
that we're talking to safe.

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We have a security guard
following us,

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although we have to keep them
out of earshot

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about what we're actually
talking about.

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Although they still face
persecution,

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transgender people have had legal
rights in Pakistan since 2018.

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But the laws against homosexuality

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mean that finding someone prepared
to talk has been really difficult.

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Good morning. How are you?
I'm good. I'm good.  Good.

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Thank you for having me.  Sure.

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I'm meeting a cricketer
who spent years

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playing for Pakistan's
national women's team.

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We were going to meet at
the local cricket ground,

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but her fear of being overheard

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means we're now meeting
at a safe house,

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and she doesn't want her name
to be used.

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There you go.
Thank you so much.

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Given the risks, why did you
choose to speak to me?

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I thought that
this is the right time.

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Somebody needs to speak out.

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I built up that courage
and I said, "OK, let's do it."

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Maybe it can make an impact.

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Maybe things will be changed a bit.

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People here,
even the psychologists here,

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they think being queer
is a disease.

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Wow.  Yes.

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So either will take you
to the witch doctor

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and try to get it fixed,

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or the best solution, if you're
a queer man or a queer woman,

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to get you married,
make you sleep with that person,

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have a baby, and after the baby,
everything will be fine.

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That is the concept
we have in Pakistan.  Wow.

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Yeah.

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What was your experience
in the sporting world?

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How would other players treat you?

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They needed me
because I was a good player.

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But while we are travelling,

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I used to sit alone.

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While we used to have rooms,
they don't want to share with me

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because they don't feel safe.

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They find me as a mutant.

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They were...  As a mutant?  Yeah.

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Like a disease spreads.
Like a disease, yeah.

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Must've been really hard.

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Did you have to completely
suppress who you were and just...?

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Of course. Very fortunately,
I never fell for drugs.

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But I see people around me
who are gays or lesbians

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that they have drowned themselves
into antidepressants or drugs

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or alcohol or any other substance
abuse which keeps them numb.

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I've seen them hurting themselves.

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I've seen them
trying to kill themselves.

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So what could the Commonwealth Games
Federation do in order to help?

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Because I always thought banning
countries that have anti-LGBT laws

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from hosting the event
might do something.

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It won't make a difference,
because we are a country in denial.

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They'll be like, "OK, ban us."

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No matter how hard,
what pressure you put in.

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This is against the religion.
They won't do it.

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Talking to her about the idea
that I had

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with the Commonwealth Games, I mean,

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it feels like it's just going
to be so insignificant.

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She doesn't think that
there's any hope of Pakistan

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changing its laws
or changing its ideas.

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Like, "Fine, don't bring a sporting
event here, we don't care.

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"Not having gay and lesbian people
in our country

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"is more important
than hosting a sporting event."

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Some of Pakistan's most prominent
athletes have been forced

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00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:52,640
to hide their sexuality.

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But I've managed to find someone
who is prepared to talk to me.

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I'm about to go meet
a very high-profile

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00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,760
and very recognisable
Pakistani athlete,

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00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,120
and she's asked us
to conceal her identity

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00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,600
and also meet her at a safe house.

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00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,640
I think that just really
hammers home the harsh realities

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00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,360
of being a queer athlete
in Pakistan.

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How does it make you feel
to represent Pakistan

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00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:35,600
when, if they knew the real you,
they might not accept you?

212
00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:41,480
I try not to think about it, and put
all my energy into competing.

213
00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,960
What would happen if you did
come out publicly here in Pakistan?

214
00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,040
It would be big news.

215
00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,120
Everyone would criticise me,

216
00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,800
embarrass me, shame me,
maybe get violent.

217
00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:57,400
Do you think you'll ever be able
to fall in love

218
00:11:57,400 --> 00:11:59,880
and have a relationship here?

219
00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:05,520
I was in a relationship, but she got
married and she went away.

220
00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:07,480
She got married to a man?

221
00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:08,720
Yes.

222
00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,120
So she was forced into marriage?

223
00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:13,640
Yes.

224
00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:17,160
I went to the wedding venue,

225
00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,440
but her brothers found out
and beat me bad.

226
00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,880
It affected me for years.

227
00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:27,600
I was in trauma and depression.

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00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:31,560
I stopped eating
and I wanted to end my life.

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00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:37,240
But I couldn't, because my parents
were dependent on me.

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00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:42,680
I'm sorry. It's just...
It just seems so unfair.

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00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:49,000
And no... No-one should be...

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00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:50,960
No-one should be put through that.

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00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:54,560
This is how Pakistan is.

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00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,720
Do you think there's any hope

235
00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:05,600
for any queer kids growing up here?

236
00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:11,520
Many times, I imagine a life
where I could breathe freely.

237
00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,520
But it's not possible
here in Pakistan.

238
00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:17,400
So...no hope?

239
00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:19,120
I don't think so.

240
00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,000
Honestly, I've never felt
more helpless in my life.

241
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:31,360
Like, just hearing her story,
her struggles, her fight...

242
00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:34,760
Honestly, I just want to go home
to my husband and my son and just...

243
00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,880
..hug them and, like, just that
level of appreciation and gratitude

244
00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,760
of just being able to be safe
every day.

245
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,680
Finding a gay male athlete willing
to talk to me has been difficult.

246
00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:58,000
But since coming to Pakistan,
I've been in touch with someone

247
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,400
who's hoping to compete
in this year's Commonwealth Games.

248
00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:07,240
He's too scared to appear on camera,
even if we conceal his identity.

249
00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:09,480
But he sent me a letter.

250
00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,560
It starts with, "I cannot come
in front of the camera

251
00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:15,520
"because of my family
and surroundings.

252
00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,080
"They have no clue about
my orientation.

253
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,160
"But at the same time,
I face a lot of jokes calling me

254
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,680
"such as cake, gay,
and mostly called as arsehole.

255
00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,680
"And name-calling
kills me from inside

256
00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:30,960
"but I keep quiet
as this is my reality.

257
00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,200
"My family wants me to get married
and start a family.

258
00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:37,760
"Sometimes I feel like I should die

259
00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,360
"and set my life free
from this trauma."

260
00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,080
He sounds to me like
he's lost all hope.

261
00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:51,960
He goes on to say, "Sir, I live
in Pakistan, the Islamic Republic.

262
00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:55,040
"One of my friends
knows about my identity.

263
00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,920
"He blackmailed me that he will tell
the Federation about my orientation,

264
00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,280
"that I am gay.
I fear that I'll be killed."

265
00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:05,880
"It won't make any difference
to Pakistan

266
00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:08,720
"if banned from hosting
or competing in the Games."

267
00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,200
The more I'm learning about athletes
here in Pakistan

268
00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:16,400
is there's even more layers of
homophobia,

269
00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:18,840
because it's not just family,
it's not just friends.

270
00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,720
It's also team-mates
and federations.

271
00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,600
It just feels like they're just
fighting an impossible fight.

272
00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,440
Like everybody feels like no matter
what is done within sport,

273
00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,640
that it will not make a difference
to Pakistan,

274
00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,360
that nothing will make a difference,
and that there is no...

275
00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:34,080
..no hope.

276
00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,120
The laws in Pakistan are a result

277
00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:43,880
of the country's complex political
and religious history.

278
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,520
And I'm struggling to see
what a sporting event

279
00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,160
like the Commonwealth Games could do
to make a difference to the lives

280
00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:51,960
of lesbian and gay athletes here.

281
00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,720
I've been told to talk to
a controversial pop star

282
00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:57,040
called Zulfi.

283
00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,840
Zulfi is one of very few Pakistanis

284
00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:05,800
who's tried to live
an openly gay life.

285
00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:07,720
HORN BEEPS

286
00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,400
But recently he's been forced
into hiding.

287
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,760
Hi, Zulfi.  Hi, Thomas. How are you?

288
00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,240
Thank you so much for talking to me
today.  Of course, it's an honour.

289
00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,280
Can you tell me a little bit
about what happened?

290
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:27,520
So I was part of an art-pop punk
band, and we did a photoshoot.

291
00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,720
And that photoshoot was,
like, gay as shit.

292
00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:32,000
We were in these purple,
pink sequins.

293
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,480
I had nipple pasties.  Wow.
A big nod to Lady Gaga.

294
00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,080
But that photoshoot just became
this super politicised moment

295
00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,640
where, like, Pakistan and Islam
is being threatened

296
00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,480
by these two baddies
in purple sequins.

297
00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:47,040
And it was scary.

298
00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,680
Like, there were death threats.
There were rape threats.

299
00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:55,800
But people stopped me
on the street, saluted me,

300
00:16:55,800 --> 00:17:00,080
shook my hand and told me,
"Thank you for doing what you did.

301
00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:01,320
"We live in a better Pakistan

302
00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:03,080
"because of people like you.
Keep it up."

303
00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:06,720
So what I've been thinking
is to try and ban any countries

304
00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:10,760
that have anti-LGBT laws from
hosting the Commonwealth Games.

305
00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,560
Unfortunately, I think that
sort of a punitive measure

306
00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:15,200
might only make things worse.

307
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,480
Like, "Oh, it's because
of you gay people

308
00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:19,840
"that we can't host
the Games any more."

309
00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:22,880
You cannot generate
something positive

310
00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:26,240
from a negative sort of strategy.

311
00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:30,040
And I hope that
there are protections

312
00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:34,000
for queer people of any sorts
that empower them

313
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,080
instead of putting them
at risk again.

314
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:40,440
From what I'm just hearing from you,
it sounds like there is hope,

315
00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:41,720
when I've been told that

316
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,400
there is no hope for queer people
in this country.

317
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,400
No, in Pakistan, queer people
have the hope of in fact

318
00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,040
heralding a new Pakistan

319
00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:53,600
that is free, that is respectful,

320
00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,080
not out of fear, but out of love.

321
00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:03,560
For me, this trip
has been so illuminating.

322
00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:07,400
A lot of the things that I've heard
have been so awful.

323
00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,080
But I've gone from feeling like
there's no hope

324
00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:14,480
to speaking to Zulfi, and it has
given me a glimmer of hope.

325
00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,560
So it's just made me rethink
a lot of my ideas of what I thought

326
00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,480
was the right thing to do
around the Commonwealth Games

327
00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,640
and actually leading with
a sense of love

328
00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,560
rather than taking things away
from people.

329
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,480
It's easy to point the finger
around the Commonwealth,

330
00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:43,560
but homosexuality only became fully
legal across the whole of the UK

331
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:45,520
in the 1980s.

332
00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:49,560
And for me, growing up gay
certainly wasn't straightforward.

333
00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:51,720
I'm Tom Daley. I'm 12 years old

334
00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:53,040
and I'm from Plymouth,

335
00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:55,680
and I want to win
an Olympic gold medal in...

336
00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:58,160
..diving.

337
00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:05,560
I used to hate everything
about myself -

338
00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:07,920
the way I talked,
the way I walked -

339
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,880
and I tried to overachieve
in everything,

340
00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,120
whether that's school,
whether that was diving.

341
00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:16,400
NEWS:  Diver Tom Daley will be the
youngest British male competitor

342
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:18,280
in our Olympic history.

343
00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:20,800
I was always trying to overachieve

344
00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:24,200
to distract from the fact
that I knew that I was gay

345
00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:26,360
and I knew that I was going
to be seen as, like,

346
00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:28,960
something that was bad
and something that was wrong.

347
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,960
And growing up,
I fought my own sexuality.

348
00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:36,360
And I hated myself for that.

349
00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:39,520
Hello!  Hello!

350
00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,480
Sophie's been my best friend
since I was a teenager,

351
00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,360
back when I was trying to cope
with the pressures

352
00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:46,880
of competing in the Olympics...

353
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,720
CHEERING

354
00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:51,200
..and being at school.

355
00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,440
I found some really funny photos
of when we were younger.

356
00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:57,440
Oh, my God.

357
00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,720
I feel like you haven't really
changed.  No, I have!

358
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,360
You've just grown.

359
00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:07,160
This, I think, was when I got back
from the Olympics in 2008.

360
00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:10,440
All of a sudden, it was like
TV cameras and photographers

361
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,040
and it's like...look at that.

362
00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:13,920
I mean, I'm smiling,
walking around like,

363
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:15,800
"Yep, can't wait to be at school."

364
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,720
And, you know, when the camera's
around, people were always like...

365
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:22,640
"Hiya!", and then as soon as they
went away, it was like...  Yeah.

366
00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,840
It almost felt some days that people
were, like, hunting me down

367
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:28,280
to try and, like, be horrible.
Yeah, so true.

368
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:30,480
It was just, "You're gay,"
or "You're queer,"

369
00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:33,800
and there's so only so much
a 14-year-old can take.

370
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:35,600
It pushes you to breaking point.

371
00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,440
And I broke and I was like,
"I... I can't keep doing this."

372
00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:41,480
Everyone else probably thought
you were living

373
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:43,280
this incredible life.
But I think actually

374
00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:45,720
what was happening at school
was something that was having

375
00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:47,440
a massive effect
on your mental health.

376
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,240
Yeah, I look back on it now
and I feel sorry for young Tom

377
00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:52,400
because at the time I was just like,

378
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:55,440
"Maybe I'm going just to be
unhappy all my life."

379
00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,120
NEWS:  This is Tom Daley,
the schoolboy

380
00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:02,000
still too young to take his GCSEs,

381
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,960
even if he is old enough
to compete for his country.

382
00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:08,400
Hello.

383
00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:09,720
Hello, my lovely.

384
00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:11,120
Oh...

385
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:15,680
Right.

386
00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:19,240
When I won bronze
at the London Olympics,

387
00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:21,600
I was still struggling with
who I was.

388
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,000
I was so scared of what would happen
to my career

389
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,120
if I admitted I was gay

390
00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:32,880
that in my autobiography,
I didn't even mention it.

391
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,400
By the time I was ready
to come out to my family,

392
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,240
my dad had passed away.

393
00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:42,840
My mum accepted me,
but not everyone else did.

394
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:46,920
This is literally exactly
where I stood

395
00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,880
eight and a half years ago
when I told Grandma and Grandad.

396
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,280
So this is my mum and dad
you're talking about.  Yeah.

397
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:55,280
Yeah. Your mum and dad
were stood here.

398
00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,760
I was like...
What I remember about it

399
00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:01,280
was you literally shaking
like this.  Yeah.

400
00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,800
Your whole body was shaking
cos you were that worried.  Yeah.

401
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,040
I mean, I was terrified
because I'd just told

402
00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,760
the other set of grandparents
and it didn't go so well.

403
00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,960
It felt like I'd disappointed them

404
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:17,720
to the highest extreme level
that I could have.  Mm.

405
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:24,400
It switched like that,
from being all love and hugs to...

406
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,840
Yeah.  Like, "You disgust me."
Yeah.

407
00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,680
I mean, they asked me
if it was natural and, you know,

408
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,800
"What would your dad say?"
It was absolutely awful.

409
00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:39,320
And it's taken them a lot of time
to come to terms with me being gay.

410
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,440
But I'd like to think, as well,

411
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,240
that Dad would be proud
of who I am today

412
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:46,280
and, you know, married with a kid.

413
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,880
I mean, Robbie is named after Dad.
Yeah.

414
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:53,480
He would probably have made a joke
and taken the mick out of you,

415
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,400
but he would do that
whether you married Lance

416
00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:00,080
or whether it was, like, Joanna
from down the street, say.

417
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,920
Yeah.  It would have been the same
reaction.  That was Dad, though.

418
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:07,640
But the whole worry was like,
"Oh, my gosh, what if...

419
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:12,240
"..everyone else in the world reacts
like some of my family did?"  Mm.

420
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,520
NEWS:  The Olympic diver Tom Daley
has posted a video online

421
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,960
revealing that he's in
a relationship with another man.

422
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,880
In an ideal world,
I wouldn't be doing this video,

423
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:23,800
because it shouldn't matter.

424
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,280
But I met someone,

425
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,720
and that someone...

426
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:32,200
..is a guy.

427
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,720
It was like
a really scary moment for me

428
00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,320
because I'd been told
that I'd lose sponsors,

429
00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:41,560
lose, like, my female fanbase,

430
00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:43,960
and it was all going to go
to rubbish.

431
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,040
I'd lost my dad, and then I felt
like I had to support my family.

432
00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,400
And what happens
if that all got taken away?

433
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,800
The thought about what abuse
I might get in the streets -

434
00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,200
would I get beaten up?
Would I get things thrown at me?

435
00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:55,960
I had no idea
what was going to happen.

436
00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:00,000
This afternoon it was back
to training at the Plymouth pool

437
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,400
where he spends hours every week.

438
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,040
So I'm just looking at
some of the tweets

439
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,240
that I received when I came out.

440
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:15,400
"Tom Daley's came out that he's
a battyman, lol, fucking queer."

441
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,680
"Tom Daley is gay.
I am now ashamed of my country. Eww.

442
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:22,120
"We can't have a bloody fag
representing us."

443
00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:23,320
Oh, my gosh.

444
00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,360
It does hurt. It is horrible to
receive those comments,

445
00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:31,800
like, you are saying
these horrible things about me.

446
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,480
And it's upsetting to think
that there are people out there

447
00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,840
that have that strong of an opinion
that they felt like they had to

448
00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,560
publicly say something
that was really attacking

449
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,480
a 19-year-old kid
about their sexuality.

450
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,120
It's...

451
00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:47,840
Yeah, it's...

452
00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,760
It makes me feel sad for humanity,
to be honest.

453
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:58,120
Like many gay athletes, it took me
years to finally feel accepted,

454
00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:01,400
and I think the sporting world
should be doing more to help.

455
00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:06,680
The international federation
that runs the Commonwealth Games

456
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:11,080
has just appointed a new CEO,
who claims she wants to do more.

457
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,960
The new Commonwealth Games
Federation chief executive

458
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,800
Katie Sadler, she's expressed
her determination

459
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:20,680
"that the 2022 Commonwealth Games

460
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:22,920
"will be the most inclusive
in history".

461
00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:27,880
"Extending as far to allow athletes
to make podium protests

462
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:31,400
"and support their community.
Pride House in Birmingham,

463
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:32,920
"which aims to be a safe space

464
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,480
"for gay spectators,
athletes and officials,

465
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:37,200
"has already been announced.

466
00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:40,160
"Sadler also wants
to meet Daley" - me.

467
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:41,960
Katie's just launched something

468
00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:44,800
called the Commonwealth
Sport Pride Network,

469
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:49,440
which aims to support and connect
gay athletes during the Games.

470
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,360
On the website there's loads
of, you know, rainbow flags

471
00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:54,360
and it's made to look
very inclusive.

472
00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:57,440
But I do worry that it's slightly
rainbow-washing things,

473
00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:01,120
and it all seems a little bit
airy-fairy to me.

474
00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:03,520
Like, I want to be able to see
something where, you know,

475
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,120
they can say, "We did this,
and because we've done this,

476
00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:07,640
"it's going to make this change."

477
00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,840
Because right now it's just,
"We're going to create a Pride House

478
00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,080
"and make the Commonwealth Games
inclusive."

479
00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,920
Hello.  Hi, Tom.  Hi, Katie.
How are you?  I'm very good.

480
00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:18,120
Good to see you here.
Thank you so much for

481
00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:20,760
taking the time to meet with me.
Oh, my pleasure.

482
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:24,080
Having looked on the website
and seeing the branding

483
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:28,560
and rainbows on stuff, do you think
that is enough to reach countries

484
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,000
that have anti-LGBT laws?

485
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,320
I think in the end,
you have to start somewhere.

486
00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,200
What I can't do is change
the laws in those countries -

487
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,160
you know, I work for
a sport federation.

488
00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:42,200
But, you know, from our perspective,
the Commonwealth Pride Network

489
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,640
is a start of starting to, you know,
even be more active

490
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:49,920
in terms of getting people
to understand how much we embrace it

491
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:51,880
and that it is acceptable.

492
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,680
But then what happens if, say,
Islamabad in Pakistan

493
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,400
wanted to host
the Commonwealth Games?

494
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,560
All members can bid
for hosting Commonwealth Games.

495
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,000
But when I look at what our
contract says for the host,

496
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,720
it's what you need to do in terms
of valuing the same values as we do

497
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,000
in terms of humanity,
equity and destiny.

498
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:15,120
That would be a kind of a baseline
in terms of making a decision.

499
00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:18,800
Letting those countries know that,
"You don't align with our values."

500
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:23,000
I wonder if there is something that
can be done to explicitly state that

501
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,240
that is the inclusion
of LGBT people.

502
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,280
Is that something
that the federation would...?

503
00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,480
So those are things, you know,
just listening to,

504
00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,200
that I will take on board and go
back and have a look to make sure,

505
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,800
how overt are those kind of
statements in those documents?

506
00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,520
But I know as a board that there is

507
00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:42,280
a real commitment to the values
that we have stated.

508
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,320
And so, from that perspective,
it's really important to us.

509
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:48,920
I do worry that
the Commonwealth Games

510
00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:50,840
might not implement any changes.

511
00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,720
I mean, don't get me wrong,
they're doing way more now

512
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:55,200
than they ever were 20 years ago,

513
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,400
and things are constantly
moving forward,

514
00:27:57,400 --> 00:27:59,920
but they have the opportunity
to be the blueprint

515
00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:01,360
for other sporting events

516
00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:04,480
that can create a huge difference
across the world.

517
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:08,760
It's four months
until the Commonwealth Games,

518
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,680
and I've decided to put together
a manifesto of changes

519
00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:13,200
that should be made.

520
00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:16,680
You know, I want to speak
to as many people as possible.

521
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:21,000
Get thoughts, ideas, opinions
to help me shape this manifesto.

522
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,480
What might make you feel safe
going to the Commonwealth Games?

523
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,640
If I see a rainbow pin
on a fellow athlete's jacket,

524
00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:32,280
I think would make me feel like
I am not alone.

525
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,760
And it will definitely be a shock

526
00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:39,120
to some of the homophobic athletes,
you know, and officials.

527
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:40,520
I've competed in the UAE.

528
00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:44,160
I've competed in countries
that are extremely anti-gay.

529
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:45,920
Right.  And it's bizarre.

530
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,720
Yeah.  I want to believe, like,
it doesn't affect my performance,

531
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,360
but I've never competed well
in a homophobic country.

532
00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,240
Like, I want to go to a country
where I can compete and be myself.

533
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:55,440
That's fair.

534
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,280
My idea is shifting.

535
00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:14,640
It's about the culture within sport,
the fans, the organising committees.

536
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,760
It's so much more complex
than what I initially thought

537
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,680
was going to be, like, a fix.

538
00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:23,960
But I do feel extremely
passionate about being able

539
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:27,680
to bring their voices
into this manifesto,

540
00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:29,000
because those are the people

541
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,400
that are going to be
affected most by this.

542
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:39,800
Africa is the continent with
the most Commonwealth countries.

543
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,640
Out of 21, 14 have anti-gay laws.

544
00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:48,720
In four, the maximum punishment
is life imprisonment.

545
00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:52,120
And in the northern states of
Nigeria, it's the death penalty -

546
00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:55,040
where just this year,
three men have been sentenced

547
00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:56,680
to death by stoning.

548
00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:02,240
I really wanted to go to Nigeria
and actually meet some athletes

549
00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:04,080
and meet some people there,

550
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:07,880
but we were advised that the risks
were really high.

551
00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:13,320
But we do have one athlete
that I'm going to speak to.

552
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:15,040
We're going to change his voice

553
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:17,720
so that he's completely
unidentifiable

554
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:19,920
because, you know,
at the end of the day,

555
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:22,640
the risks are just too high for him.

556
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,120
What do you worry might happen
if you...

557
00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,520
if people found out
that you were gay?

558
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,040
Yeah. It's not going to be good
for my image.

559
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,440
As someone who is very popular
in sport in Nigeria,

560
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:38,160
the minute they find out, the news
go round, you become very unsafe,

561
00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,960
like, you don't know
what happens next.

562
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:42,760
You know, my friend died recently.

563
00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:46,640
He was killed, rather.
Your friend was killed?  Yeah.

564
00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:48,320
For being gay.

565
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:50,360
I'm, like, speechless.

566
00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:52,840
Like, what happened?

567
00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:57,040
He met somebody,
and he invited the person over,

568
00:30:57,040 --> 00:30:59,720
and he stabbed my friend
multiple times,

569
00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,880
and he was in a pool of his
own blood in his house.  Oh, my gosh.

570
00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:06,360
It's terrifying.

571
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:10,480
Now they are hunting people.
Hunting people?  Yeah.

572
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:14,040
So they create fake accounts online
and then they set you up.

573
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:17,680
Sometimes you get beaten so much,
then they post it online.

574
00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,080
They report you to family,
they extort money from you,

575
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:22,360
and people lose it.

576
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:24,760
Some people commit suicide
in the process.

577
00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:27,600
Honestly, it makes me angry.

578
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:30,760
It makes me really angry.

579
00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:35,640
You know, my friends quite often
might meet someone online

580
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:39,800
and meet up with them, and just
doing that could end their life.

581
00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:42,160
Sad doesn't even cover it.

582
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:44,720
It's like something out of,
like, a horror film.

583
00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:47,120
A real dark horror film.

584
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:53,520
The videos posted online
of attacks on gay men in Nigeria

585
00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:55,680
are truly horrific.

586
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:57,320
INDISTINCT

587
00:31:57,320 --> 00:31:59,480
I not be gay. I not be gay.

588
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:01,200
I not be gay.

589
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:03,000
CRACKING

590
00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,440
Say hello to homo. Homo bye-bye.

591
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:10,760
I'm meeting Bisi Alimi,

592
00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:15,120
a Nigerian exile who lectures
on African gay history.

593
00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,560
He's been studying the cause
of all this hatred.

594
00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:20,520
Hi.  Hi, Tom.

595
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:24,040
In the Lincoln's Inn library,
they keep an extensive collection

596
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:27,200
of historic laws
from across the Commonwealth.

597
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:32,520
This is a 1923 penal code
from Nigeria.

598
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,480
And this Section 217 gave birth

599
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:39,920
to what we now know in Nigeria
as the buggery law,

600
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,120
or as many people would say,
the gay law.

601
00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,160
"Any male person who,
whether in public or private,

602
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:50,360
"commits any act of gross indecency
with another male person,

603
00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:53,120
"is guilty of a felony
and is liable to imprisonment

604
00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:55,960
"with or without whipping
or flogging."

605
00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,600
The moment this law
came into existence

606
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:01,800
became the moment in history

607
00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:06,040
when homosexuality became
a criminal offence in Nigeria.

608
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,800
And imposed by Britain.  Exactly.

609
00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:13,440
Why has Nigeria not
gotten rid of the law yet?

610
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:16,280
You have to understand
that it wasn't just

611
00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:18,640
a piece of legislation in a book.

612
00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:20,920
It became part of school curriculum.

613
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,120
It became part of
religious principles

614
00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:26,320
that the colonialists used

615
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:30,360
in educating the natives.
And then, post-colonial,

616
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,840
you have the emergence of
the evangelicals,

617
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:36,160
who still believe
homosexuality is immoral.

618
00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:39,160
Today, it's a major case

619
00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:41,720
of an arrest of
suspected gay men...

620
00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:45,920
Arrests are common in Nigeria,
and human rights groups

621
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:49,480
report that the police regularly
subject gays and lesbians

622
00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:52,360
to harassment,
beatings and extortion.

623
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:56,400
It's not surprising that
it's extremely rare for Nigerians

624
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:58,760
to voluntarily come out.

625
00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:00,160
How did you come out?

626
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,760
I was going to get outed
by the media,

627
00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:04,800
so I chose to do the outing myself.

628
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,480
So I went on
the most-watched TV show

629
00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:10,000
in Nigeria in 2004,

630
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:14,600
making me the first gay man
to ever come out on TV.

631
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:16,800
I have a home with the man I love.

632
00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:19,000
You know, where I am not condemned.

633
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,040
I'm not regarded as a non-entity.

634
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:24,520
They couldn't stop the live show,
but people were already outside

635
00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:26,520
demanding for our heads.

636
00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:28,760
I had to be escorted to my house,

637
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:32,880
and my house was broken into
and I was almost killed.

638
00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:35,600
For three hours, I was tied up,

639
00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:39,040
I was beaten mercilessly,
for loving.

640
00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:42,640
Just for loving.

641
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:44,440
So that was your reason for
moving to the UK?

642
00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:46,320
That was the reason why
I had to move to the UK.

643
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,840
If this law had not been
in existence in my country,

644
00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,120
I wouldn't be here.

645
00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:53,880
BAND PLAYS

646
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:56,080
If we're talking about
the Commonwealth Games,

647
00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:57,880
do you think they could make
a difference?

648
00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:02,160
We have to start somewhere,
and sport brings people together.

649
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:04,680
Imagine at the beginning
of the Commonwealth Games

650
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:08,200
there is someone carrying a flag
that says, "We are the Commonwealth.

651
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:11,440
"Everybody is welcome irrespective
of your sexual orientation."

652
00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:15,800
That's powerful. And if
I'm a young gay man in Nigeria,

653
00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:18,520
and I'm sitting in front of my TV
and I see that,

654
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:20,160
I will forever remember that.

655
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,200
I mean, that gave me goosebumps,

656
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,680
even just thinking about
an LGBT flag.

657
00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:26,240
It would give hope,

658
00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:29,320
hope to a lot of people
who will either

659
00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:32,440
be at the Commonwealth Games
or who will be watching from home

660
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:36,560
and saying, "If this is possible,
then my life is possible."

661
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,640
The colonial laws
that still affect Nigeria

662
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,080
were imposed across
the Commonwealth.

663
00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:46,880
And even though some countries
have repealed them,

664
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,560
every year, gay and lesbian athletes

665
00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:53,560
come to Britain to escape
persecution and seek asylum.

666
00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,280
Over the last few months,
we've been trying to find

667
00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:58,880
an asylum seeker
that would be willing to talk.

668
00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:02,120
We've actually had four athletes
drop out

669
00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:05,360
just out of pure fear
of what might happen to them,

670
00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,680
how it might affect
their refugee status,

671
00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:10,080
how it might affect
their families at home.

672
00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:12,960
But in the last 24 hours,
we have found an athlete

673
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,840
from Barbados who is currently
seeking asylum here in the UK.

674
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,720
You're an athlete in Barbados?
Yes.

675
00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:24,600
What was sport for you growing up?

676
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,520
Sports was everything,
everything to me.

677
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:30,680
At what moment did that change
for you?

678
00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:35,680
It all changed when people
realised that I was gay.

679
00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:38,080
The coaches didn't want
to train me any more.

680
00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:41,520
The rest of team-mates didn't want
to be around me any more.

681
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:44,520
So it was very depressing for me.

682
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,280
How did you get exposed?

683
00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:50,680
Well, I was 16 years old,
my first-ever relationship.

684
00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,600
We did, like, have photos together,
not like nudes,

685
00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:55,720
but like just pictures
of us together

686
00:36:55,720 --> 00:36:57,600
and kissing and stuff like that.

687
00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:00,560
And the photos got leaked
on social media.

688
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:01,920
Wow.  Yeah.

689
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:04,200
And did you have any support
from anyone? Any friends

690
00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:06,760
that you could trust, anyone
that you were able to talk to?

691
00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:10,040
All of the people that I thought
was my friends, they abandoned me.

692
00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:11,560
And what about your family?

693
00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:15,080
They all rejected me.
Every single one of them.

694
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:17,440
I was actually kicked out
of my home.

695
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:22,320
But the reason that I really
made the journey over to the UK

696
00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:26,160
is because I was suffering
from second-degree burns.

697
00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:30,040
How did you get second-degree burns?

698
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:35,480
My stepdad found out where
I was living and he beat me

699
00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:38,360
and he threw acid at me.  Acid?

700
00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:40,160
So I was hospitalised.

701
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:42,280
I was also stabbed in my arm.

702
00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:44,440
Who stabbed you in your arm?

703
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:47,320
It was my workmate,
because he told the manager

704
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:52,400
that he don't feel comfortable
working around a batty boy any more.

705
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,800
So he literally got a knife
and he stabbed me.

706
00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:58,080
Like, right there.  Oh, my gosh.
Yeah.

707
00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:04,680
As an athlete yourself,
what do you think a sporting event

708
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,360
like the Commonwealth Games could do

709
00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:08,640
in order to help people
across the Commonwealth?

710
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:11,640
Well, my point of view,
have the Pride flag there.

711
00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:13,680
Like, that would make
a major difference.

712
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:14,880
If you were still in Barbados

713
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,560
and you saw that at the Commonwealth
Games Opening Ceremony...

714
00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:20,280
I would be jumping for joy,
actually, because it would then show

715
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,560
that we are getting there.
It's going to happen.

716
00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:24,480
It's not fully there,
but it's happening.

717
00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,200
A sign of hope, I guess.  Yes.

718
00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:32,200
His story is so horrendous.

719
00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:37,600
What has... What has he actually
done to deserve that treatment?

720
00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:39,400
He hasn't done anything.

721
00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:43,560
Imagine being punished
by your family,

722
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,960
thrown out by your family,
stabbed by colleagues,

723
00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:49,560
acid thrown at you
for just being you.

724
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:53,480
Being punished for existing,
like, it's so...

725
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:56,440
It's just so inherently wrong.

726
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:07,560
Barbados is one of 18 Caribbean
countries and overseas territories

727
00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:10,520
able to compete
in the Commonwealth Games.

728
00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:15,440
They've all had homophobic laws,
but change is happening.

729
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:20,240
In 1991, the Bahamas abolished
their anti-gay laws.

730
00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:23,160
Since then,
nine others have followed.

731
00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:28,240
But in Jamaica,
being gay remains a crime.

732
00:39:28,240 --> 00:39:33,160
The penalty - ten years'
imprisonment, with hard labour.

733
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:39,160
I've been sent some videos

734
00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:42,200
from people on the ground
in Jamaica.

735
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:46,520
Just some examples of what happens
to queer people.

736
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:49,680
SHOUTING
It's live, it's live, it's live.

737
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:53,600
They've caught the perpetrator
and they're going to kill him now.

738
00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:56,880
I'm live on the scene for 14.
I'm live on the scene...

739
00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,800
They're recording this
as if it's some kind of joke.

740
00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:02,640
Like they're hunting after...

741
00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:04,080
..an animal.

742
00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:06,520
There's another one.

743
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:13,480
I can't even watch that.

744
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:17,080
Someone is just being beaten
with a...pole.

745
00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:21,560
You'd think that this was, like,
20 years ago,

746
00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:23,920
but this was just last year.

747
00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:30,040
It's flipped on its head everything
I thought about Jamaica,

748
00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:32,400
quite frankly.

749
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:39,000
Everything I hear about Jamaica
is people in the UK

750
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:40,200
going there on holiday.

751
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,440
I mean, I'm sure the resorts
are lovely, but it doesn't

752
00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:48,240
really give you the real sense of
Jamaica and what LGBT people face

753
00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:49,920
if they were born here.

754
00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:54,840
At the last Commonwealth Games,
Jamaica was the top-performing

755
00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:58,360
Caribbean country with 27 medals.

756
00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:03,640
I'm about to meet Michael Gunning,
who is currently the only out LGBT

757
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:05,720
athlete that represents Jamaica.

758
00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:08,320
He was born in the UK,
grew up there, but does

759
00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:09,760
have dual citizenship

760
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:13,360
and this is the first time
he's been back to Jamaica

761
00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:15,480
since coming out.

762
00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:18,720
You asked to meet here,
which is an isolated beach away

763
00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:20,480
from as many people as possible.

764
00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:23,400
What made you think that
that was so important to do?

765
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:25,440
I think just scared of our safety.

766
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:28,600
Like, I have this fear of us walking
in the street in Kingston

767
00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:32,160
and us not looking as macho as
everyone else and us just sticking

768
00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:33,240
out like a sore thumb.

769
00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:38,520
So, what was it that actually made
you decide to compete for Jamaica

770
00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,080
instead of Great Britain?
Obviously, my dad is Jamaican,

771
00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:43,880
my mum's British and all of my
family kind of said that,

772
00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:46,440
why don't I represent Jamaica?
You know, that I should be

773
00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:48,720
flying the Jamaican flag,
but a year after competing,

774
00:41:48,720 --> 00:41:50,160
that's when I decided to come out

775
00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:52,920
and I think it was just
because if I didn't, it was honestly

776
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:54,000
going to eat me alive.

777
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,080
But there were so many messages
from people out in Jamaica sending

778
00:41:57,080 --> 00:41:59,440
abuse and death threats
and just some

779
00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:01,480
horrible, horrible messages.

780
00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:03,160
I have got some saved.

781
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:09,560
So, one of the messages was,
"Shame on you.

782
00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:11,200
"People like you should be killed.

783
00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:13,160
"Why couldn't you have stuck
with Great Britain

784
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:15,000
"rather than bringing shame
to our country?

785
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:16,680
"Go back to where you came from.

786
00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:18,280
"I wish you dead."

787
00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:21,520
Oh, my God.
Yeah, it's just... Yeah.

788
00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:25,360
I can imagine it was
like a really dark period.  Yeah.

789
00:42:25,360 --> 00:42:28,360
My dad told me not to talk
about it, just to do my job

790
00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:29,640
and to swim, you know?

791
00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:32,280
But I think, you know,
I do have Jamaican roots.

792
00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:34,040
You know, I am dual nationality,

793
00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:38,280
and I just felt so much shame, which
was just really hard to deal with.

794
00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:42,280
Deep down, if you honestly ask me
if I could change back and almost

795
00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:44,280
be straight,
I would love to be straight.

796
00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:48,680
Pains me to say, but honestly,
I can't 100% say that I am happy

797
00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:50,240
to be who I am.

798
00:42:50,240 --> 00:42:54,320
Within the Jamaican team,
there has to be other gay people.

799
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:57,480
Have you had any gay athletes
reach out to you?

800
00:42:57,480 --> 00:43:00,440
I've had some Jamaican athletes
that have been very open

801
00:43:00,440 --> 00:43:03,520
about their sexuality with me,
but they're really scared

802
00:43:03,520 --> 00:43:07,400
of it getting out and I can only do
so much to support and to tell them

803
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:09,880
that it's going to be OK.
But will it be OK?

804
00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:12,320
You know, there is still
that massive question mark

805
00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:14,640
on the unknown of, you know,
will they be safe?

806
00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:20,640
Gay athletes actually living
in Jamaica are forced

807
00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:25,200
to hide their sexuality, and many
have been too scared to talk.

808
00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:30,960
In the last 24 hours, an athlete
has agreed to speak to me

809
00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:34,760
and, understandably, they have asked
to be completely anonymous and meet

810
00:43:34,760 --> 00:43:39,000
in a very secluded location
in order to be fully protected.

811
00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:42,320
I know you've asked to meet
anonymously.

812
00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:45,800
Could you tell me a little bit
about why that is?

813
00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:49,640
Because you're basically taking
a chance to even entertain

814
00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:54,200
the thought of talking about
your sexuality or your experiences

815
00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:57,240
while living here in Jamaica
as an athlete.

816
00:43:57,240 --> 00:44:01,960
Because, point blank,
there is no tolerance here.

817
00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:05,600
What was your experience of growing
up and being queer in Jamaica?

818
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:08,240
Did you experience any forms
of homophobia?

819
00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:13,280
You're more susceptible
to being ridiculed, stoned,

820
00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:16,200
being verbally assaulted.
Stoned? Like, what, just...

821
00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:19,800
just in the streets?
Stoned by kids, stoned by...

822
00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:22,240
Just as you're walking
down the street, people are...

823
00:44:22,240 --> 00:44:25,760
They will hurl insults at you.
What kind of things do they say?

824
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:30,920
Like...?  They'll say butch,
dyke, sodomite.

825
00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:33,680
Like a biblical reference
from Sodom and Gomorrah.  Yeah.

826
00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:37,840
And then sometimes it might lead
into physical assault.

827
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:41,160
And, as an athlete, do you worry
about coming out in terms

828
00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:44,040
of sponsorship,
being kicked off the team?

829
00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:46,560
It plays on my mind all
the time, actually.

830
00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:49,160
Imagine coming out and saying,
"OK, I'm a gay athlete."

831
00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:52,680
I think a lot of companies here,
the first thing they will say is,

832
00:44:52,680 --> 00:44:55,920
"This wouldn't be a good
example for our children.

833
00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:59,000
"I don't want to be associated
with that."

834
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:02,600
What do you think can be done
in order to make queer people feel

835
00:45:02,600 --> 00:45:07,200
safer within the realm of sport?
Even as small as it may be,

836
00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:08,640
show the Pride flag.

837
00:45:08,640 --> 00:45:10,320
It will make a big difference.

838
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:15,240
Once you can fly the flag
in a sporting event and no-one

839
00:45:15,240 --> 00:45:19,400
is being abusive towards it,
that says safety.

840
00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:21,720
That's what I believe, personally.

841
00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:28,920
I believe the Commonwealth Games
can do more to help,

842
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:31,520
but one of the problems
with changing things here

843
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:34,560
is that you have to deal
with a lot of toxic history.

844
00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:40,360
Hundreds of years ago, people were
captured from Africa and shipped

845
00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:45,760
to Jamaica to work on the island's
British-owned slave plantations.

846
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:49,880
I'm meeting Carla Moore,
a university lecturer specialising

847
00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:51,880
in race and sexuality.

848
00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:53,720
Hi, Carla.  Hi, Tom.

849
00:45:53,720 --> 00:45:55,640
How are you?  I'm pretty good.
How are you?

850
00:45:55,640 --> 00:45:57,400
I'm doing well, thank you.

851
00:45:57,400 --> 00:46:00,560
She's been researching the link
between homophobia today

852
00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:02,120
and the slave trade.

853
00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:04,920
On the plantation,

854
00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:08,280
gay sex wasn't allowed
and it wasn't allowed specifically

855
00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:10,520
because it doesn't make a baby.

856
00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:13,920
So it was beneficial to the
plantation owner for people

857
00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:16,720
to be having heterosexual sex
because they could get

858
00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:18,520
a "free slave" out of the union.

859
00:46:18,520 --> 00:46:22,880
So we have whippings, lynchings
on the plantation for people

860
00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:24,600
who are engaging in same-sex sex.

861
00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:26,960
And then you have something
that's called buck breaking.

862
00:46:26,960 --> 00:46:29,240
Buck breaking?  Buck breaking, yes.

863
00:46:29,240 --> 00:46:33,520
Buck breaking is anal rape
of enslaved men

864
00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:35,640
as a form of punishment.

865
00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:38,760
The slave owner would carry him out
in front of his family, in front

866
00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:42,320
of the friends, and he would rape
him as a way to break his spirit.

867
00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:43,720
Oh, my gosh.  Yeah.

868
00:46:43,720 --> 00:46:49,040
And so what we have is this very
complicated history of sexual trauma

869
00:46:49,040 --> 00:46:51,440
that went on for, like, 300 years.

870
00:46:51,440 --> 00:46:55,760
And if the representation you have
of queerness is plantation

871
00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:59,440
owners sexually assaulting men,
you get the idea that it's a white

872
00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:02,000
people thing, it's a thing that
white people do to black people

873
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:05,480
to harm them. The end result of
that is a homophobia we see today

874
00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:08,880
and, actually, that the level
of the country, it's also about,

875
00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:12,200
I have to make it clear that you're
not in charge here any more.

876
00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:14,120
You're not the master
of this country any more.

877
00:47:14,120 --> 00:47:16,560
We get to determine how
we're going to proceed.

878
00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:20,160
And, unfortunately, that plays out
on the bodies of LGBT people.

879
00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:25,720
Everything you've just told me,
it's... It makes everything make

880
00:47:25,720 --> 00:47:27,680
complete sense, you know?

881
00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:30,840
It honestly makes me feel
sick to be British

882
00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:32,600
when you just hear these things.

883
00:47:32,600 --> 00:47:34,400
I get that.

884
00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:36,080
That's level one.

885
00:47:36,080 --> 00:47:38,040
Level two is, "Now what?"

886
00:47:39,120 --> 00:47:42,080
You know I'm saying? Like, stop
coming down here to make us feel

887
00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:44,760
like we're the worst people in the
world. We've had enough of that.

888
00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:47,280
Is there another approach
that we can take?

889
00:47:47,280 --> 00:47:52,160
Because even though there is still
homophobia, LGBT Jamaicans,

890
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:56,520
advocates for LGBT Jamaicans
have been working for years,

891
00:47:56,520 --> 00:47:57,880
but some people still have us

892
00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:00,040
stuck at the most homophobic
place on Earth,

893
00:48:00,040 --> 00:48:03,160
and it's very disrespectful to the
work that the advocates are doing.

894
00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:09,840
It is easy to fall into the trap
of thinking that they've got

895
00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:12,880
a problem with homophobia
and we're all queer-inclusive,

896
00:48:12,880 --> 00:48:15,480
but that's just not the case, and
it's not helpful for the people

897
00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:18,600
around the Commonwealth to be
constantly pointing a finger at

898
00:48:18,600 --> 00:48:21,880
that "they haven't removed the
laws". It's not as simple as that.

899
00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:27,680
I've just learned so much today
that it's really like...quite...

900
00:48:27,680 --> 00:48:29,920
I don't know. It's overwhelming.

901
00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:36,720
I'm taking Carla's advice
and going to meet a prominent

902
00:48:36,720 --> 00:48:39,720
campaigner to see what he thinks
the Commonwealth Games

903
00:48:39,720 --> 00:48:41,520
can do to help.

904
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:44,080
I'm about to go and meet Glenroy
Murray, who is the executive

905
00:48:44,080 --> 00:48:49,720
director of J-Flag, which is a LGBT
rights organisation here in Jamaica.

906
00:48:49,720 --> 00:48:55,240
Unfortunately, in Jamaica, LGBT
people face a myriad of challenges.

907
00:48:55,240 --> 00:48:58,400
He's doing some kind of promotional
video for J-Flag in the middle

908
00:48:58,400 --> 00:49:00,480
of the town in Kingston.

909
00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:03,520
From everything I've heard,
that just shouldn't

910
00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:04,640
happen in Jamaica.

911
00:49:04,640 --> 00:49:06,200
And we're done.

912
00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:07,520
What are you doing here?

913
00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:11,560
So what we're doing is we're
shooting a campaign video

914
00:49:11,560 --> 00:49:14,200
and we've shot at this mural
before, because it's one

915
00:49:14,200 --> 00:49:15,520
of our installations.

916
00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:17,840
The Pride-like colours
are deliberate in this.

917
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:20,800
Yes, it's just our way
of showing people

918
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:22,720
that we're just
like the rest of them.

919
00:49:22,720 --> 00:49:26,160
Do you not feel, like, worried
about filming, you know,

920
00:49:26,160 --> 00:49:29,400
an LGBT-rights campaign
in the middle of Kingston?

921
00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:32,000
We're aware that violence
and discrimination is a thing

922
00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:36,600
that LGBT people continue to face,
but this kind of activism is needed,

923
00:49:36,600 --> 00:49:39,280
so we're always going to try
to push the envelope.

924
00:49:39,280 --> 00:49:43,720
How can events like the Commonwealth
Games help to create some kind

925
00:49:43,720 --> 00:49:45,760
of change here in Jamaica?

926
00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:49,120
Big sporting events capture
the attention of the public,

927
00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:52,080
and it sounds simple,
but the world is watching.

928
00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:56,960
If we see LGBT rights being
acknowledged within those spaces,

929
00:49:56,960 --> 00:50:00,640
we'll get people to a space where
they feel like, "You know what?

930
00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:05,520
"Why do we continue to treat queer
people in this way, especially

931
00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:09,800
"when they are the ones that are
making us proud about our country?"

932
00:50:11,640 --> 00:50:15,920
Sport in Jamaica might have a long
way to go, but people like Glenroy

933
00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:18,160
are starting to change things.

934
00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:21,880
There have actually been Pride
marches here since 2015,

935
00:50:21,880 --> 00:50:25,160
and gay Jamaicans are
becoming more visible.

936
00:50:26,520 --> 00:50:28,640
Glenroy has invited me
to meet some of his friends,

937
00:50:28,640 --> 00:50:30,040
but I have no idea what to expect.

938
00:50:30,040 --> 00:50:35,520
He said it's a queer-friendly space
and I am excited by the prospect

939
00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:40,760
of being able to hang out with
queer Jamaicans in a public place.

940
00:50:40,760 --> 00:50:42,720
Hello.  Hi. Good to see you.

941
00:50:42,720 --> 00:50:44,960
Hi! Good to see you, too.
How you doing?  Nice to meet you.

942
00:50:44,960 --> 00:50:48,520
Oh, you can just join us.
Yeah, I'd love that. Absolutely.

943
00:50:48,520 --> 00:50:50,360
Scoot over, scoot over.

944
00:50:50,360 --> 00:50:53,840
The thought of this - being, like,
with queer people in public,

945
00:50:53,840 --> 00:50:55,960
you know, having drinks,
like, to me, like,

946
00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:58,160
I just didn't know that
that existed in Jamaica.

947
00:50:58,160 --> 00:51:00,040
I remember Carnival,
I was on halfway through

948
00:51:00,040 --> 00:51:01,560
and they started stoning the gays.

949
00:51:01,560 --> 00:51:06,440
But now we are able to integrate
into spaces with, like, the regular

950
00:51:06,440 --> 00:51:11,040
community.  Just as Jamaica now
is probably very unrecognisable

951
00:51:11,040 --> 00:51:14,000
to somebody who lived here
in the early 2000s,

952
00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:17,880
it would be very unrecognisable
to me by 2030.

953
00:51:17,880 --> 00:51:21,760
So I'm very excited
for what the future holds.

954
00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:26,560
Coming here today and spending time
with a group of queer Jamaicans,

955
00:51:26,560 --> 00:51:29,480
seeing how happy they are,
and happy they are to be visible,

956
00:51:29,480 --> 00:51:30,720
it does fill me with hope.

957
00:51:30,720 --> 00:51:33,280
I don't know, I feel more
motivated than ever

958
00:51:33,280 --> 00:51:36,200
to really try and fight for change.

959
00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:42,880
It's two months until the athletes
arrive in Birmingham

960
00:51:42,880 --> 00:51:46,040
and now I'm taking the thoughts
of the people that I've met

961
00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:49,040
and putting them
into a manifesto to send to

962
00:51:49,040 --> 00:51:51,240
the Commonwealth Games Federation.

963
00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:56,240
The bulk of the things that
I'm asking for are easily put

964
00:51:56,240 --> 00:51:57,320
into action quickly.

965
00:51:57,320 --> 00:52:01,440
Things like putting a pro-LGBT
stance at the forefront

966
00:52:01,440 --> 00:52:04,640
of the Commonwealth Games ethos.
Educational programmes

967
00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:08,200
around the British Empire.
Sensitivity training

968
00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:12,640
for all of the Commonwealth Games
staff and volunteers.

969
00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:17,400
Refugee resources that allow you to
be able to start seeking asylum

970
00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:19,200
in the country that is hosting.

971
00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:22,680
Now, this is the big ask -
to have the Pride flag play

972
00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:26,360
an official part at the Opening
Ceremony, something that a sporting

973
00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:28,760
event of this size
has never done before.

974
00:52:28,760 --> 00:52:31,640
I think it would just send
a bold message to everyone

975
00:52:31,640 --> 00:52:35,840
across the Commonwealth
that the Commonwealth Games accepts

976
00:52:35,840 --> 00:52:38,120
and embraces queer people.

977
00:52:38,120 --> 00:52:43,080
And I think that would be a hugely
powerful statement to send

978
00:52:43,080 --> 00:52:45,840
to everyone watching
around the Commonwealth.

979
00:52:45,840 --> 00:52:50,400
"I hope we can move forward and use
sport as a power for change."

980
00:52:50,400 --> 00:52:53,840
If they want to make it happen,
they will, but...

981
00:52:55,520 --> 00:52:57,200
Yeah, I just...

982
00:52:57,200 --> 00:52:59,400
Yeah, I'm kind of nervous.

983
00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:06,320
I've been negotiating, doing phone
calls, back-and-forth emails

984
00:53:06,320 --> 00:53:09,160
for months now, trying to figure out
what exactly can happen

985
00:53:09,160 --> 00:53:11,400
at the Commonwealth Games
Opening Ceremony.

986
00:53:11,400 --> 00:53:13,160
LINE RINGING

987
00:53:13,160 --> 00:53:15,160
Commonwealth Games Federation.

988
00:53:15,160 --> 00:53:17,320
Hello, it's Tom Daley here.

989
00:53:17,320 --> 00:53:18,800
LINE RINGING

990
00:53:18,800 --> 00:53:22,000
Just wanted to give you a quick
call to talk about plans

991
00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:23,360
for the Opening Ceremony.

992
00:53:23,360 --> 00:53:25,760
There are a lot of doors
that were slammed in our faces,

993
00:53:25,760 --> 00:53:28,960
there was a lot of things
that were suggested

994
00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:31,240
and then shut down and suggested
and shut down,

995
00:53:31,240 --> 00:53:35,120
but after months, we've finally
come up with something.

996
00:53:35,120 --> 00:53:38,320
They finally agreed to allow
the Pride flag to be included.

997
00:53:38,320 --> 00:53:39,800
And not just one -

998
00:53:39,800 --> 00:53:42,320
there's going to be six.
In a really official part, too -

999
00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:45,400
the Queen's Baton Relay -
and it's going to be carried

1000
00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:48,760
by people from all over
the Commonwealth.

1001
00:53:48,760 --> 00:53:52,160
Hi, Tom.  Athletes and advocates
that I've met along the way.

1002
00:53:52,160 --> 00:53:54,760
Hey, Tom.
Hi, Glenroy, how are you?

1003
00:53:54,760 --> 00:53:58,600
We've got people representing
asylum seekers and refugees.

1004
00:53:58,600 --> 00:54:02,240
Honestly, I've already cried a lot
about this, because you just don't

1005
00:54:02,240 --> 00:54:04,320
imagine in your wildest dreams
that something

1006
00:54:04,320 --> 00:54:05,560
like this could happen.

1007
00:54:05,560 --> 00:54:09,520
I am so excited and just so grateful

1008
00:54:09,520 --> 00:54:12,040
that you are getting
involved in this.

1009
00:54:12,040 --> 00:54:16,040
If I had seen this moment as a young
lesbian growing up in Zimbabwe,

1010
00:54:16,040 --> 00:54:17,960
it would have meant
everything for me.

1011
00:54:17,960 --> 00:54:20,040
It would have meant I am not alone.

1012
00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:23,360
People who have fought to change
the law in their country.

1013
00:54:23,360 --> 00:54:26,120
People that have had to flee
their country.

1014
00:54:26,120 --> 00:54:28,320
This is quite an historic moment,

1015
00:54:28,320 --> 00:54:31,520
the first time that the Pride flag
is being flown proudly

1016
00:54:31,520 --> 00:54:34,000
at a major sporting event,
so that's huge.

1017
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:37,800
This is really going to be
ground-breaking now.

1018
00:54:37,800 --> 00:54:41,840
For generations, people will be
talking about it.

1019
00:54:41,840 --> 00:54:45,040
It's the first major sporting
event to do this.

1020
00:54:45,040 --> 00:54:50,080
Like, they are going to change
history in the way that sport

1021
00:54:50,080 --> 00:54:53,200
and the LGBT community
come together.

1022
00:54:55,320 --> 00:55:01,160
I'm kind of nervous, super excited
and almost just... I just still

1023
00:55:01,160 --> 00:55:04,240
just can't quite believe
that over a billion people

1024
00:55:04,240 --> 00:55:08,440
are going to see the Pride flags
walk out at the Opening Ceremony.

1025
00:55:08,440 --> 00:55:11,440
Hello, everyone.  Nice to see you.

1026
00:55:11,440 --> 00:55:14,880
Hello.  Good to see you.
Hello, hello, hello. Oh!

1027
00:55:14,880 --> 00:55:18,960
This moment means so much
to the six advocates.

1028
00:55:18,960 --> 00:55:21,920
I can't believe it's all
finally happening.

1029
00:55:21,920 --> 00:55:24,440
It's the fact that it's happening
at the Commonwealth Games.

1030
00:55:24,440 --> 00:55:28,520
Yes.  We are occupying spaces
where it matters and we don't

1031
00:55:28,520 --> 00:55:29,720
have to apologise for it,

1032
00:55:29,720 --> 00:55:32,720
we don't have to beg for it,
because we belong here.

1033
00:55:32,720 --> 00:55:37,800
Three, two, one!

1034
00:55:32,720 --> 00:55:37,800
CHEERING

1035
00:55:37,800 --> 00:55:42,880
And now it is my honour to say
welcome to Birmingham.

1036
00:55:42,880 --> 00:55:44,680
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1037
00:55:49,240 --> 00:55:53,120
ANDREW COTTER:  The Prince of Wales
and the Duchess of Cornwall.

1038
00:55:53,120 --> 00:55:55,200
Hello, Birmingham. You all right?

1039
00:55:56,480 --> 00:55:58,760
We are ready.  Let's go.

1040
00:56:01,040 --> 00:56:04,160
This is what we've been working
towards. This huge moment

1041
00:56:04,160 --> 00:56:09,080
of visibility for LGBT people across
the Commonwealth to feel seen

1042
00:56:09,080 --> 00:56:11,720
and to feel acknowledged.

1043
00:56:11,720 --> 00:56:17,240
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1044
00:56:24,520 --> 00:56:26,160
CHEERING

1045
00:56:26,160 --> 00:56:27,840
For the last 300 days,

1046
00:56:27,840 --> 00:56:31,960
over 7,000 baton bearers
have carried the Queen's baton

1047
00:56:31,960 --> 00:56:36,400
across the Commonwealth in the name
of their chosen cause.

1048
00:56:36,400 --> 00:56:39,120
And now, completing
this epic journey,

1049
00:56:39,120 --> 00:56:41,960
please welcome our
final baton bearers.

1050
00:56:41,960 --> 00:56:43,600
Starting with five-times

1051
00:56:43,600 --> 00:56:46,840
Commonwealth medal-winner
for diving, Tom Daley!

1052
00:56:46,840 --> 00:56:49,880
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1053
00:56:49,880 --> 00:56:53,880
Tom is running in support
of LGBT+ rights, and tonight

1054
00:56:53,880 --> 00:56:55,840
has been joined by flag-bearers

1055
00:56:55,840 --> 00:56:59,440
representing some of the
35 Commonwealth countries

1056
00:56:59,440 --> 00:57:02,560
where homosexuality
is still a crime.

1057
00:57:02,560 --> 00:57:08,520
He runs in solidarity with all LGBT+
athletes and communities.

1058
00:57:13,680 --> 00:57:15,960
CHEERING

1059
00:57:29,120 --> 00:57:35,400
This was an incredibly emotional
moment, but this wasn't about me.

1060
00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:39,640
This is about every single LGBT
person around the Commonwealth,

1061
00:57:39,640 --> 00:57:43,440
around the world, that they might
have seen that tonight

1062
00:57:43,440 --> 00:57:46,040
and been given a little bit of hope.

1063
00:57:47,080 --> 00:57:50,400
Even if it can make the smallest
difference to someone out there,

1064
00:57:50,400 --> 00:57:54,920
it was all worth it because someone
today might have seen that and felt

1065
00:57:54,920 --> 00:57:56,440
a little less alone in the world.

1066
00:58:00,280 --> 00:58:02,840
Big things come from small
beginnings,

1067
00:58:02,840 --> 00:58:06,120
and today the Commonwealth
Games made history.

1068
00:58:07,560 --> 00:58:11,120
But the Olympics, the football
World Cup and Formula 1

1069
00:58:11,120 --> 00:58:13,160
still have a long way to go.

1070
00:58:14,160 --> 00:58:16,200
I just see this as the start.

1071
00:58:18,000 --> 00:58:20,600
I want other sporting events
to take note

1072
00:58:20,600 --> 00:58:23,240
because we're not going anywhere.

1073
00:58:23,240 --> 00:58:25,400
CHEERING