Pride House LA – West Hollywood Last Friday, the city’s fabulous Pride House kicked off the Los Angeles Summer Olympics, which will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.
Pride House Paris During the Paris Olympics, we welcomed LGBTQ Olympians, athletes, fans and the general public to a celebration of the community, held in a beautiful setting along the Seine.
Pride House LA-West Hollywood’s current vision is to create an immersive experience that celebrates LGBTQ Olympic and Paralympic athletes and coaches, as well as the creativity of Hollywood and West Hollywood, providing a space for the LGBTQ community to celebrate during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a way that has never been done before.
The event was joined by many supporters, including former college athlete and Mayor of West Hollywood John M. Erickson, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay P. Holbert (former Mayor of West Hollywood), Janice Hahn, Hilda Solis, former West Hollywood Mayor John D’Amico, Paris Deputy Mayor M. Frédéric Aucquart, Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Louganis, Ian Thorpe, Matthew Mitchum, Olympic hopeful Bill May, Olympic figure skater and Compete Proud Founder Javier Raya, and Gold Meets Golden Founder Charlie Cullen Walters.
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Pride House LA-West Hollywood’s initiative: Out Athlete Fund, a 501c3 non-profit organization based in California An organization dedicated to providing resources to LGBTQ athletes aspiring to compete in the Olympics and other top levels of athletics. The organization recognizes the importance of LGBTQ visibility in sports, and the best way to increase that importance is to provide athletes with the resources to pursue their dreams on the national and world stage.
The Out Athlete Fund is Alex SugiartSan Francisco technology strategy executive.
“Opening a Pride House in West Hollywood for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games is an incredible opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community,” said Out Athletes Foundation founder Alex Sujato. “We’re already working with incredible community and business leaders to support LGBTQ+ athletes and celebrate the entire community with Pride House.”
To be honest, I am one of three members on the Out Athlete Fund board of directors, and Les Johnson is a long-time (now former) Gay Games Federation board member and another member on the OutAF board.
Other key figures in the group present in Paris include a longtime LGBTQ advocate from Los Angeles. Michael FerreraMarketing and Events Executive Haley Caruso. Hendrix’s Law has also joined the OutAF team.
Organizing Committee Pride House Paris Led by co-chairs Frédéric Vidal and Jérémie Goupille, the organization has raised the profile and presence of LGBTQ-inclusive Pride House at the Olympic Games to new heights, garnering recognition from the International Olympic Committee.
“The work we have been doing at Pride House Paris to elevate the LGBTQ+ community in the world of sport has been unparalleled, with the support of the French Ministry of Sport, the French Ministry of Equality, the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee and, for the first time in Pride House’s history, the International Olympic Committee,” said the Pride House president. Fear Play Vidal and Goupille are co-chairs of Fie Play, the organisation behind Pride House Paris.
“We look forward to spreading the Pride House tradition among California’s supportive communities and continuing this important movement,” they added.
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Many openly LGBTQ Olympians, including Gus Kenworthy, Greg Louganis, Matthew Mitcham and Kate Richardson-Walsh, stopped by Pride House Paris.
The effort to bring a Pride House to West Hollywood during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles has already garnered a surprising amount of support.
The City of West Hollywood and the Out Athlete Fund have been in discussions for a year about making Pride House the home of the 17-day event in West Hollywood Park, a place that reflects the creativity and energy of the Los Angeles region.
“As the first openly gay collegiate athlete and now Mayor of the City of West Hollywood, a hub of LGBTQ+ activism and a center of culture, creativity, music and inclusion, I look forward to welcoming people from all over the world to experience West Hollywood Pride House in 2028,” Erickson said.
The City of West Hollywood, along with Mayor David Wilson and other city officials, is supporting the celebrations and fact-finding efforts in Paris.
They were joined by Los Angeles County Supervisors Lindsay Holbert, Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis, who have already provided financial support to the Out Athletes Fund’s Pride House efforts.
“The Pride House experience in Paris has inspired us to think about Pride House LA-West Hollywood as part of the 2028 Games,” said Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Lindsay P. Holbert. “Pride House will be a fixture in West Hollywood in four years, alongside LGBTQ+ athletes and fans from around the world!”
Preparations have already begun for the construction of the next floor of Pride House.
An incredible number of openly LGBTQ athletes are already involved with Pride House LA-West Hollywood as “ambassadors,” including Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy, former NBA player Jason Collins, Olympic dressage athlete Robert Dauer, Olympic figure skater Randy Gardner, Olympic beach volleyball player Nicole Branagh and professional soccer player Colin Martin.
For more information about the Out Athlete Fund and Pride House LA-West Hollywood, please visit Out Athletes Foundation website. you can Follow us on Instagram.
Source: Outsports – www.outsports.com
