The organizing committee of the 2012
Olympic Games announced the availability of a gay pride pin on
Friday.
The item's description says: “This
pin badge features the rainbow flag and the London 2012 Olympic logo
and is launched in support of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender (LGBT) community.”
Gareth Thomas, the Welsh rugby player
who came out gay last December, urged people to “wear their pin
badge with pride” to help the committee “achieve greater
inclusion in sport.”
The organizing committee's chief
executive, Paul Deighton, said he wanted to use “the power of the
Games to inspire change,” in announcing the gay pin badge.
The gay pin badge is the first in a
series designed to help foster a greater understanding of diversity.
Others in the series, expected to be released over the next year,
will celebrate belief, age, disability, gender and ethnicity.
Deighton added that the pin badges are
one way the committee is showing its “support for a sporting
environment built upon equality and inclusion.”
The gay pin badge will be available for
sale tomorrow at London's gay pride festival. You can also purchase
the pin at London
2012's online shop for £5
(about $7.60).