Venues in the Gay Village are boycotting the World Cup – The Tab
The boycott against the World Cup games is due to the host country’s, Qatar, treatment of the LGBT community
The owner of The Village Inn and Nightingales in Birmingham has said the venues will be boycotting showing the upcoming World Cup football games.
The first ever winter World Cup starts this weekend, on Sunday 20th, and it is being held in Qatar. Since the announcement of Qatar being the host country, there has been much controversy.
Many are outraged by Qatar’s laws surrounding the LGBT community; in Qatar homosexuality is illegal and can be punishable by death. However, Qatar has said all fans will be welcomed “without discrimination”.
Lawrence Barton is Birmingham-based businessman who owns, both of which are nightclubs in Birmingham’s Gay Village. Alongside this, Barton is also the director of Birmingham Pride.
Barton has said “our community matters more than making money” and therefore all venues he owns will not be showing the games.
Barton said showing the World Cup games at his venues is “usually a fantastic success, really well attended” but due to the laws surrounding the LGBT community in Qatar he has said “there is no way [he] could ever consider profiting from knowing that is the situation in Qatar with [the LGBT] community”.
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