Updated Jun 23, 2021, 05:16pm EDT
Topline
Supporters of LGBT rights flocked to the Allianz Arena in Munich ahead of Germany’s Euro 2020 clash with Hungary on Wednesday, flooding the pregame festivities in rainbow-colored flags after European soccer officials banned the stadium itself from displaying a rainbow flag as a form of protest against an anti-gay law recently approved in Hungary.
A man carries LGBT pride flags outside the Allianz Arena in Munich before Germany and Hungary face … [+]
Key Facts
Rainbow flags outnumbered German flags outside of the stadium on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
Officials with UEFA—European soccer’s governing body—ruled Tuesday that a rainbow display in the stadium itself would not be allowed, since UEFA is a “politically and religiously neutral organisation.”
A political message is exactly what Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter intended to send by lighting up the stadium in rainbow colors, to protest a Hungarian law passed last week.
The new law bans the distribution in schools of any content viewed as “promoting” homosexuality, and it enjoys the strong support of the country’s right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who’s up for reelection next year.
After UEFA’s Munich rejection, clubs in at least seven other German cities announced they would light their stadia in rainbow colors on Wednesday night in support of the Munich mayor.
A flag combining the LGBT rainbow colors with the stars of the European Union is seen outside the … [+]
Fans draped in rainbow flags walk toward the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 23, 2021.
A man holds a crate overflowing with LGBT flags outside the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 23, … [+]
A drag queen lends ultra-fabulous support for LGBT rights outside the Allianz Arena on June 23, … [+]
A man brandishes a massive rainbowmm flag on a road near the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 23, … [+]
People clad in rainbow flags march outside the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 23, 2021.
Yet another rainbow flag is waved outside the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 23, 2021.
A Germany fan shows support for LGBT rights outside the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 23, 2021.
I’m a New Orleans-based news reporter for Forbes covering the U.S. South and breaking news. Previously, I wrote for The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate covering
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I’m a New Orleans-based news reporter for Forbes covering the U.S. South and breaking news. Previously, I wrote for The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate covering local government.
