Tom Daley may have taken a year-long break from diving, but that doesn’t mean he’s slowed down. If anything, the Olympic gold medallist is busier than ever. “Sorry I’m late,” he says as he joins our Zoom call, fixing his hair and catching his breath. He’s just been out for a walk with his husband Lance to get his laptop fixed. “Long story short, Robbie knocked over a margarita on it,” he explains, clearly still enjoying the joys of fatherhood despite flying cocktails causing tech carnage.
When we speak it’s been four days since Tom ran into the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games 2022 Opening Ceremony, contributing to the final steps of the Queen’s Baton Relay. Behind him were four flag bearers making history. In their hands they waved the Intersex-inclusive Progress Pride Flag proudly to huge cheers from the crowd. It’s the first time the Commonwealth Games – or any major sporting event – has included such a prominent and visible statement of solidarity for the LGBTQ+ community in their opening ceremony, and it was broadcast to an estimated audience of 1.5 billion people across the Commonwealth. But this moment was never a given. It was fought for.
“It wasn't the easiest thing to get across the line because initially they were quite resistant about having it take such a prominent part in the ceremony,” Tom tells us, reflecting on the history-making moment. “Then when they did agree to it it was very much a stripped back version, but I was very insistent on making sure that it wasn't me just carrying the Pride flag. The Queen's Baton Relay and bringing it into the stadium is one thing, but that moment wasn't just for LGBTQ+ people in the UK, but for all the LGBTQ+ people across the Commonwealth. The flag bearers were there representing all of the queer kids where their existence
