Throwback: Star Observer’s coverage of the first ever Gay International Olympic Games
THE STAR (VOLUME 4, NO. 4, SEPTEMBER 10, 1982)
ON a grey and damp Saturday morning in 1982 San Francisco played host to the opening ceremony of the Gay International Olympic Games — the first gay Olympiad in history.
More than 1500 athletes from 12 different countries converged in the city to compete, with Australian athletes taking home a number of medals, including Bob Goldsmith who won gold, silver, and bronze medals in swimming.
When the sun broke through at around 12noon, renowned lesbian author Rita Mae Brown took to the stage.
“We’re here today not to celebrate homosexuality, but to celebrate and affirm individual freedom,” she said.
“No government has the right to say when to love, how to love, or who to love.”
Thousands were also there to witness the opening ceremony and the first Olympic flame, which was held in Kezar Stadium.
* The Star is what the Star Observer was known as in 1982.
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**This article was first published in the April edition of the Star Observer, which is available now. Click here to find out where you can grab a copy in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and select regional/coastal areas.
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