#ColorsOfLove: The LGBTQ+ Flag for the Qatar 2022 World Cup

From November 20th until December 18th, soccer fans from around the world are going to be dedicating their eyes, ears and energy to everything that will happen during the Qatar 2022 World Cup. But, in the country where this international soccer competition will take place, there are serious regulations going on that can’t be ignored.

Qatar has not taken the direction that most countries in the world have when it comes to sexual diversity, with demonstrations of the such being completely prohibited, and participants fined by the government.

That is why the French organization “Stop Homophobie ” and the color standards company “Pantone ” came up with a great idea to let the world know that Love is Love. In a joint initiative, they have created an alternative LGBTQ+ flag that can be flown at sports competitions.

The LGBTQ+ flag from Stop Homophobie and Pantone

The campaign is called #ColorsOfLove and it was launched through a video on November 9th, 2022. They took the well-known rainbow flag, created by Gilbert Baker in 1978 for the San Francisco LGBTQ+ Pride Parade, and modified it.

You can see that the red, orange, yellow, green, indigo and violet stripes are completely white. However, on each of these stripes the Pantone numbers that are equivalent to these shades have been written. It is a symbolic way to replace them without neglecting their meaning, value and importance.

With this initiative, the “Stop Homophobie” and “Pantone” campaign seeks to vindicate once again the rights of the global LGBT+ community. It is a way of making sure, in both a creative and respectful way, that members of the collectivity in every country of the world are represented at the Qatar 2022 World Cup while reminding us that love and diverse sexual orientation must be respected.

Reject homophobia

As we’ve already mentioned, in Qatar, even today in the 21st century, not only are expressions of love by people from the LGBTQ+ community prohibited, but women also suffer many restrictions, including how they should dress and what parts of their bodies they can show. There is no freedom in that sense for the women of Qatar.

That is why the aforementioned campaign is worth double, because it is a country where there are State policies that prohibit relationships between people of the same sex. Of course, same-sex marriage is not legal there and intimate encounters between people of the same gender can even be punished with the death penalty.

Just weeks ago, Khalid Salman, ambassador of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, made homophobic statements when mentioning that homosexuality is “a damage to the mind.” This happened in an interview with the German channel ZDF.

Meanwhile, the teams from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Wales, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, England and Switzerland have also announced that they will play their matches wearing a rainbow bracelet. This is part of the One Love campaign, with which they seek to send a message against discrimination of any kind.