Since the establishment of a Pride House at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, pavilions welcoming and celebrating LGBT athletes and communities have been established at major sporting events including the 2012 Summer Olympics and the UEFA Euro 2012, and future Pride Houses are planned.
An attempt to establish a Pride House at the 2014 Winter Olympics was struck down by the Ministry of Justice, which would not approve the registration of the NGO set up to organize the Pride House. The ban was upheld by Krasnodar Krai Judge Svetlana Mordovina on the basis of the Pride House inciting “propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation which can undermine the security of the Russian society and the state and provoke social-religious hatred, which is the feature of the extremist character of the activity”.
Human Rights Watch noted the issue with the new Russian laws concerning homosexuality and called for the IOC to take into consideration the safety of any LGBT competitors. American and Russian Gay rights group RUSA LGBT contacted the IOC regarding their concerns, and petitioned sponsors Coca-Cola, Visa Inc., Panasonic, Samsung, and Procter & Gamble to boycott the games due to the Russian government’s stance on homosexuality.
Amid calls from LGBT advocates for countries to boycott the Olympics, the IOC stated in August 2013 that it had “received assurances from the highest level of government in Russia that the legislation will not affect those attending or taking part in the Games”;8 this was contradicted in a statement three days later made by Russia’s Ministry of the Interior, which stated that the anti-propaganda laws would still be enforced in Sochi.9 The IOC also confirmed that it would enforce Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which forbids political protest, against athletes who make displays of support for the LGBT community.
The IOC received written assurance from the Russian government in August 2013 stating that it is committed to abiding by the Olympic Charter during the Olympic Games.
More than 50 Olympians (mainly from US, Canada and Australia, and also Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden) called on the Russian authorities to repeal introduced anti-gay laws in the end of January 2014. They criticised the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and sponsors for not doing more to human rights. Also the Human rights organisations hope Russia to correct this before the start of the games, if starting.