Tottenham Hotspur lights up London for Rainbow Laces campaign

The Club has tonight illuminated its iconic new stadium in rainbow colours as a statement of support for the LGBTQ+ community during Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign.

Representatives of the Club, its LGBTQ+ Supporters’ Association – Proud Lilywhites, Stonewall, the Premier League, the FA and further organisations that promote diversity and inclusion within the game gathered to witness the illumination.

London’s newest landmark will also be illuminated during our home Premier League fixture against Burnley on Saturday (7 December), which will be dedicated to Rainbow Laces. Tottenham Hotspur Women will also be supporting the Rainbow Laces campaign in their game against Brighton on Sunday 8 December.

The campaign aims to 'make sport everyone's game', with the focus on creating LGBTQ+ inclusive environments within football and other sports. Premier League clubs are activating around home matches being played up and down the country this week.

Donna-Maria Cullen, Executive Director, Tottenham Hotspur, said: “Diversity and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do as a Club and our iconic new stadium gives us a fantastic opportunity to go even further in demonstrating our support for the LGBTQ+ community.

“At night, our stadium becomes a light sculpture that is seen across London – our rainbow illumination is a powerful statement as to the part football can play in delivering such an important message; this is everyone’s game and all are welcome here regardless of race, religion, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation.”

The Club was one of the first to establish a LGBTQ+ Supporters’ Association, with Proud Lilywhites launched in February, 2014.

Since then, Proud Lilywhites has worked closely with the Club on a range of initiatives to engage Tottenham Hotspur’s LGBTQ+ fanbase, its staff and partners.

The group’s signature flag is regularly seen at home matches, LGBTQ+ awareness training has been held for Club staff and matchday stewards, and football sessions for its members have been delivered by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.

Proud Lilywhites’ membership has grown to over 400 and the group was awarded the 2018 Fans for Diversity Award by the Football Supporters’ Federation.

Tonight, Proud Lilywhites unveiled their new-look pin badge that now incorporates the black and trans pride flags to reflect the truly diverse nature of the Club’s support.

Chris Paouros, Co-Chair, Proud Lilywhites, said: “We’ve seen first-hand over these past five years that our Club is a bastion of inclusion and diversity. By illuminating the stadium, we are making a statement that embodies this.”

Simon Gray, Co-Chair, Proud Lilywhites, added: “To be able to light up our stadium tonight in rainbow colours is a huge statement. We have the best stadium in the world and this will be seen across London. As a fan group, that makes us extremely proud, as it should for every Spurs fan.”

Within the Club’s local community, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation has employed an LGBTQ+ Co-Ordinator to deliver youth groups, inclusive sports sessions and educational activities within schools to promote diversity and inclusion.

At the Burnley match, the Club’s official craft beer supplier to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Beavertown, will be selling a special edition brew of its popular Gamma Ray product, in association with Proud Lilywhites. ‘Gamma Ray, Proud Lilywhites Limited Edition’ was first produced in celebration of London Pride 2019, which the Club supported in July.