Annual activations for LGBT inclusion in sport campaign continue across the weekend; Tottenham Hotspur Stadium lit up in rainbow colours
Sunday 8 December 2019 11:33, UK
Huge rainbow welcome mats were placed outside Premier League grounds on Saturday in a show of support for Rainbow Laces.
The eye-catching stadium additions, measuring 10m x 10m, were part of ongoing annual activations around the Stonewall campaign for LGBT inclusion in sport.
Sky Sports' fellow Team Pride partners Coca-Cola introduced the mats for match round 16, with thousands of pairs of laces handed out to fans attending the fixtures.
Having first been lit up in rainbow on Thursday evening, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was again illuminating the north London skyline in a spectrum of colours for the visit of Burnley.
Spurs executive director Donna-Maria Cullen 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."
Thursday's event was also a special occasion for Tottenham's LGBT+ supporters group Proud Lilywhites, which now has over 400 members since being launched back in February 2014.
Co-chair Chris Paouros 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."
Also on Saturday, the Rainbow Laces campaign was marked with welcome mats and matchday furniture at Vicarage Road, Goodison Park, the Vitality Stadium, and the Etihad Stadium.
On Sunday, the build-up to kick-off in the Brighton vs Wolves match live on Sky Sports Premier League will see the East Stand of the Amex display a mosaic in support of Rainbow Laces and the wider LGBTQ+ community.
There will also be bespoke activations at the Aston Villa vs Leicester game earlier on Renault Super Sunday.
The annual activation of Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign - which is supported by Sky Sports - is under way now and runs until Monday.
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