Athletes permitted to protest on the podium at Commonwealth Games

Athletes at the Commonwealth Games this year will be allowed to raise a fist on the podium to protest in favour of racial equality, and wave Pride flags in support of LGBT+ rights during victory laps, the Guardian has learned.

The 4,500 athletes expected in Birmingham this summer will also be permitted to wear clothing, armbands and badges on the podium to support social justice causes under radical new “guiding principles” for athlete advocacy due to be announced on Tuesday.

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But while the move will delight many athletes and human rights campaigners, insiders are also expecting a backlash from some commentators, who may try to rebrand the event as the “Common-woke Games”.

The decision to allow athletes to raise a fist on the podium in support of Black Lives Matter is particularly evocative, as it will bring back memories of Mexico 1968, when Tommie Smith and John Carlos used a black power salute on the Olympic podium to protest against racial injustice in America.

Within 48 hours of their protest both men were kicked out of those Games at the urging of the International Olympic Committee president, Avery Brundage – and, even now, the IOC forbids athletes from any kind of protest or demonstration on the podium, field of play, or during ceremonies.

However senior figures at the Commonwealth Games Federation believe that a more enlightened policy is now needed. The hope is that by allowing more freedom of expression in Birmingham it will allow athletes to better become – in the words of one source – “agents for change in improving the world for the better”.

It is also expected that the CGF will argue that strengthening athlete advocacy and