Olympic champion in diving tom daley spoke out against homophobia in the Commonwealth on Thursday.

What happened: Daley posted a picture featuring notable LGBT figures from across the Commonwealth, including Duee Chanda professional sprinter from India who is also the first openly gay athlete on the Indian team.

Chand is attending this year’s games and was seen with others in the group holding a Pride flag.

“In over half of the Commonwealth countries, homosexuality is still a crime and in three of those countries the maximum penalty is the death penalty,” Daley said.

“These laws are a legacy of colonialism. This opening ceremony is all about showing LGBTQ+ visibility to the billion viewers.”

Why it matters: The XXII. Commonwealth Games kicked off in Birmingham, UK on Thursday. They will include 280 events across 20 sports.

The games were opened by prince Karl and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. The latter read out a message on behalf of his mother Queen Elizabeth the second.

Daley was one of the last bearers at the Queen’s Baton Relay on Thursday. Chand carried the baton in Bhubaneswar, India.

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photo by Odisha Games 2017 via Wikimedia