‘It’s unusual and inspirational!’ – LGBTQ dancesport electrifies at EuroGames Lyon 2025
Tom Dane from the UK won a gold medal in dancesport at EuroGames 2025, held in Lyon, France; he talks to Sports Media LGBT+ about what makes the event so special; EuroGames is coming to the UK for the first time in 2027, hosted by Cardiff…
The 22nd edition of EuroGames brought LGBTQ athletes and allies from around the world to France’s third biggest city, Lyon.
Around 5,500 entrants were expected to participate in more than 30 different sports competitions, including many who made the short trip across the Channel from the UK.
There was also an opportunity to build awareness around EuroGames Cardiff 2027, which is now just two years away and will be the first time that a British city has ever hosted a major LGBTQ multisports event.
Sports Media LGBT+ was in Lyon taking in all the sights, sounds and sporting delights, with several tournaments taking place close to the 25,000-capacity Stade de Gerland, formerly the home of Ligue 1 football club Olympique Lyonnais and now used by Top 14 club Lyon OU.
The Palais de Sports de Gerland Lyon is the venue for the dancesport competition, and we caught up there with Tom Dane.
Tom is the Chair of the UK Equality Dance Council and Board Member of the European Equality Dance Association.
He was competing once again at a EuroGames with his dance partner, Kevin Haycock, in an event that is by no means male-dominated.
“I think we’re probably one of the only sports where we have quite a lot more women than men taking part,” he tells Sports Media LGBT+.
UPDATE: Congratulations to Tom and Kevin on your success!
We sat down with Tom between dances for a chat…
Hi Tom! Thank you for talking to Sports Media LGBT+. How long have you been competing in dancesport and why do you love it so much?
Tom: You’re welcome! Kevin and I have been competing together as dance partners for about nine years. My first year of EuroGames was in 2008 in Barcelona, when I was with a different partner.
It’s just such a great event! The equality dance community is really friendly.
What makes a competition like this so important for LGBTQ people who love dancesport?
In many countries, it’s just not possible for two men or for two women to ballroom dance together. It is possible in the UK, but not in a lot of other countries, within the mainstream.
So actually, for many people, this is their only chance to dance the way they want, with the people they want. I think that’s a really special thing.
Kevin and I met social dancing, and we decided to enter EuroGames together in Stockholm in 2015. We both have non-dancing husbands/boyfriends!
It went well in Stockholm, we were pleased with how we performed, and we’ve gone on together since then for nine years!
Delivering a good EuroGames experience is always the ambition for organisers. How has your experience been?
I think every tournament has a few hiccups, but we always get there in the end, and for our dancesport events, we’ve got such a great team of people who are organising the competitions.
So even if it goes a bit wrong in places, it’s always really good fun.
For us, it’s not so much about trophies – we want to keep developing and improving, rather than necessarily be so determined that we must win!
We like the learning element and the structure to enjoying the dance that we get through competing.
What are your ambitions from here?
I’ll be helping to organise the dance competition at the Gay Games in Valencia as well as competing, and I expect to be doing the same at the EuroGames in Cardiff in 2027 as well.
Over the years, you must have come across some powerful stories about people who have got into dancesport and found that it’s changed their lives…
Yeah, a couple of things stand out. One, it’s a sport a lot of older dancers can do, and it’s amazing how you’ve got all the ages mixed in together.
I think that’s unusual for the LGBTQ community. For some of the senior dancers you’ve met through dancing, they’ve been together for years, and they’ve competed together. That’s really special.
Also we see people competing from countries where it wouldn’t be socially acceptable. In the past, we’ve had Russian couples competing and that’s a really great thing – it might be the only opportunity they get to be themselves in dance.
I think it’s quite inspirational when you see people be prepared to be that brave.
What’s your overall take on EuroGames Lyon 2025 so far?
The dance event has been really well organised. It’s an amazing venue. I’ve not had a chance to explore much of the rest of it, but it does feel like a lot of effort has gone into making it a really safe event, which is great.
We had a bit of a lull post-Covid so to see the number of athletes now really picking up again, it’s fantastic.
To learn more about EuroGames Cardiff 2027, visit the official website where you can sign up for email updates.
Interested in sponsorship and partnership opportunities? Email the team at info@pridesports.cymru.
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