Games Win Puts Focus on Banks' Gay Rights Push in Hong Kong
- City doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage despite court rulings
- Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock all champion change
Photographer: Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Hong Kong’s selection to host the 2022 Gay Games puts the spotlight on calls by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., BlackRock Inc. and other financial institutions for the city government to make progress on gay rights or risk harming efforts to lure global talent.
Hong Kong beat out Washington, D.C., and Guadalajara, Mexico, to become the first Asian city to be awarded the Olympics-style event, held every four years. Currently, same-sex marriage isn’t recognized in the Asian financial hub, even after two court defeats earlier this year, leading to talented employees refusing to relocate to or remain in the city. Game campaigners hope more awareness will drive change in public attitudes toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, community.