Pride House Birmingham has reported at least 40 out LGBT+ athletes are competing at Birmingham 2022 ©ITG

Pride House Birmingham has reported that there are at least 40 out LGBT+ athletes taking part at the Commonwealth Games here.

The group features 35 women, four men and one non-binary athlete.

A breakdown of the athletes' sports shows that one-quarter of those are competing in the women's T20 cricket tournament, with six featuring in athletics and rugby sevens.

Nine of the 40 athletes are representing hosts England, with seven competing in Australian colours and six for New Zealand.

Three members of Scotland's 3x3 wheelchair basketball squad are publicly LGBTQ+ and out.

The figure of 40 athletes represents an increase from the 13 competitors publicly out as LGBTQ+ at the last Commonwealth Games on Gold Coast in 2018, which represented around 0.3 per cent of the total featuring at the multi-sport event.

A further five publicly out athletes were either named as reserves for Birmingham 2022, or withdrew after being initially selected.

Trinidad and Tobago's reigning Commonwealth Games women's 100 metres champion Michelle-Lee Ahye, New Zealand's women's rugby sevens Olympic gold medallists Kelly Brazier and Portia Woodman, Scotland's two-time badminton women's singles Commonwealth Games medallist Kirsty Gilmour and Wales' two-time men's 1,500m freestyle swimming Commonwealth Games medallist Daniel Jervis are among the 40 athletes.

New Zealand's women's rugby sevens players Portia Woodman, left, and Kelly Brazier, right, are among the 40 out athletes listed as competing at Birmingham 2022 ©Getty Images
New Zealand's women's rugby sevens players Portia Woodman, left, and Kelly Brazier, right, are among the 40 out athletes listed as competing at Birmingham 2022 ©Getty Images

Their names are added to the former Games athletes who are out, believed to number at least 75.

The research was conducted by Sports Media LGBT+ working with historian Tony Scupham-Bilton, with athletes who have publicly declared themselves out in the media or on social media used as the criteria.

Pride Houses established at major events are dedicated to LGBTIQ+ inclusion, diversity and culture.

Pride House Birmingham seeks to provide a safe space for LGBTIQ+ people during the Games, and has received praise from the Commonwealth Games Federation.

The Opening Ceremony was marked by English diver Tom Daley, an Olympic and four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist who is not competing at Birmingham 2022, entering the Alexander Stadium with the Queen's Baton accompanied by six activists carrying pride flags in a show of support for LGBTIQ+ rights in the Commonwealth.

Homosexuality is still criminalised in 35 Commonwealth member states, with the Games sparking calls for LGBTIQ+ inclusion and rights.