'Don't dress gay!' Qatar hotels refuse to accept LGBTQ+ guests ahead of FIFA World Cup 2022

'Don't dress gay!' Qatar hotels refuse to accept LGBTQ+ guests ahead of FIFA World Cup 2022
Hotels in Qatar are reluctant to accept LGBTQ+ guests despite FIFA saying, ‘all are welcome in Qatar’ (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Several World Cup hotels in Qatar have refused to accept LGBTQ+ visitors, while others have ordered guests to change their behavior during their stay, according to a study. While FIFA and Qatari officials have previously said that everyone is welcome at the event, a poll undertaken by Swedish and Danish media has revealed that a lot of hotels are refusing to accommodate LGBTQ+ supporters.

According to the study, journalists pretended to be a recently married homosexual couple wanting to book a stay at 69 hotels in Qatar that were listed on an official World Cup website and approved by FIFA. Three hotels declined to take the reservation, according to NRK, SVT in Sweden, and DR in Denmark, with one arguing that allowing them to stay would be against hotel policy. Another 20 hotels encouraged the couple to change their behavior during their stay to prevent public demonstrations of affection, advising them to 'don't dress gay'. Only 33 hotels on the World Cup approved list accepted the booking from the male pair. However, the survey discovered that one-third did not or had concerns about it.

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