“The beauty of darts is that it doesn’t matter who you are, what your background is” – Proud Huw Ware is EuroGames ambassador in home country Wales

PDC referee Huw Ware has been appointed an official ambassador for EuroGames Cardiff 2027. For the Welshman, the appointment means far more than just a ceremonial role. The 32-year-old darts referee even calls it “one of the greatest honours of my life.”

EuroGames is Europe’s largest multi-sport event for LGBTQ+ athletes and their allies. The 2027 edition will be held from July 14 to 17 in Cardiff and will mark a historic milestone. For the first time ever, the event will take place in the United Kingdom.

As an ambassador, Ware joins an impressive group. Former Olympic hockey medalist Sarah Jones and football icon Jess Fishlock had already been linked to the event. With the arrival of the well-known darts official, the sport of darts also gains a prominent representative within the project.

Ware has become increasingly well known within the darts world in recent years. In 2025, he made history by becoming the first openly gay man ever to officiate a World Darts Championship final. His appointment as an EuroGames ambassador therefore feels like a logical next step. Not only because of his visibility within the sport, but also because of his personal story.

Ware moved to Cardiff at the age of nineteen, a city that he says played a key role in his own development. “I can tell you from my own personal experience that this is a city that will welcome all athletes," Ware says. "It will give you a safe space to compete and to enjoy yourselves in equal measure.”

According to the darts referee, Cardiff’s inclusive LGBTQ+ community gave him the confidence at the time to be open about his sexuality within professional darts.

In his role as ambassador, Ware hopes not only to raise the profile of EuroGames but also to highlight the accessibility of darts. "The beauty of darts is that it doesn’t matter who you are, what your background is, or where you are from," says Ware. “Both players have three darts in their hand, and it’s about who throws them better - that’s it."

That very parity makes darts, in his view, particularly well suited to an event like EuroGames. Ware therefore calls on as many people as possible to take part in the tournament in Cardiff. "I encourage as many people as possible to enter, whether you are a beginner or have lots of experience.”

That darts will have an important place at EuroGames Cardiff 2027 seems almost certain. The sport has seen enormous growth in popularity in recent years, thanks in part to stars like Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Michael van Gerwen.

The organisation of the darts tournament is in the hands of Out on the Oche, the official LGBTQ+ darts group supported by the PDC. Thanks to that collaboration, the organisers hope to attract a large international field of participants.

Registration for a large number of sports is now open, and thousands of athletes from across Europe are expected to travel to Cardiff.

EuroGames puts a clear focus on inclusion and accessibility. According to the organisation, that remains urgently needed. Recent YouGov research shows that more than a third of LGBTQ+ people have experienced discrimination while playing sports or when attempting to take up a sport.

To remove those barriers, EuroGames allows participants to register in the gender category in which they feel most comfortable. The organisers hope this will create an environment where the joy of sport is central and everyone can be themselves.

For Ware, that mission aligns perfectly with his own experiences within the sport. “Sport should be a place where people come together, not where they’re excluded,” he states. “I’m very much looking forward to welcoming people from all over Europe to Cardiff.”

With a historic first edition on UK soil, a growing number of registrations, and a well-known name from the darts world as an ambassador, the outlook for EuroGames Cardiff 2027 already looks particularly promising.