Magazine awards snub Brunei-owned Dorchester hotel

The British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) has announced that it will not hold its annual awards ceremony at London’s Dorchester hotel as planned – in protest against Brunei’s recently-adopted anti-gay laws.

PinkNews reports that the event, which was due to take place later this year, will now be held at a different venue after BSME committee members decided that recent developments in Brunei were “impossible to ignore”.

The Dorchester on London’s Park Lane is owned by the Sultan of Brunei, who last month (April) introduced new laws that make anal sex punishable with death by stoning, alongside other offences like rape, adultery, extramarital sexual relations for Muslims.

Hotels owned by the Sultan have been the target of boycotts in protest against the legislation, and a growing number of celebrities, including Sharon Osbourne, Richard Branson and Stephen Fry, have joined the campaign in recent weeks.

Yesterday (May14) it was revealed that the Kardashians had moved a planned bridal shower for Kim from the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Vanderpump has also publicly announced her intention to boycott the venue, despite admitting the hotel was “like a home from home”.

Jay Leno was among those protesting against the Sultan of Brunei’s new anti-gay laws outside the Beverly Hill Hotels last week (May 5), while fellow chat show host Ellen Degeneres has also urged people to join the campaign.

The BSME awards are held annually to celebrate excellence within the magazine industry. The society named Attitude editor Matthew Todd Men’s Magazine Editor of the Year in 2011.

This year’s event is due to take place on November 17, at a new venue to be decided.

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