A US evangelist is set to appear at the ICCWales this month, two years after the venue cancelled his last appearance over concerns about his views on homosexuality. American evangelist and missionary Franklin Graham has called homosexuality a "sin" on a number of occasions, spoken against banning conversion therapy and has also been critical of the Islamic faith.
Mr Graham was originally booked to appear at the Newport venue in June 2020, but that event was cancelled by ICCWales after a number of people including Newport MS Jayne Bryant and LGBTQ+ charity Pride Cymru raised concerns over his views. At the time the venue said it had "been made aware of a number of views held and comments made by the Graham organisation which are incompatible with our own values of equality, diversity and inclusivity", prompting it to pull the event. Venues in Liverpool and Sheffield also cancelled planned appearances by Mr Graham in 2020.
However the conservative reverend, a close ally of former President Donald Trump and the son of the evangelist Billy Graham, is now returning to the UK and is scheduled to bring his God Loves You to the ICCWales on May 21. The event, which is free of charge, is billed on Mr Graham's website as offering guests a "personal message of hope and an exciting evening of live music."
