Gay Games


The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer athletes, artists and other individuals.
Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was started in the United States in San Francisco, California, in 1982, as the brainchild of Olympic decathlete and medical doctor Tom Waddell, Brenda Young, and others, whose goals were to promote the spirit of inclusion, participation, and personal growth in a sporting event. Waddell wanted to recreate the Olympics' power to bring people of various different backgrounds together through the international language of sport, and the organizers of the first event strived to accommodate differences and achieve gender parity.
It retains similarities with the Olympic Games, such as the Gay Games flame which is lit at the opening ceremony. The games are open to all who wish to participate, without regard to sexual orientation, and there are no qualifying standards. Competitors come from many countries, including those where homosexuality remains illegal and hidden.
The 1994 Gay Games, held in June in New York City to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the modern start of the LGBTQ movement in the United States, "overtook the Olympics in size" with 10,864 athletes compared to 9,356 at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 10,318 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Federation of Gay Games

The Federation of Gay Games is the sanctioning body of the Gay Games which was founded in 1982 by Tom Waddell, after he dealt first-hand with the prejudice towards gay athletes and their inability to openly participate in sporting events. The Federation of Gay Games hosts the world's biggest cultural and sporting event for the LGBTQ community every four years. The Federation of Gay Games was founded on the principles of "participation, inclusion, and personal best" and continues to support the LGBT community not only through the Gay Games but through scholarships for underprivileged members. The Federation of Gay Games continues to expand throughout the world and accepts members of any sexual orientation and nationality to participate in the games or contribute. The FGG is planning on hosting the next Gay Games in 2026 in Valencia.From its statement of concept and purpose:

Host nations and cities

YearNo.Host city
19821

Gay Games I: San Francisco 1982

The 1982 games took place in San Francisco from August 28 to September 5, 1982. Singer Tina Turner performed at the opening ceremonies, and Stephanie Mills performed at the closing ceremonies. San Francisco was chosen as the location for the first Gay Games not only because it was the home of founder Tom Waddell, but also because the games had support from local government and essential services, and because there was a large gay and lesbian population in San Francisco that could serve as volunteers and leaders. The opening ceremonies, held in Kezar Stadium, began with former U.S. Olympians, George Frenn and Susan McGreivy lighting a flame that had been carried on a torch run across America, beginning in New York at the Stonewall Inn. The original sports that were offered at the first Gay Games were; basketball, billiards, bowling, cycling, diving, golf, marathon, physique, powerlifting, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball and wrestling. 1,350 competitors whose origins ranged from over 170 cities worldwide competed in the first Gay Games. In order to achieve greater inclusion and diversity, the organizers of the first Gay Games created outreach committees to attract and recruit athletes from minority groups including people of color, women, and rural lesbians and gays. Because Waddell disliked the nationalism of major sporting events like the Olympics, participants at the first games represented their cities rather countries, and competitive elements such as medal tallies, medal ceremonies, and recording athletic records were banned.

Gay Games II: San Francisco 1986

The 1986 games took place in San Francisco from August 9 to 17, 1986. Singers Jennifer Holliday and Jae Ross were the featured performers during the closing ceremonies. There was an increase of competing athletes in the second Gay Games participants to over 3,500.

Gay Games III: Vancouver 1990

The 1990 games took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, from August 4 to 11, 1990. Approximately 7,300 athletes took part in 27 sports, with another 1,500 cultural participants attending. This was the first games to be held outside the United States, and it is also notable for being the first games in which Masters world records were set. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at BC Place Stadium, which, 20 years later, hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremony, making it a historic venue for both events.
The event was also heralded by controversy from social conservatives. A Fraser Valley church's members took out full page ads in The Vancouver Sun and The Province condemning the event as proof of an "impending sodomite invasion" and encouraging residents to gather at Empire Stadium to pray against the event. The government of then-Premier Bill Vander Zalm refused to fund the event.
Original video documentation, photographs, and textual records related to Celebration '90 Gay Games III, originally gathered by Forward Focus, artist Mary Anne McEwen's production company and official videographer of the Games. The items are available via VIVO Media Arts Centre's archive, both in-person by appointment or digitally online. The fonds includes 143 unedited 30-minute Betacam recordings of sporting competitions, cultural events, opening and closing ceremonies, backstage activities and interviews with organizers, athletes, artists, community representatives, and opponents. The fond also includes 240 photographs, Celebration ’90 ephemera, and extensive textual materials, including the Official Program. McEwen was a Vancouver-based LGBTQ activist, Gayblevision co-founder, and co-organizer of the first Out On Screen Film and Video Festival. The footage was shot in anticipation of a feature-length documentary entitled, "Legacy: The Story of the Gay Games" that McEwen was unable to complete due to insufficient funding. McEwen, a longtime VIVO member, bequeathed her personal archive to VIVO hoping that this footage would be made widely available.

Gay Games IV: New York 1994

The 1994 games took place in New York City, New York, from June 18 to 25, 1994.
The games coincided with the 25th-anniversary events of the Stonewall riots and were themed on "Unity". Actor Sir Ian McKellen gave the closing address at Yankee Stadium on June 25, 1994.
There were over 15,000 participants that either competed in the sporting events or in cultural ceremonies in the Gay Games of 1994. Greg Louganis, multiple-time World and Olympic Champion diver, served as the announcer and performed a spectacular three-meter springboard exhibition between events. The sporting events of Gay Games IV expanded to thirty one from previous years, including but not limited to, flag football, figure skating, and the first ever internationally sanctioned women's wrestling.

Gay Games V: Amsterdam 1998

The 1998 games took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from August 1 to 8, 1998. The opening and closing ceremonies took place in the Amsterdam Arena. The participants' medal was designed by the noted Dutch designer Marcel Wanders.

Gay Games VI: Sydney 2002

The 2002 game took place in Sydney, New South Wales, from November 2 to 9, 2002. Sydney won the bid to host the games from other contenders which were Montreal, Toronto, Long Beach/Los Angeles and Dallas. The Games opening included a speech by out gay High Court of Australia Justice Michael Kirby and were officially opened by New South Wales Governor Professor Marie Bashir. When Gay Games VI was chosen to be in Sydney, Australia it was partially because of already present LGBTQI sport teams. The Sydney Gay Games were the first in the Southern Hemisphere and this was emphasized by the games theme "Under new skies".

Gay Games VII: Chicago 2006

Gay Games VII were held in Chicago, Illinois, from July 15 to July 22, 2006. For more on the controversy surrounding Chicago's selection as host city, see [|Schism in LGBT sports communities over Gay Games VII] below.

Gay Games VIII: Cologne 2010

On March 16, 2005, the FGG announced that Cologne, Germany; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Paris, France, were the official candidate cities for Gay Games VIII in 2010. Cologne was elected at the FGG annual meeting in Chicago on November 14, 2005.
The games were held in Cologne from July 31 to August 6, 2010. This marked the second time the games were held in Europe, with the first being in Amsterdam in 1998.

Gay Games IX: Cleveland and Akron 2014

On March 17, 2009, the FGG announced that groups from Boston, Massachusetts; Cleveland, Ohio; and Washington, D.C., were finalists for the bidding to host Gay Games IX.
On September 29, 2009, at the FGG Site Selection Meeting in Cologne, Germany, Cleveland was chosen as presumptive host of Gay Games IX in 2014. The host organization, Cleveland Special Events Corporation, later expanded the host city to include nearby Akron, Ohio. They also chose to style their event as "Gay Games 9" rather than the traditional Roman numeral "Gay Games IX".

Gay Games X: Paris 2018

On July 31, 2012, the FGG announced that seven cities had been approved as prospective bidders. The groups were from Amsterdam, Netherlands; Limerick, Ireland; London, United Kingdom; Orlando, Florida, United States; Paris, France; and a group proposing to host the Gay Games in either Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, Brazil.
By August 31, 2012, letters of intent to bid had been received from all groups except those in Brazil.
In December 2012, the FGG announced that several requests from bidders to add new sports to the program of the games. Of these requests, that for the inclusion of polo was rejected, while those for archery, boxing, fencing, pétanque, roller derby and wheelchair rugby were approved. Of these, boxing, pétanque, roller derby and wheelchair rugby were included in the bids of the three finalist bidding organizations.
Bid books were provided by February 28, 2013, with a Q&A held over April and May 2013. A shortlisting vote took place on May 31, 2013, resulting in the shortlisting of Limerick, London and Paris as the final three cities to continue on the 2018 Bid cycle. Shortlisted cities received a 4-day visit from a team of FGG inspectors in July 2013. The final vote took place in Cleveland during the 2013 Annual General Assembly. On 7 October, Paris was elected host city for the 2018 Gay Games.
Shortlisted Cities