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Gay Games

The Gay Games are a sporting and cultural event hosted by the gay and lesbian community. They were started in San Francisco in 1982, the brainchild of Dr. Tom Waddell, whose goals were to promote the spirit of inclusion and participation, and the pursuit of personal best into a sporting event:

The purpose of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) is to foster and augment the self-respect of lesbians and gay men throughout the world and to engender respect and understanding from the nongay world, primarily through an organized international participatory athletic and cultural event held every four years, and commonly known as the Gay Games.

The Gay Games were formerly known as the Gay Olympics, but a lawsuit by the International Olympic Committee forced the name change. The IOC has allowed other groups to use the name "Olympics", and some advocates have accused it of discrimination (see also homophobia).

The Gay Games are open to all who wish to participate, without regard to sexual orientation. There are no qualifying standards to compete in the Gay Games.

The Gay Games bring together athletes and artists from all over the world, many from countries where homosexuality remains illegal and hidden.

Gay Games V in Amsterdam was the largest sporting event in history, with over 14,000 participants taking part in over 30 sports and cultural events.

The European equivalent to the Gay Games is called Eurogames.

List of Gay Games

Name Location Opening Participants
Gay Games I - Challenge '82 San Francisco, USA August 28, 1982 1 600
Gay Games II - Triumph '86 San Francisco, USA August 9, 1986 3 500
Gay Games III - Celebration '90 Vancouver, Canada August 4, 1990 9 500
Gay Games IV - Unity '94 New York, USA June 18, 1994 11 000
Gay Games V - Friendship '98 Amsterdam, Netherlands August 1, 1998 14 700
Gay Games VI - Under New Skies Sydney, Australia November 2, 2002 12 000
Gay Games VII Chicago, USA July 15, 2006


The seventh edition was supposed to take place in Montreal in 2006, but the FGG removed their sanction after it and Montréal 2006 were unable to agree on the size of the games. The official Gay Games for 2006 have been awarded to Chicago. Montréal 2006 announced its intentions to continue a Games without the sanction of the FGG; this plan developed into the first edition of the World Outgames , sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association .

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Last updated: 10-24-2004 05:10:45