Following a meeting of the co-presidents of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) and the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA) March 5 in Manchester, England, to discuss the future of worldwide LGBT sport and culture, the organizations have agreed to aim to have one four-year event in 2018, according to a press release.
Sports, culture, and human rights will be components of the 2018 event, as they have been in the past.
A joint working group will be set up between the two organizations to continue the discussions needed to reach the goal of the quadrennial event.
FGG Co-President Kurt Dahl (Chicago) expressed his gratitude to the board of directors of the FGG: “We have heard the calls for a single quadrennial event and sought to achieve this goal to better serve our mission of promoting equality. We look forward to the first step in this new chapter, with the presence of GLISA at Gay Games VIII, which has received the enthusiastic support from our host organization, Games Cologne.”
The eighth edition of the Gay Games will be held in Cologne, Germany, July 31-Aug. 7. Chicago’s seventh Gay Games in July 2006 drew 11,700 participants. Antwerp, Belgium, will host the 2013 World Outgames.
For information about how to sponsor or participate in Gay Games VIII in Cologne, Germany, visit www.games-cologne.com or call +49 221 925 2607. For information about or to sponsor the Federation of Gay Games, go to www.gaygames.org.
More information about the World Outgames is available at www.glisa.org.