All aboard, the next stop on the Outgames express – Copenhagen 2009 – where the Danish capital city will host the second World Outgames from July 25 – August 2, 2009.
In many ways, the World Outgames will mirror the sports, culture and human rights format of the Melbourne Asia Pacific Outgames, albeit on a larger scale. Where Melbourne had roughly 1,500 participants in 12 sports, the World Outgames anticipates 6,500 in 40 sports as well as 1,000 participants at the human rights conference and hordes of GLBT tourists at the international cultural festival.
‘We are talking about staff and getting the best people, professionals, to make the events happen and happen at the level it needs to happen,’ said Catherine Meade, Co-President of GLISA, the international sanctioning body of Outgames.
The World Outgames will draw on the expertise of 25 professionals and around 2,000 volunteers to put the games together. And the organizers are already hard at work setting a high standard for 2009 as both a world-class competition and an opportunity for the global LGBT community to come together.
‘The preparations for World Outgames 2009 in Copenhagen are in full swing,’ said Copenhagen Press Coordinator Erik Farso Madsen. ‘Our ambition is to establish partnership models between LGBT sports organizations and established national and international sports organizations. The sporting events will take place across a minimum of seven major venues in and around Copenhagen. The sports venues have to meet international standards, but the Outgames Team wants to ensure that they also provide a good social framework for the participants. So, while we’re working on developing the individual sports events at a world-class level, it’s also our ambition to generate a good social environment for the participants.’
For Copenhagen organizers, such as Mr Madsen, the Asia Pacific Outgames were an invaluable promotional and learning tool.
‘You meet your neighbours and can start planning your trip to the World Outgames together,’ said Mr. Madsen, before adding, ‘The experience from regional Outgames is of great value for the organizers of the World Outgames.’
Hopefully, the regional experience will enable the World Outgames to overcome one major hurdle (that’s a metaphorical hurdle, not a literal one) and lingering question – that is, how to finance such a large event.
The first Outgames was held in Montreal in 2006, following Montreal having its bid for the seventh World Gay Games rescinded by the sanctioning body (FGG – Federation of Gay Games) and given to Chicago. While Chicago carried on with the Gay Games, Montreal hosted a new international GLBT sporting event, the Outgames, that unfortunately, lost $5.3 million Canadian. Copenhagen, as the second ever World Outgames, now has the task of proving that it is possible to stage a financially viable World Outgames. With what is most likely a break-even Asia Pacific Outgames providing forward momentum, Outgames organizers say they are looking forward to Copenhagen rather than back at Montreal.
Registration for the 2009 World Outgames is expected to open in April of this year. Visit www.copenhagen2009.org for more information. Gay Games VIII will be in Cologne, Germany in 2010. Information can be found at www.gaygamescologne.com.
