The international Federation of Gay Games has announced that groups from Limerick, London, and Paris would continue in the bidding process to host Gay Games X. The three finalists garnered the most votes from among the members of the FGG's site selection assembly, who for the first time designated this short list by online instant runoff voting. Unsuccessful in the vote were groups from Amsterdam and Orlando.
Dennis Sneyers (Chicago), officer for site selection, thanked the five bidding organizations: "Ever since competitive bidding to host the Gay Games began for Gay Games IV, ultimately won by New York 1994, we have faced the welcome challenge of choosing from among several qualified bidders. This cycle has brought us particularly outstanding bids from Amsterdam, Limerick, London, Orlando and Paris. Each group has brought a truly distinctive take on what the Gay Games can be, and has enriched our own thinking about our event. All have been highly professional and responsive to the demands of our bidding process."
Dave Killian (Philadelphia), cochair of the Federation site selection committee, expressed his satisfaction with the voting process: "Despite having members in multiple time zones, speaking many different languages, we had exceptional participation in the vote: close to 100%. We worked closely with Jeff O'Neill of OPAvote.com to adapt their online voting system to our needs to choose three finalists using instant runoff voting, which allows us to announce the results in a matter of hours after the close of the three-day window for voting."
FGG co-president Emy Ritt (Paris) thanked the bidding organizations from Amsterdam and Orlando: "I personally was excited to see a bid from Amsterdam, because my own discovery of the Gay Games took place there at Gay Games V in 1998. Their bid offered an innovative mode of management and administration in which existing organizations would be entrusted with the key components of the Games. Orlando proposed a most exciting vision for Gay Games X, making the most of the unique facilities available in that tourist mecca. Ultimately, as in any election, the final rankings are the result of the combination of many individual decisions. We know that either of these two bidders could have produced excellent Gay Games, and we want to thank those involved and their supporters for the immense amount of work of the highest quality they have contributed. We look forward to seeing our friends from Amsterdam and Orlando in Cleveland next year at the 2014 Gay Games presented by the Cleveland Foundation."
Ms Ritt's counterpart, Kurt Dahl (Chicago) spoke of the next steps: "In early July a team of FGG site inspectors will be visiting Limerick, London and Paris. They will spend three days in each city, visiting the key venues, meeting the leaders of the bidding organizations, and attending community events. At the end of these visits, the inspectors will prepare a report for the FGG site selection meeting which will take place at the Federation's Annual General Assembly in early October in Cleveland, host of the 2014 Gay Games presented by the Cleveland Foundation. After various committee reports, Q&A sessions, and the official bidder presentations, the voting members of the Assembly will choose the presumptive host of Gay Games X. We're particularly pleased to be holding this meeting in Cleveland, which in August 2014 will propose with Akron among the finest sport and culture venues ever offered at the Gay Games, and which can serve as benchmarks for the bids for the 2018 Games."
For information on bidding for Gay Games X, links to bid books and bidder websites, and much more visit 2018.gaygames.org .
For information about the Federation of Gay Games, visit www.gaygames.org .
The ninth edition of the quadrennial Gay Games will be held in Cleveland + Akron, OH 9-16 August , 2014. For information about Gay Games 9, Cleveland 2014, visit www.gg9cle.com .
