Hong Kong and San Francisco, 14 February 2022 — The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) and Gay Games 11 Hong Kong (GGHK) today announced that Guadalajara has been named the presumptive co-host of the November 2023 Gay Games, a global multisport event founded in 1982 that celebrates diversity and inclusion.
Guadalajara, a finalist for the 2022 and 2026 Gay Games, is an international city located in Jalisco, a state with the official slogan "Jalisco is México" for being the birthplace of many significant Mexican cultural mainstays including tequila, mariachi, birria, and more.
Lisa Lam, co-chair of GGHK, said, "In these unprecedented times, we have to be agile and adaptable to a constantly changing environment. Faced with continued challenges brought on by the Covid pandemic, with the desire to ensure more participants can join the Games regardless of their locations, GGHK recently proposed the concept of a co-hosted event to the FGG.
"By having Gay Games 11 accessible to participants across two locations we can ensure we meet our aim of being as inclusive as possible while international travel continues to recover. We will still be holding the first Gay Games in Asia, but potentially for the first time in Latin America as well, welcoming the widest possible audience to both cities. There is a huge amount of planning to do and we will be providing more detailed updates as soon as we are in a position to share more information."
Sean Fitzgerald, co-president of FGG, said, "We are energized by this opportunity to organise the first Gay Games in Asia and in Latin America both in November 2023. While the Games are two years away, we are embarking on a mountain of feasibility studies and planning to be undertaken in collaboration between the FGG, Hong Kong and Guadalajara. The passion of these two teams will bring to life the vision of Dr Tom Waddell and the mission of the Gay Games: participation, inclusion and personal best."
GGHK also announced today the members of its "Road to 2023" management committee, a dedicated and passionate team of over 20 leaders, many of whom have been with the Games since Hong Kong won the bid in 2017. Leading a passionate team of volunteers, this group will bring fresh energy, established experience and connections, essential ingredients for a successful event. For in-depth profiles of each member please visit this [link].
After seven years, the last two full-time in volunteer capacity leading the GGHK team, Dennis Philipse, founder and co-chair has resigned from the management team and will continue to support its mission as a member of GGHK's Advisory Committee. To ensure continuity as Hong Kong and Guadalajara build the co-host teams, Lisa Lam will remain as GGHK co-chair and Nigel Lee, who has represented GGHK at FGG events for the last few years, will stand in as acting co-chair until a new co-chair based in Hong Kong can be brought on-board.
About Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023
Gay Games 11 Hong Kong will take place in 3-11 November 2023, the first event of its kind in Asia. Under the theme "Unity in Diversity" the Games will feature a wide variety of sporting events, opening closing ceremonies, festival village, and arts & culture events. Supporting organisations include the Equal Opportunities Commission, InvestHK, BrandHK and the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
About the Federation of Gay Games (FGG)
The FGG mission is to promote equality and social change for LGBTQ+ people through its quadrennial sports and culture event, the Gay Games. Conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, the Gay Games principles are "Participation, Inclusion and Personal Bestâ„¢" and it was first held in San Francisco in 1982. It is now the world's largest quadrennial LGBTQ+ sports and cultural event open to all, that is organised and led by LGBTQ+ artists and athletes. Gay Games have been held in San Francisco (1986), Vancouver (1990), New York (1994), Amsterdam (1998), Sydney (2002), Chicago (2006), Cologne (2010), and Cleveland+Akron (2014). The most recent Games, in Paris (2018), involved over 10,000 participants from 91 countries, 3,000 volunteers, 36 sports, and 14 cultural events, and pumped 107.6 million Euros into the local economy.
