About The Gay Games

Between July 31st and August 7th in 2010, Gay Games VIII will take place in Cologne, Germany. Around 12.000 participants from all over the world are expected to take part in this quadrennial sport and cultural event.

Games Cologne is expecting over 46,000 guests for the Opening Ceremony at the RheinEnergie-Stadium, home of the famous Cologne Soccer Club. Please plan to travel with Team Chicago to Cologne between 31 July and 7 August, for a week-long celebration of sports competition and cultural events.

Click on the image below to view a brief promo movie about Gay Games VIII:

The first Gay Games took place in 1982 in San Francisco, bringing together 1,350 athletes from a dozen countries. The Games have been held every four years since in world-class cities. The Gay Games are the world's largest amateur athletic event.

The Gay Games are the legacy of Dr. Tom Waddell, a decathlon competitor for the U.S. in the 1968 Olympics. Waddell conceived of the Games as an opportunity for gays and lesbians to show the world that their skills and competitive spirit were equal to the rest of humanity. He wanted to promote better understanding through sport.

The Games define winning as achieving one's personal best. Anyone can participate, regardless of ability, age, sexual orientation, race, gender, nationality, political or religious beliefs, ethnic origins, or HIV status. Athletes represent their cities and not their countries.

Simply by participating in the Gay Games, you are a winner.

The Games grow in stature with each event and they have triumphed over adversity. They survived a court challenge by the U.S. Olympic Committee, which sued and won over the use of the name "Olympic." They survived the loss of Waddell, who died of AIDS in July 1987 at age 49. And they survived the withdrawal of the Montréal bid organizers from Gay Games VII, which resulted in the Gay Games coming to Chicago.

Waddell, an athlete, physician and leader, also was a father. He and a lesbian Gay Games organizer, Sara Waddell-Lewinstein, conceived a daughter who was born in 1983.

The Games flourish today, fulfilling Waddell's vision of inclusion, participation and achieving one's best. The Games are sanctioned and organized by the Federation of Gay Games, an international nonprofit membership organization based in San Francisco.

See www.gaygames.com for more information.