Sports
Paris to host 2018 Gay Games
D.C. did not bid for quadrennial sporting event
‘Paris proposed a wide range of sports in quality venues,’ Gay Games announced on Monday. (Photo by Waithamai; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
The Federation of Gay Games announced on Monday that it has selected Paris, France as the site for its 2018 quadrennial international sports competition – Gay Games X – that’s expected to attract more than 10,000 spectators and athletes.
The announcement came at a ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio, which is the site for Gay Games IX set for Aug. 9-16, 2014. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, a strong backer of Cleveland’s winning bid for the games four years ago, was given the honor of making the announcement.
A statement released by the FGG says the organization’s board of directors and international delegates representing LGBT sports groups from countries throughout the world voted Monday to select Paris as the host city following a lengthy process of reviewing bids from five cities.
Earlier this year, Orlando, Fla. and Amsterdam, Holland were eliminated from contention, leaving Paris, London and Limerick, Ireland as finalists leading up to this week’s vote.
“The international delegates and board of directors of the Federation of Gay Games voted at the end of a three-day meeting featuring site inspection reports, question-and-answer sessions, committee reviews and, a highlight of the event, the oral presentation by each bidding organization,” a statement issued by the FGG says.
“Paris proposed a wide range of sports in quality venues, many of which offer good visibility for the event,” the statement says. “French LGBT sport organizations already have a great deal of experience hosting international multi-sport tournaments, and their LGBT community presents outstanding cultural events…And of course Paris is a great destination to visit or revisit,” it says.
The statement adds that the French team promoting the bid came with “demonstrable political support, including Minister for Sport Valerie Fourneyron and five-time Olympic fencing medalist Laura Flessel, who were part of the presentation team.”
The statement praised organizers of the bids from London and Limerick, saying the quality of their bids was “superb.”
Les Johnson, the FGG’s co-chair for external affairs and a delegate for Team D.C., a coalition of D.C.-area LGBT sports groups, said he expects as many as 500 attendees from the D.C. area to participate in next year’s Gay Games in Cleveland.
Johnson said that D.C., which lost its own bid to host the Gay Games to Cleveland four years ago, decided not to bid this year for the 2018 games.
“I believe Washington, D.C. decided not to bid due to our relative geographical closeness to Cleveland,” Johnson told the Blade.
Others involved with Team D.C. have said it would be highly unlikely for the FGG to select a city from the same country for two successive Gay Games.
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Sports
Minor league team in York, Pa., forfeits Pride Night game after some players refuse to wear special jersey
City is roughly 20 miles north of Md. border
An independent minor league baseball team says it is forfeiting a game because some of its players refused to wear a special Pride Night jersey.
The Atlantic League Pro Baseball’s York Revolution were planning to hold their 11th annual Pride Night event Thursday for a game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
But the Revolution announced the day of the game that it wouldn’t be played. York is about 20 miles north of the Maryland line. The Blue Crabs play in Waldorf.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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