MEXICO’S cultural city of Guadalajara will co-host next year’s Gay Games with Hong Kong as event organisers in the Chinese region continue to deal with uncertainty surrounding Covid travel restrictions.
The eleventh edition of the sporting event created to celebrate diversity and inclusion was originally planned to be held in Hong Kong last year but was postponed due to the pandemic.
“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,” said Lisa Lam, co-chair of Gay Games Hong Kong (GGHK).
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Guadalajara, a finalist in the 2022 and 2026 bids to host the Gay Games, is in Jalisco and famed for Mexican cultural mainstays including tequila, mariachi music and birria cuisine.
“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,” Lam said.
Gay Games 11 Hong Kong is scheduled for November 3-11, 2023, and will be 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 and closing ceremonies, a festival village, and arts and cultural events.
Supporting organisations include the Equal Opportunities Commission, InvestHK, BrandHK and the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
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“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 [Federation of Gay Games].
Dennis Philipse, founder and co-chair of GHK has resigned from the management team but will continue as a member of GGHK’s Advisory Committee. He served seven years with the local organisation with the last two as full-time volunteer.
Organisers in Hong Kong and Guadalajara will build co-host teams with Lisa Lam remaining as GGHK co-chair and Nigel Lee, who has represented GGHK at FGG events for the past few years, becoming acting co-chair until a new co-chair based in Hong Kong can be brought on-board.
