February 01, 2021, 10:45 GMT
The 2026 Gay Games XII host city shortlist vote by the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) General Assembly took place 31 January 2021 whittling it down from eight to the final three. Twenty cities from around the world had initially expressed interest in hosting the 2026 Games.
The shortlisted host cities are Guadalajara (MEX), Munich (GER), and Valencia (ESP).
"The FGG wishes to thank all eight bid cities who truly put forth wonderful bids that illuminated the Federation's principles, and we look forward to continuing the process with these three finalists.”
— David Killian, Officer of Site Selection, FGG
The FGG expresses gratitude to the five (5) other cities for the bids: Auckland (NZ), Brisbane (AU), San Diego (USA), Taipei (TW), and Toronto (CAN).
Site inspections are the next steps in the bid process, to begin tentatively in June/July 2021, ultimately depending on the status of COVID-19. The final vote determining the host of Gay Games XII will take place at the FGG's Annual General Assembly meeting in Hong Kong in November 2021.
Hosting the Gay Games
The positive financial impact to the host city of the Gay Games is clear, as evidenced by the official economic impact highlights from the 2018 Gay Games X in Paris:
- Total economic impact: US $117.9 million.
- Locals and non-locals contributed a total of US $72.7 million to the economy, in the areas of lodging, dining and entertainment, travel and other necessities, and tourism.
- An additional US $45.8 million was generated in local incomes - roughly the equivalent of 1,429 full-time jobs.
- 23% of participants were from France (12% from Paris).
- 40% of local participants said they would have traveled outside Paris, France to participate in the Gay Games, taking their spend of US $9.2 million to another region.
Gay Games 11 will take place in Hong Kong from 11-19 November 2022.
About the Federation of Gay Games
The Gay Games was conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, as a way to empower thousands of LGBTQ+ athletes and artists through sport, culture, and fellowship. It was first held in San Francisco in 1982. Subsequent Gay Games were held in San Francisco (1986), Vancouver (1990), New York (1994), Amsterdam (1998), Sydney (2002), Chicago (2006), Cologne (2010), Cleveland+Akron (2014), and Paris (2018). Gay Games 11 will be held in Hong Kong in 2022. Visit www.gaygameshk2022.com for more information.
“Gay Games,” “Federation of Gay Games,” the interlocking circles device, and the phrase “Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best” are trademarks of the Federation of Gay Games, Inc. Trademarks are registered in the USA, Canada, Benelux, the UK, Germany, and Australia.
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