What to expect

What are the Gay Games?

The Gay Games is a 10-day event celebrating sports and culture, with a focus on LGBTQ+ identities and our allies. You, along with thousands of other participants, will compete for a chance to win medals in your category. You’ll join the parade at our Opening Ceremony, and celebrate our achievements at the Closing Ceremony. You’ll pass your days playing sports, enjoying culture, and making new friends from around the world at our Gay Games Village. And you’ll go home with some incredible memories, and hopefully a medal as well.

Walk away with a medal, some new friends, and some life-changing memories

Gay Games staples

  • Opening Ceremony

    After taking your place in a parade around the stadium, you’ll enjoy an evening of entertainment to celebrate the official opening of the Games

  • International Rainbow Memorial Run

    Grab your pride flags and some good footwear as we run (or walk) around the city boldly representing our glorious LGBTQ+ community

  • Memorial Moment

    Here we take a moment to remember those we’ve lost over the years and celebrate their contribution to LGBTQ+ sports and culture, as well as their impact on our lives

  • Pink Flamingo

    Grab your swimmers and your scorecards, because our aquatics teams will be performing for us at the pool at one of our most popular events

  • Festival Village

    When you’re not playing sports or culture, you’ll have a central base where you can meet other participants and enjoy shows, performances, workshops, art exhibitions and much more

  • Closing Ceremony

    Once all the sport and culture and events and workshops and parties and celebrations are over, we’ve got one final event to keep you entertained.

  • Workshops

    We’ll round up both local and international talent to teach you everything from LGBTQ+ activism, queer sports and even vogueing.

  • Medals

    Whilst anyone can participate in the Gay Games, regaless of your ability or skill level, those who come top in their categories will take home a medal. And of course everyone takes home a participation medal

The Gay Games is open to everyone.

Every gender. Every sexuality.

Everybody.

Sports groups

  • Aquatics

    Head down to the pool and get your goggles on, because at most Gay Games events you’ll find swimming and water polo. Where possible we also host diving and open water swimming.

  • Track and Field

    Whether you plan on sprinting, throwing, jumping, or anything else on the athletics spectrum, you can get involved at the Gay Games.

  • Bowling

    A firm favorite amongst our participants, Bowling is a Gay Games staple and features at almostall our events.

  • Court sports

    If you enjoy launching balls at or over things, you’ll enjoy our broad range of court sports, including basketball, volleyball (beach or court), and dodgeball.

  • Cycling

    Grab a bike and start eating up those kilometers (or miles if you prefer). Depending on the local terrain and safety conditions we usually host road cycling or mountain biking for you to enjoy.

  • Dance

    Whatever form of dancing you prefer, we have you covered here at the Gay Games. Whether you prefer classical dancing like ballroom, swing and tango, or you prefer jumping around and throwing bodies in the air wih cheerleading, we have it all. You can even dance on ice!

  • Grass sports

    From field hockey to football, passing by rugby, baseball and cricket, we’ve hosted all these sports at the Gay Games. And if there is a golf course nearby, we’ll also host that!

  • Mat sports

    Square up to your opponent and get ready to fight - this time with a variety of different martial arts, as well as wrestling ad fencing.

  • Open Water

    Whether you’re powered by your legs, your oars, or your sails, at the Gay Games we like to get you out on the waves, including Open Water Swimming, Triathlon, Rowing and Sailing

  • Racket sports

    Nothing get better than smashing a tiny ball across big net towards your opponent, so join us and play some Tennis, Squash, Badminton and Table-Tennis at on of our events

Cultural events

  • Music

    Expect to see both choral and instrumental music during the Gay Games’s Cultural Festival.

  • Cheerleading and Dance

    Our event brings together multiple types of Dance, Movement and Cheerleading as part of the festival

  • Theatre, Film and Video

    Expect live theatre performances alongside showings of queer film and video

  • 2D & 3D Art

    Expect to encounter art gallery exhibitions as well as free-standing art pieces throughout the Gay Games site

  • Poetry & Literature

    Whether available to read or live performances, we’ll incorporate poetry and literature into our programming

How it works

Get Registered

Over a year before the event, we’ll announce that registration is open. You’ll get a chance to purchase a spot at the Gay Games, either as a participant or as a spectator. General entry includes all our Gay Games staples, like the Opening and Closing ceremonies, Pink Flamingo, International Memorial Rainbow Run, Memorial Moment as well as access to the Festival Village. Plus you can bundle on any sports you want to play as extras.

Books your flights and accommodation

Nearer the time, we’ll send you all the information about the host city, with the locations of the important events and spaces, as well as the locations of your sports facilities. You can use this information to book the right accomodation in the best area of the city for you, as well as book your flights.

Welcome to the Gay Games

Your flight lands, you check in to your accommodation and you’re ready to head straight to accreditation, where one of our team will assign you with your access badge, information about the events, and a goody bag full of treats. Who knows, you might even find a participation medal in there as well!

The Opening Ceremony

One of the first events you’ll attend is the epic Opening Ceremony. The first stage is the emotional and inspiring parade of participants, each behind a banner from their home country. You’ll either watch this from the seats, or if you’re playing any sports you’ll be joining us in the parade. What follows will be an evening of spectacle, with shows, dance, readings, award ceremonies and much more. Not to be missed.

Let’s play

Over the coming week you’ll be invited to play the sports or participate in the cultural activities you’ve signed up to, and depending on the activity this could be multiple days or just one. We’ll make sure you have all that information ready so you can plan any free days to explore the city or local area.

The Festival Village

When you’re not busy with activities, you’ll always have a home to go to at the Festival Village. This venue will be the designated meeting spot for all Gay Games participants, and will host a variety of entertainment. The perfect place to unwind after your activities, make friends with other Gay Games participants, and enjoy the local entertainment.

Other activities

Throughout the week you’ll be faced with multiple exciting activities to enjoy. A firm favourite is the International Memorial Rainbow Run - a fun run for anyone to enjoy around the city. The Memorial Moment is a time for reflection to remember those we have lost over the years. A variety of workshops, talks and classes will take place, all of which are included in your accreditation.

The Medals

At the end of each sports or culture activity, there will be medal ceremony for those participants who have fought hard and won their challenges. We’ll present medals to all each person in each category and grouping that comes 1st, 2nd or 3rd, and our photographer will be on hand to snap you on the podium.

The Closing Ceremony

And once the activities are over and the medals have been given, we have one final exciting event for you all - another huge epic ceremony with bundles of entertainment to mark the Games closed once again. Until the next Games, in 4 years time…

Join us for our next event in València, Spain in summer 2026.