The 2006 Gay Games (Gay Games VII), colloquially called the Chicago Gaymes, is part of a family of international sports and cultural festivals called Gay Games, sanctioned by the Federation of Gay Games and organized by the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community of the host city of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The competition took place July 15– July 22, 2006. The official Gay Games VII slogan was "Where the World Meets."
Actual athletic events were played in venues scattered throughout Chicago and its suburbs, all participating in the Gay Games through special permissive votes in their respective town or village councils. Cultural events included concerts and performances by the likes of Cyndi Lauper, Margaret Cho, Megan Mullally, among others added to the festival's feel and charm. Contemporary artists also provided exhibitions as part of the Gay Games.
Corporate sponsorship was key in planning Gay Games VII, garnering support for global advertising from large companies like Absolut Vodka, American Airlines, Ernst & Young, Fleishman-Hillard and Walgreens. Media relationships were created with the Chicago Sun-Times, New York Times, ChicagoPride.com and the National Broadcasting Company. Advocacy groups like the Human Rights Campaign offered substantial funding for the event, as well.
Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicago hosted 2006 Gay Games VII United States Olympic Committee of Chicago will be bid for 2024 Summer Olympics
Read more about 2006 Gay Games: Originally Awarded To Montréal, Canada, Opening Ceremony, Venues, Results, Closing Ceremony
Famous quotes containing the words gay and/or games:
“Sport is the bloom and glow of a perfect health. The great will not condescend to take anything seriously; all must be as gay as the song of a canary, though it were the building of cities, or the eradication of old and foolish churches and nations, which have cumbered the earth long thousands of years.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“As long as lightly all their livelong sessions,
Like a yardful of schoolboys out at recess
Before their plays and games were organized,
They yelling mix tag, hide-and-seek, hopscotch,
And leapfrog in each other’s way all’s well.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)