Federation of Gay Games To Announce Host of 2014 Gay Games IX on Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Boston, Cleveland, or Washington, DC are finalists for 2014 Gay Games
Cologne, Germany [23 September 2009] - The international "Federation of Gay Games" (FGG) will announce the host of the 2014 Gay Games on Tuesday, 29 September 2009, at its 2009 Annual Meeting in Cologne, Germany. The announcement, to be carried live via webcast, will take place at 18:30 (6:30 pm) local time (12:30 pm US Eastern Time). A press conference in Cologne, Germany, will follow at 19:30 (7:30 pm) local time (1:30 pm US Eastern time).
The FGG will select a 2014 Gay Games IX host from three finalists:
- Boston, Massachusetts (USA)
- Cleveland, Ohio (USA) and
- Washington, DC (USA).
The announcement and press conference will take place at the Wolkenburg, located at Mauritiussteinweg 59, Cologne, Germany. Media are invited.
The Gay Games is a quadrennial sports and cultural festival founded in 1982 by Olympic decathlete Dr. Tom Waddell. Drawing as many as 12,000 participants, more than the Olympics, Gay Games have been held in San Francisco (1982, 1986), Vancouver (1990), New York (1994), Amsterdam (1998) Sydney (2002), and Chicago (2006). The Gay Games VIII will take place in Cologne, Germany, from 31 July to 7 August 2010. For information on the Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010, visit www.games-cologne.com.
Background and Media Resources
Site Selection Process
The announcement culminates a year-long site selection process. After initial declarations of interest from more than a dozen cities, three cities submitted their formal bid documents in March 2009. After a three-month-long Q&A process between the bid groups and the FGG, inspection teams travelled to all three cities in July and August of 2009 to view proposed venues, gauge community and civic support, and review operational, financial and marketing plans.
Final Site Selection Timeline
The site inspection team will issue its report to the FGG's Membership Assembly on Sunday, 27 September 2009. Teams from the three cities will make their final presentations to the FGG's Membership Assembly on Monday, 28 September 2009. Final Q&A sessions and FGG deliberations will take place early on Tuesday, 29 September 2009. Voting will take place starting at 14:00 (2 pm) local time, (8:00 am US Eastern time). The FGG deliberations and vote will only be open to FGG members, Board members and staff and not open to the public or members of the media. The announcement will be made at 18:30 (6:30 pm) local time (12:30 pm US Eastern Time).
Online Media Resources
FAQs
Bidding docs
Boston 2014 Website
Cleveland 2014 Website
Washington DC 2014 Website
FGG Website
FGG Presseraum
Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010
On-Site Media Access - Cologne
Media interested in being present for the Site Selection announcement should contact Kevin Boyer, kevin.boyer@allterrain.net, +1 312-588-3713. The live webcast will use the Ustream.com technology platform which will be publically accessible for free.
Media List
The FGG will issue a press release immediately following the live announcement in Cologne. This release will be emailed to interested media and posted in the press room on the FGG website at www.gaygames.com. Images from the announcement and press conference will also be psoted in the FGG Online Press room. Contact Kevin Boyer, kevin.boyer@allterrain.net, to be placed on the FGG media list.
Interview Requests
Representatives of the FGG as well as the three bidding cities will be available for interviews.
- On Site in Germany:
Kevin Boyer, kevin.boyer@allterrain.net, +1 (847) 436-3424 (mobile)
- USA Contact:
Kristin Owen, Kristin.owen@allterrain.net, +1 (312) 588-3718
For the Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010:
- Olaf Schelski
o.schelski@games-cologne.de, +49-152-21925618
