Gay Games in debt again

Following a long tradition for the Gay Games, the company that ran the Sydney event, Gay Games Ltd., is in debt by more than $2.5 million and was placed in voluntary administration on Monday, Australia's ABC News reports. Administrator Peter Marsden said the company will probably have to be liquidated. He says the problems stemmed from revenue projections not being met during the event. "The timing was probably unfortunate," he said. "The Bali bombings in September had a significant impact on the number of people that actually came to Australia for the Games." Lex Strauss, general manager of the Sound and Lighting company, says his company is still owed $4,000 for services provided for the event. "It's really upsetting, because we've been a proud supporter of a lot of gay events--you know, the Mardi Gras, a lot of events in Sydney--and we supplied them with service for the Gay Games. I'm very upset," he says. This isn't the first time the Games has come in over budget. The day after the last Gay Games, in Amsterdam in 1998, officials announced that the event was $1 million over budget.