Chicago to bid for Gay Games

Chicago Games Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the mission of the Gay Games movement in Chicago, announced Friday that it will bid to host Gay Games VII in 2006, now that former host Montreal and the Federation of Gay Games have reached an impasse. Chicago and Los Angeles met the December 31 deadline to declare an intent to bid as set by the Federation of Gay Games, the organizing body of the Gay Games. Bid documents are due February 1, with a decision expected by early March. "We are grateful to the many members of our community--both here in Chicago and beyond--who have stepped forward in the past two months to support our vision for the 2006 Gay Games," Chicago Games said in a statement. "Organizations representing thousands of Chicago GLBT athletes have expressed full support for our bidding effort as have athletes from all over the world. We are also grateful to those who identified the challenges before us. We are confident that our draft budget, marketing, and implementation plans, improved by this feedback, will help ensure that our proposal to the FGG will be even more thorough and complete, ensuring a Gay Games in Chicago in 2006 will be exciting, fulfilling for Chicago and visitors alike, and financially stable." Chicago originally bid to host the Gay Games in 2006, competing against Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Montreal. The FGG chose Montreal at its 2001 annual meeting and spent two years trying to negotiate a licensing agreement with that city. Those negotiations ended in an impasse in early November, and the FGG reopened the bidding process to the three cities that had originally bid for the 2006 Gay Games. Montreal has indicated they will still hold a sports and cultural festival in 2006.