Gay Games VIII Cologne Reports 5,000 Registrations
“With approximately 5,000 registered participants, we are far ahead of our forecast of 2,500 for New Years Eve. Taking the credit crunch into consideration, this is a fantastic result, said Annette Wachter, Co President of the Games in Cologne. She is positively looking ahead to 2010, the Gay Games year!
Registrations come from all over the world, from as far away as Japan, Afghanistan, and Madagascar. 200 days before the opening [ceremony] at RheinEnergieStadion we are counting 49 registered nationalities. The biggest groups of participants however come from the US and the host country Germany. Out of all 35 sports and 5 cultural events, swimming, soccer, and volleyball are the favourites.
Sports Coordinator Dagmar Ziege is in particular happy about the huge demand of people in playing soccer. Whilst she is playing herself, she is additionally taking care of the organisation of the competitions. She said “The feasability of such an event needs strong partners. I want to express my appreciation towards the City Council of Cologne, especially the sports department, the Cologne Natatorium ltd. and the German Sport University. I want to thank all of them for the amazing team work. The competitions are mainly taking place in their facilities. The cooperation amongst the different departments will prove the image of Cologne as the place to be for any kind of sport for more than 10,000 active sportsmen and women.
The VIII Gay Games Cologne 2010 is taking place from July 31st to August 7th. Some 35 sports competitions and 5 cultural events and an expected 12,000 participants, make it similar in size to the Olympic Games. 34,000 visitors will join in celebrating the opening ceremony on July 31st 2010.
The VIII Gay Games Cologne is a quadrennial sports and cultural event which is based on "participation, inclusion, and personal best" . At the same time it is supposed to fight against discrimination of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender people.
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