GAY GAMES
Competing under a false name in Cologne
Created 21:04:10, 21:00, last updated 21:04:10, 21:39
On 31 July the Gay Games will begin in Cologne's Rhein-Energie-Stadion with a large fireworks display. The organizers expect 12,000 particpants and approximately one million visitors. Participants will come from more than 70 nations.
PHOTO: Only 100 days until the opening ceremony: Annette Wachter (right), Ambassador Yvonne de Bark and Armin Lohrmann (Image: Grönert)
COLOGNE - It is a closely guarded secret, exactly will happen on the evening of 31 July in the Rhein-Energie-Stadion. A fireworks display will take place, athletes from around the world will solemnly march into the stadium, a few speeches will be made. Other than that, the opening ceremony of the Cologne Gay Games will be a big surprise for all. One thing is certain however: that the organizers have only one hundred days until the start of the sporting and cultural event.
The Gay Games have already been held in New York, Amsterdam, Sydney and Chicago. Like the Olympic Games, the Gay Games are held every four years. The dimensions of the event are also on an Olympic scale. "We expect up to 12,000 participants and approximately one million visitors in the city," said Annette Wachter, Managing Director of Games Cologne gGmbH. Participants will come from more than 70 nations, including Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria. "There are athletes who have to compete under an assumed name, because homosexuality is punishable in their homeland," said Armin Lohrmann, project manager of the Cologne Gay Games. The registration period ends on 31 May.
For a week beginning on 31 July the Gay Games will mark Cologne. At Neumarkt and Rudolfplatz meeting places for participants and visitors will be built, with an on-stage entertainment program daily from 17.00. At the Cologne Gay Games there will be 35 sports, with, in addition to the classics like football, athletics and swimming, sports like bridge, chess and pool. There are also five cultural events, including festivals for bands and choirs. Many sports are played in the Sportpark Müngersdorf.
Prior to the Cologne Gay Games will receive prominent support the organizers. The ambassadors of the Games include female boxer Regina Halmich, table tennis player Nicole Struse, actress Ulrike Folkerts, Member of Parliament Volker Beck (Greens), and actress Yvonne de Bark, who will also be present at the start of the half marathon. "At the Gay Games not only lesbians and gay men join. This is an open event, there is more respect for people with different sexual preferences," said De Bark, who is herself married and has two children.
Cologne sports club SC Janus won the bid to host the Gay Games in 2005. The club then created a non-profit organization to run the event. For the smooth conduct of the 3000 Gay Games now volunteers are sought. (Ksta)
www.games-cologne.de
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