Gay and Lesbian Games Vie with 'Olympic Fatigue'
Vancouver's 2011 Outgames sparks its own controversies.
Published: January 7, 2009
TheTyee.ca
Vancouver has been selected to host the 2011 North American Outgames a celebration of gay and lesbian sports, human rights and culture. The 10-day event will bring in thousands of athletes and fans in the week before the Pride parade and festival, and receive very little government funding, "only about $300,000, which is very low," claims Vancouver Pride Society president John Boychuk. "The whole thing is self-supporting, with most of the money coming in through the athletes' registrations."
But the games may risk a strong case of Olympic hangover after 2010. And some worry the Outgames will feel plastered with corporate branding needed to bolster the budget.
On the plus side, say supporters, Vancouver has an opportunity to send a strong message about lesbian, gay, transgendered and bisexual (LGTB) people.
"If queer visibility spikes in your city, there's a potential for really interesting things to happen," says Amber Dawn Upfold, director of programming for Out on Screen, Vancouver's international queer film festival, which started because the city hosted the Gay Games in 1990. "People in the arts community got together and said 'The Gay Games are coming. Queers around the world will be here, and there should be a cultural component to this. Let's do something.'"
2010 fatigue?
"The community will be a little saturated with Olympic activity by 2011," argues Chris Shaw, a prominent anti-Olympic organizer and founder of 2010 Watch "When people realize it's expensive, it's disruptive to transit and lives in general, no matter how important the social issues are, they'll think, do they want to play that game again? The answer, I think, will be a resounding NO."
John Boychuk is optimistic. "Fifteen months after the Olympics, there will be a huge void to fill with a lot of Olympic facilities sitting empty, and the gay community will then have the ability to step in and showcase itself.
"Will there be a certain amount of fatigue? Of course," acknowledges Boychuck. "But we are nowhere near as large as the Olympics. I think Vancouverites know the benefits of these games, because there will be a large human rights component as well."
The Outgames will combine sporting events, which are open to both gay and gay-friendly athletes, with a large human rights conference held at UBC, and cultural celebrations happening around the city.
The human rights conference, which is expected to attract close to a thousand people, has yielded important documents in past host cities. The Declaration of Montreal, which outlines basic human rights for the LGTB community around the world, emerged from the first World Outgames in Montreal in 2006. The declaration has been endorsed by a growing number of cities and political organizations, including the federal NDP, the Quebec provincial NDP and the Bloc Quebecois.
But how much does such a moment end up costing -- and who pays?
Montreal's $5 million overrun
The financial track record of past Outgames is far from solid. In 2006, Montreal was set to host the Gay Games, which have been around for more than 25 years. It all started to fall apart when Montreal unveiled a massive budget for the Games, sparking a feud which resulted in the Gay Games packing up and moving to Chicago, who had proposed a smaller-scale event. Montreal decided to go ahead with the event anyway, renaming their event "The Outgames," and creating a new governing body called the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA).
After all was said and done, the consensus was that Montreal's event was far more spectacular, more fun and better organized. It was also far more expensive. A Quebec government audit after the Montreal Outgames confirmed a $5.3-million deficit, and the Montreal Gazette reported a further $2.2 million was owed to non-government sources, suppliers, and athletes. Tennis star Martina Navratilova was reportedly left with only half the money organizers had promised her, and was left high and dry when they later filed for bankruptcy.
All this after the Outgames had originally insisted that the event "would pay for itself."
Open arms for corporations
Organizers say Vancouver's Outgames will avoid the financial mistakes of Montreal for a few reasons. Vancouver's event will not be a World Outgames, but only a North American side event, making it a bit smaller in scale. Vancouver's event expects close to 5,000 athletes, while Montreal hosted about 12,000. (The next World Outgames will happen in Copenhagen in 2009.)
And Vancouver will take very little funding from government ($300,000 projected at the moment), as opposed to Montreal's primarily government-supported event. Vancouver's new mayor has been elusive about committing any funding at all, leaving the province as the only sure government source.
That said, Montreal had also taken little government funding until a last-minute plea to help solve a "cash-flow problem."
Organizers also claim that they will save money on the opening and closing ceremonies. GLISA's Greg Larocque explains that "these have come to be large extravaganzas that may jeopardize the financial success of an event." They plan to have a scaled-down "Opening Banquet," and a small closing ceremony, which will concentrate more on rewarding participants than spectacular and expensive displays for tourists.
The organizing body of the event is spearheaded by Boychuk, who is best known for bringing the Pride Society out of a massive debt during his term as president of the Vancouver Pride Society. To do this, he relied mostly on corporate sponsorship, which changed the scope and feel of the Pride Festival. The Outgames will likely follow the same route, as it takes place in the week leading up to Pride.
According to Boychuk and Larocque, "There will be direct sponsorship both of the overall Outgames and of specific events, such as the sporting events. A sponsorship kit is being worked on that will allow partnerships with both the larger corporate sponsors and the sponsors who have worked with specific groups locally." This strategy may provide much-needed funding, but will the large number of sponsors start to wear on members of the gay community?
"With the event happening right around Pride, I think they've saturated that market already," points out Chris Shaw. "Vancouver is already very culturally aware about gay rights. I don't think the Outgames will do much to increase this."
Awareness raising opportunity
But how culturally aware are we, when men are still brutally beaten for holding hands with their boyfriends in the West End, and Jordan Smith's jaw was broken in three places in a September incident?
"Sure, there is still gay bashing, but it makes headlines because it's the exception rather than the rule," said Shaw, after reconsidering his statement. "Is one more week really going to change the minds of the skinheads who do it? They're preaching to the choir. It seems silly to think we'll change downtown Vancouver. Try taking it to Surrey, where it's needed! (Surrey Mayor) Dianne Watts seems to be spending money like mad anyway. Pitch it to her. Hell, take it to Calgary, if you're going to increase awareness."
Boychuk laughed in response to this, pointing out Calgary's role in hosting the previous North American Outgames. "They've done that," he said.
And he pointed out that the Outgames will be raising awareness throughout the Lower Mainland, holding events in Richmond, Whistler, and yes, Surrey.
Targeting gay and lesbian buyers
Calgary's 2007 Outgames had trouble finding corporate sponsors who saw risk in allying their brands with the event. Yet there was still a huge emphasis on exploiting the LGTB community as a new target market.
One marketing firm's study, "Calgary Outgames: A Research Legacy" devotes many pages to ways Calgary could become a more liveable place for the LGBTQ community. But the main focus is clear: tapping into the growing market of double-income gay and lesbian couples with a lot of expendable income.
"Too much corporate presence waters down what we're really about," worries Jamie Lee Hamilton, a local politician and advocate for the LGBT community in the Downtown Eastside. She points out that the Gay Games in Vancouver in 1990 was not heavily backed by corporations. "We have to wonder, who is going to gain from the Outgames?"
Those sponsors can be fickle. CityTV bailed as a sponsor for Vancouver's Pride Festival in 2007, when they were told they could no longer hand things out to parade-goers, and when they decided that there were "just too many sponsors."
And some worry the emphasis on gay buying power risks leaving behind the often-ignored low-income part of the community. "If there's no acknowledgement of issues like queer homelessness, it's insulting," says Hamilton. "They're inviting people to come and play and spend money, and here we have a queer community centre at Davie and Bute that's not even open. I have no problems with the Outgames themselves, but we should be pumping more money into social justice."
In a previous interview, Boychuk declared the Outgames to be "an Olympic-sized opportunity [that] could really help fatten the pockets of local businesses and help keep Vancouver in the global spotlight." Judging from a scan of Boychuck's previous remarks to other media, he tends to concentrate on the business potential of the event, with far fewer quotes about the human rights conference, the potential for local athletes, or sports.
Take a queer jock to dinner
Olympics critic Chris Shaw, too, places the focus on whether the Outgames will make money or not, and who might get stuck with the bill. "Where do I start? I say, if they're paying for the games with no public money, and eliminating the security apparatus of the Olympics, then fine, fill your boots."
The Outgames will officially begin filling its boots in late July of 2011.
Upfold is among those hoping other gains are achieved as well. "I think the Outgames have potential, but I really hope that our community is starting to ask questions now, about where these events are being held, what communities are involved, and how we can improve these communities rather than simply make money from them.
"I was talking to a friend who was in Vancouver for the Gay Games in 1990. He said he was on the Skytrain, and some straight men started accosting a transgendered woman in a pink jumpsuit, saying, 'Oh, so you have your own faggot Olympics now?' Three large men from a gay bodybuilding team stood up to the man and said, 'Yes we do, do you have a problem with that?' The man sat down immediately, and the entire Skytrain, full of participants and spectators for the Gay Games, began an impromptu singing of 'Celebrate Good Times.' These events are amazing when you look at the potential for happenings like this."
Most of the Outgames events will be free to view at venues throughout the Lower Mainland. And anyone interested in supporting the queer community outside the structure of corporate sponsorship might consider taking an athlete out for a meal and a beer. They will be the primary funders of the 2011 Outgames.
Related Tyee stories:
- In Defence of Trans People
Interview with Christopher A. Shelley, author of Transpeople: Repudiation, Trauma, Healing - Adam and Steve Forever
How far have we come? Well, I've gone from closeted to queer opponent of gay marriage to preparing my wedding. - Olympics as 'Five Ring Circus'
Interview with Christopher A. Shaw, author of Five Ring Circus: Myths and Realities of the Olympic
Gays split on 2011 Outgames
In a recent poll conducted at http://www.gayvancouver.net, website visitors were asked if they support the decision to host the 2011 Outgames in Vancouver.
56% said "yes" and 41% said "no".
Clearly the gay community is almost split in their support.
HUH ???
Isn't this "event" a bit redundant? Are gays prohibited from competing in any sports competition? NO.
So WHY ? Why taxpayers "support" ? Why at all? Or is this just an excuse to "dress up" like all the other "events"?
You ain't "special", get over yourself.
cboo
It's not about being "special," it is about having pride in a world that stigmatizes being gay.
Personal anecdote: my pickup hockey friends are all straight guys (AFAIK). A decade ago when we first played the gay team, The Blades, there was a bit of chuckling about the idea -- "they're gonna bodycheck us!" Ho ho. But they were also somewhat admired for being openly gay. It's an educational thing.
get a life
If being gay is such a natural thing, why the need to make a big deal out of it?
I can sort of understand the handicapped having a special olympic, but what is so different about being gay?
Sure there a bowling teams consisting, of for instance, only Danes but those things just happen between friends, it is not a matter of "showing the world"!
The movement of coloured people pretty well has stopped now, that is has attained its purpose.
I would venture to say that the gays have also made the impact needed to be respected by the population in general!
There will always be rednecks who hate "niggers and fags"!
But if they bother you, then you are fighting a loosing battle, because nothing wins over ignorance!
HUH???
Nope. "Pride" is what ANY person has when they achieve something. You achieve something when you compete against the best. Not "the best" at the Left-handed, Red-headed Games, not at the Blue-eyed Eurasian Games, and not at the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Tran-sexual Games.
Look, "Gay" is what you DO, it is NOT WHO you are.
I certainly would not support public funding for such a trumped up "event". Not because I'm homophobic, but because I think it is lame and without merit. It's OK, I think "Aboriginal Games" are a trumped up, lame excuse for an event, too.
"getting a life"
Visibility is really important for groups who have been, and continue to be, beaten up, discriminated against, and generally hated for being honest about who they are.
When the LGTB community has events like this, it enables not only those involved to create a safe space where they will not be gay-bashed on their hockey team, but also reminds those who may live in fear of coming out that there are other people who are like them, and these people can be openly gay and proud of it, out in the open.
While I'm glad that some of you think that gays don't need to "show the world" anymore, that we have achieved acceptance, I think the stunning lack of understanding shown in these comments makes one thing clear:
Vancouver needs visibility.
If only to prove that our events are not just for "dressing up" like cboo44 so sensitively claimed.
I am honestly stunned by many of these comments - I feel like we've stepped back about twenty years to the days of Anita Bryant.
Go LGTB!
Most of the sins of the 2010 Olympics will be completely avoided by the LGTB. First and foremost, the motive behind the LGTB isn't real estate development and corporate greed. Full stop.
In addition, it is important to socially celebrate the recent acceptance of people with non heterosexual orientations. Society has come a long, long way. With still a fair ways to go, admittedly, but this kind of public event is a significant achievement in social justice.
Great article from a great website! Hope more people in BC tune in to these important stories.
nations vs sexual orientation
For me, this first appeared as an another attempt for increasing visibility or attention towards these particular groups. This isn't to subtract from this important cause, especially considering these groups are highly marginalized in our society. But next, I thought this made a lot of sense. First an individual has substantial choice over which nation they are going to play for in the Olympics (think Brett Hull or Daniel Igali), giving the appearance of a national team as something very arbitrary. However, people do not choose sexual orientation, they simply are who they are. On top of this, this organization accepts people without reservation or stigmatization (even if they are not homosexual) - something more organizations could incorporate and learn from.
Gay games
I'm old enough to have lived when open derision of homosexuality was acceptable by all. So I've spent the last half of my life trying very hard to balance still-retained negative emotional perceptions against the newly-acquired and hard-won logical reasoning I've now accepted.
The place of detente I've arrived at can be seen in my full acceptance of the in-your-face crudity (there's a telling word, eh?) we see in the Gay Pride parades. I see the value of the statement "Here we are folks - no more closets - whether you like it or not"
As for public monetary support of the Games, a few hundred thousand or even a million or two is peanuts when one realises that the gay community is by far the wealthiest demographic in our society.
duh?
ME 2
"As for public monetary support of the Games, a few hundred thousand or even a million or two is peanuts when one realises that the gay community is by far the wealthiest demographic in our society."
That statemen of yours,
is hard to reconcile; why support them if they are wealthy?
Do we not normally try to support those causes that do not have the funds to promote themselves?
All they have in common is that they have a different sexual persuasion, which is no more relevant than being left-handed.
Are we to forever be reminded that some ignorant people did not accept them?
There is a multitude of peculiarities amongst us all, that are not as accepted as they should be.
"Visibility" you say?
WHY ? Why does anyone's sexual preference have to be "visible" ? WHY does it have to be on public display? Who the hell cares? And IF they do care, WHY?
Is someone a "good person" ?
Are they contributing to society?
Are they reliable?
Are they trustworthy?
Isn't THAT what REALLY counts? Who cares about the rest? It just doesn't matter!
Want to be recognized? Want to be "visible"?
Try accomplishing something. The "It's all about me" syndrome is really old.
alive and cboo44
We live in a Christian society in which homophobia is still very much institutionalised. Check that out with the fundies and note the treatment of gays by police officialdom and many of those on the beat.
We are a very long way yet from the point when homosexuality is accepted enough that it is no longer the emotional issue that it clearly is with you two. In fact, the only thing stopping some people from whipping up a homophobic crusade is that doing so is now illegal.
Re the money, don't we always offer inducements to them that's got it to come and play in our yard?
I LOLed
"If being gay is such a natural thing, why the need to make a big deal out of it?"
If celebrating sexuality offends you, then Valentine's Day and May Day must be a real drag in your house.
And then I LOLed some more
"Are we to forever be reminded that some ignorant people did not accept them?"
You mean like Easter? Or MLK day in the US?
Yahoos one and all
Let's see now: valentines day, you mean the one where the every man is blackmailed to pay for roses?
Who is celebrating except the florists?
May day is a workers opportunity to show that they are still oppressed, hardly a celebration.
Ahh Easter! I suppose the churches would celebrate one of the few days when anyone actually go there.
About MLK, you celebrate him and I will celebrate Tommy Douglas, who did more good for Canada than anyone else in case anyone care to remember.
I believe this all was about why we subsidize an affluent group to go have a ball?
I still question why anyone should want to make a spectacle out of themselves, don't we have enough clowns around when the Shriners show up? at least they do it for a good purpose!
Watch those goalposts move!
You're changing the subject rather than admitting that we regularly pick out special groups for celebration... and that some of those celebrations are to recognize sexuality or remind ourselves of past oppression.
As for May Day, it's originally a pagan celebration related to fertility and the return of spring.
Of course I completely forgot about Carnivale which seems to be the most overtly sexual celebration of all.
"I still question why anyone should want to make a spectacle out of themselves"
Why do you care? People having fun in a visible way ticks you off? What a wet blanket attitude.
Being gay is still considered aberrant and distasteful by a huge segment of the population. The more parades we have, the more we realize that being gay is simply one more flavour in the giant gelato selection of life's ice cream store. That it caters to a minority isn't the issue. If that were the case you'd be up in arms about the Santa Claus Parade. Talk about a spectacle catering to a minority. After all, how many people believe in him?
Live and let party I say. And if you don't like the Pride Parade, you need neither participate or spectate.
"Zoomers" Invade Richmond in September
"As stated before, making a showcase out of yourself is juvenile, on par with what drunken yahoo's would do."
Somebody better let BCs seniors know they're acting like juveniles:
"The BC Seniors Games is an annual, multi-sport event hosted by a different BC Community each year. They are one of the largest Games organized within BC with approximately 3,500 participants, aged 55 plus from all over the Province.
The 2009 BC Seniors Games will be hosted by the City of Richmond from September 16 to 19"
Quite by accident I was in
Quite by accident I was in Montreal for the Outgames in 2006 and attended several of the non-sporting activities, including the street fair. I believe I wrote about it on a Tyee thread at the time. It was a very uplifting and positive environment, and brought gay men and women together in a way that doesn't happen nearly often enough.
I knew some of the athletes, and those that participated the Montreal games all appreciated the opportunity and the experience.
The crowds were somewhat smaller than expected, and I heard repeatedly of the consternation among downtown hotel operators, who were booked well under capacity, and well below initiative expectations. There was also a segment of the gay community that was not on board, as a result of the schism with the Gay Games. This could be less a function of the Games themselves, than of the politics surrounding large-scale gay events in that particular city (Montreal Pride underwent a similar schism, resulting in totally separate events). There's a lot of money involved, and gay events like Pride (yay) and the Black & Blue circuit party (yuck) are among that city's biggest annual money-makers. So it gets quite political.
I think the gay community has made a good start at rejuvenating the Olympic spirit, by making it about community, wellness, and participation. Several events, like the marathon, are open to everyone, and are well-supported by organizers as well as the "A-list" (hate that term) athletes. I hope the gay community continues along this trajectory, because it reminds the rest of the world what the Olympics are supposed to be about, and can serve as a touchstone to bring the corrupt and exhausted mainstream Olympics back in touch with its original Greek spirit.