Chicago Free Press Editorial - A high-stakes games
Chicago Free Press Editorial - A high-stakes games
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
July 19, 2006
A lot more is riding on the Gay Games than showing its estimated 8,000 out-of-town participants a good time in Chicago. The Games’ organizers have promised much more than that. In promoting the event to sponsors, city officials, participants and the worldwide press, Games’ officials have guaranteed a mega-spectacle of Olympic proportions. In fact, “bigger than the Olympics” and “Olympic-style” have been the watchwords of the local organizing committee and guided many of its decisions.
Inspired by this rhetoric, business, corporate and individual donors have pitched in $13.5 million in cash and in-kind donations to support the event, a Gay Games record and an impressive feat. Mayor Richard M. Daley and other city officials have seized on the Games to support their case that Chicago is ready to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The city is also counting on the event for a promised windfall of $40 to $80 million to the local economy and a public relations coup for the city.
Officials of Chicago 2007 have projected a budget surplus that they’ve pledged to share with local GLBT groups and organizations. This is a commendable action, especially since some of these groups have had to compete against the Games for corporate sponsorship grants.
Chicago could well prove to be the defining moment for the Gay Games movement, which has been plagued by fiscal mismanagement problems since its inception. None of the Gay Games has turned a profit since 1986.
A rift between the Federation of Gay Games and the original host committee in Montreal resulted in the creation of a competing group—the World Outgames, which stages its first event in Montreal July 26 through Aug. 5. A success in Chicago would probably overcome this challenge and ensure that the Games go on.
In short, to say the stakes are high for the Games is an understatement.
The Games got off to a stirring and promising start at Soldier Field July 15. Despite stifling weather, spectators, participants, guests and media filled nearly half of Soldier Field and generated an enthusiasm that overflowed the stadium and suffused the city with pride. It was a triumphant moment.
Daley’s presence at the ceremonies and the support of so many major corporations sent a powerful message of validation to the world and helped drown out the voices of protest organized by the Illinois Family Institute. That virulently anti-gay group had hoped to hijack the occasion of the Games to gain visibility for its campaign of intolerance. But IFI leader Peter LaBarbera and his coterie of sodomy-obsessed fundamentalists wound up looking small and mean-spirited. They were all but ignored by the mainstream press.
Although the success of the Games ultimately depends on those in charge, we can all contribute by remembering to be good hosts. The Games afford a unique, once-in-a-lifetime chance to show off our civic pride as well as our gay pride by being courteous and helpful to our visitors. For those who live in Lakeview, Andersonville and other areas affected with heavier traffic and longer lines than usual due to the Games, this might require extra patience.
But the payoff is the brighter aura Chicago’s GLBT community will enjoy internationally for many years to come.
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
July 19, 2006
A lot more is riding on the Gay Games than showing its estimated 8,000 out-of-town participants a good time in Chicago. The Games’ organizers have promised much more than that. In promoting the event to sponsors, city officials, participants and the worldwide press, Games’ officials have guaranteed a mega-spectacle of Olympic proportions. In fact, “bigger than the Olympics” and “Olympic-style” have been the watchwords of the local organizing committee and guided many of its decisions.
Inspired by this rhetoric, business, corporate and individual donors have pitched in $13.5 million in cash and in-kind donations to support the event, a Gay Games record and an impressive feat. Mayor Richard M. Daley and other city officials have seized on the Games to support their case that Chicago is ready to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The city is also counting on the event for a promised windfall of $40 to $80 million to the local economy and a public relations coup for the city.
Officials of Chicago 2007 have projected a budget surplus that they’ve pledged to share with local GLBT groups and organizations. This is a commendable action, especially since some of these groups have had to compete against the Games for corporate sponsorship grants.
Chicago could well prove to be the defining moment for the Gay Games movement, which has been plagued by fiscal mismanagement problems since its inception. None of the Gay Games has turned a profit since 1986.
A rift between the Federation of Gay Games and the original host committee in Montreal resulted in the creation of a competing group—the World Outgames, which stages its first event in Montreal July 26 through Aug. 5. A success in Chicago would probably overcome this challenge and ensure that the Games go on.
In short, to say the stakes are high for the Games is an understatement.
The Games got off to a stirring and promising start at Soldier Field July 15. Despite stifling weather, spectators, participants, guests and media filled nearly half of Soldier Field and generated an enthusiasm that overflowed the stadium and suffused the city with pride. It was a triumphant moment.
Daley’s presence at the ceremonies and the support of so many major corporations sent a powerful message of validation to the world and helped drown out the voices of protest organized by the Illinois Family Institute. That virulently anti-gay group had hoped to hijack the occasion of the Games to gain visibility for its campaign of intolerance. But IFI leader Peter LaBarbera and his coterie of sodomy-obsessed fundamentalists wound up looking small and mean-spirited. They were all but ignored by the mainstream press.
Although the success of the Games ultimately depends on those in charge, we can all contribute by remembering to be good hosts. The Games afford a unique, once-in-a-lifetime chance to show off our civic pride as well as our gay pride by being courteous and helpful to our visitors. For those who live in Lakeview, Andersonville and other areas affected with heavier traffic and longer lines than usual due to the Games, this might require extra patience.
But the payoff is the brighter aura Chicago’s GLBT community will enjoy internationally for many years to come.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 2:30 PM
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