Gay Games VIII. Cologne report 5,000 registrations
Posted
by Michael Klein on January 29, 2010
Numbers of registrations exceed expectations
Gay Games VIII Cologne report 5,000
registrations as of December 31.
“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 party 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 GayGames Cologne 2010 is taking place from July 31st. until August 7th. 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 quadrenial sports and cultural event which
is based on participation, inclusion, and the achievement of personal records. At the same time it is supposed to fight against
discrimination of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender people.
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