Organisers of 2022 Gay Games lament Hong Kong’s red tape over advance venue bookings
- Some events may have to be cancelled if venues not secured a year in advance, organisers say
- Only National Sports Associations can make bookings 12 months in advance, and some have not been keen to help
The organisers of next year’s international Gay Games have asked the Hong Kong government to let them book public venues directly a year in advance, or risk the cancellation of some key sports events.
Hong Kong beat out competition from Washington and Guadalajara, Mexico, to host the 11th edition of the Games, which are being held in Asia for the first time ever.
Some 12,000 participants are expected to compete in 36 sports events and 13 arts and cultural activities from November 11 to 19 next year. The Games are expected to inject HK$1 billion (US$130 million) into the city’s economy.
But a quarter of the events need government venues, including for popular aquatics and track and field competitions, and organisers are having difficulty securing them a year in advance.
“We really need to have those events, otherwise, it will be a massive PR disaster, not only for the Gay Games, but also for Hong Kong,” said Dennis Philipse, co-chairman of the Games, who spearheaded the city’s successful bid to play host.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the government was prepared to provide venues according to existing regulations.
That, however, is where the problem lies. Under existing rules, the organisers must go through the city’s 26 National Sports Associations (NSAs) to book venues early, and some are not willing to help as they are not coordinating the Games.
The organisers say they need to secure all 56 venues – including 35 government-owned venues – before opening the events for registration.
A spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department told the Post that so far, 11 NSAs had reached agreements with the organisers, four had declined to cooperate, and 11 remained in discussions.
We’re not asking for any funding. We just need the venues from the Hong Kong government arranged ahead of time
“If the organisers secure the support of NSAs in co-organising the relevant activities, they may reserve related sports facilities up to 12 months in advance under the current policy,” he said.
Organisations allowed to reserve venues up to 12 months in advance are: the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China; NSAs; district sports associations; and the Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation.
Insiders have questioned why the government cannot simply block book the required venues.
“We’re not asking for any funding,” Philipse said. “We just need the venues from the Hong Kong government arranged ahead of time.”
The Games are funded by private sponsors and companies.
Carrie Lam says city will support Gay Games, calls lawmaker’s hate-filled outburst ‘unnecessarily divisive’
For aquatics, which has 1,240 participants, the organisers hope to book four pools, including diving pools, at Kowloon Park and Victoria Park. They are also seeking to secure the Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground for track and field events involving about 600 participants.
Philipse, who is from the Netherlands, quit his job in technology management to work on the Games together with five other full-time volunteers and 170 part-time ones.
Hong Kong won the bid for the 11th edition of the Games in 2017 with support from the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Equal Opportunities Commission and Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau.
The Games were last held in Paris in 2018.
The event sparked controversy during a Legislative Council meeting last week when three pro-establishment lawmakers suggested that the authorities’ support for the Games was tantamount to backing same-sex marriage.
Lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu called the Games “disgraceful” and said any revenue generated would be “dirty money”.
We will be missing a golden opportunity if our games turn out to be lacklustre because of inadequate support from the community or sporting organisations
His remarks drew the ire of the gay community, the city’s equality watchdog, and even his own camp. Lam weighed in with a rare rebuke, accusing the lawmakers of dividing society and inciting hatred.
Pro-Beijing legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee urged the government to offer more support to the organisers, saying the Games would be a chance to tell the world that Hong Kong was a diverse, inclusive community.
“We will be missing a golden opportunity if our games turn out to be lacklustre because of inadequate support from the community or sporting organisations,” she said.
So far, the Games have the backing of some sports groups.
Hong Kong Tennis Association president Philip Mok Kwan-yat said his group would provide officials, umpires and adjust its tournament schedules to free up courts, but could not book the venues, because it was not the organiser.
“If we book the venues, it means we are assuming responsibility for the event,” Mok said.
The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union is providing the Kings Park Sports Ground, which it leases from the government, for the Games’ Rugby Sevens event, as well as referees and other technical support.
Chief executive Robbie McRobbie said: “We’ve always been an inclusive community, and it wasn’t a difficult decision for us to lend our weight to it.”
