Gay Games scaled back in Hong Kong due to uncertainty over Covid-19 travel curbs, but organisers confident event will go ahead next year
- Organisers planning 22 sporting events, down from 36, and are expecting about 7,000 participants, instead of 12,000
- Hong Kong is co-hosting the event in November next year with the Mexican city of Guadalajara
Hong Kong was originally to be the sole host of the Games, but the organisers decided in February the Mexican city of Guadalajara would share the duties, and they confirmed on Sunday the Asian version of the event would have 22 sporting events, down from 36, and 7,000 participants, instead of 12,000 as originally planned.
Co-chairman of the Hong Kong event, Alan Lang, explained the Games were more likely to go ahead if they were smaller, although the organisers did not rule out adding more events at a later date.
“We’ve made sure that the event is feasible, even with the number of people we expect to receive – whether or not it’s half of the [original] number … or the full number of people we plan for, we will run it anyway,” Lang said.
The Games are scheduled to open in Hong Kong and Guadalajara on November 3 and run for nine days, with both cities holding parallel competitions for major sports such as aquatics and track and field. But a handful of events will be unique to each city due to their regional popularity, such as dragon boat racing, trail running and mahjong in Hong Kong, and cheerleading, which is popular in the West, in Guadalajara.
Registration for participants is expected to open next month, and anyone can take part, regardless of sexual orientation. Arts and cultural activities are also planned to run alongside the sporting events.
