2006 World Outgames


The 1st World Outgames took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 26, 2006 to August 5, 2006. The international conference was held from July 26 to the 29. The sporting events were held from July 29 to August 5.

History

The event evolved out of a dispute concerning spending for the 2006 Gay Games, which Montreal had been awarded. However, the Gay Games sanctioners and Montreal 2006 quarrelled over the budget and scale of the Games and the amount of control each party would exercise; subsequently, the FGG parted company with Montreal, awarding the games to Chicago.
This is the second major multi-sport sporting event that Montreal has hosted since the Montreal Olympics in 1976. It used facilities from the Olympics and those from the 2005 World Aquatic Championships, the previous major multi-sport event in Montreal. The 2006 World OutGames were larger than the 2006 Gay Games in number of events and amount spent but not in the number of participants.
The event was held concurrently with Divers/Cité, the city's primary LGBT pride festival. The increased number of LGBT tourists in town for the Outgames had been expected to be a financial boon for Divers/Cité, but ironically the event's attendance and revenues actually declined from previous years; according to Divers/Cité director Suzanne Girard, "even if there were more people than usual, there were 10,000 more things to do." Later in the year, as a result of the financial impacts of the Outgames, Divers/Cité dropped its pride programming and repositioned itself as an arts and music festival, leading to the creation of the new Fierté Montréal to take over as the city's pride festival.
A Quebec government audit revealed 5.3 million deficit for the 2006 Outgames on a 15 million total budget on November 13, 2006. On December 7, 2006 Montreal Outgames filed for bankruptcy protection. of the deficit, 3.1 million is loans from the government of Montreal and Quebec. Another 2.2 million is due to private companies and individuals.

Organizing committee

The Outgames included an International Conference on LGBT Human Rights held in Montreal immediately prior to the games themselves, from July 26 to July 29. With attendance of some 2,000 participants, it was the largest conference on LGBT rights ever held.
The four-day conference consisted of five plenary sessions on the United States and Canada, Africa and the Arab World, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe, in addition to the opening and closing sessions. Keynote speakers included Gérald Tremblay, Gene Robinson, Mark Tewksbury, Irshad Manji, Mariela Castro, Georgina Beyer, Waheed Alli, Martin Cauchon, Li Yinhe and Martina Navratilova.
Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, delivered an especially well-received speech at the opening dinner, which gave particular encouragement to the conference's goal of recognition at the United Nations.
There were also more than a hundred workshops on more specific themes, as well as programmes of workshops on sport, business, and international affairs.
The conference concluded with the issuance of the Declaration of Montreal on LGBT Human Rights, a declaration that will be submitted to the United Nations.

Opening Ceremonies

Opening Ceremonies for the 1st Outgames Montreal 2006 were held at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday, July 29, 2006. The performance was broadcast by Radio-Canada, Canada's national French-language public broadcaster.
After the parade of nations, the Declaration of Montreal was read by Mark Tewksbury and Martina Navratilova. Gérald Tremblay, Mayor of Montreal, Line Beauchamp, Quebec Minister of Culture, and Michael Fortier, federal Minister of Public Works, represented the three levels of government; Fortier was loudly booed, reflecting anger among the LGBT community regarding the Conservative government's stances on gay rights, including the announcement of a motion to reopen debate on the Civil Marriage Act and same-sex marriage in Canada.
After the athletes' and officials' oath were taken by Charles Boyer and Diane Bandy respectively, Mayor Tremblay officially declared the Outgames open.
Using the theme of "the circle", the concept of the show integrated music, song, dance, choruses, mass choreography and performances by the Cirque du Soleil.
Artists who performed at the opening ceremonies included:
Over 50 venues in Montreal hosted events for the 1st World Outgames. Three main areas gathered most of the activities, the largest being the Claude Robillard Sports Complex, in addition to the Montreal Olympic Park and the Jean Drapeau Park. The Outgames used most of the venues built for the Montreal Summer Olympics of 1976. Other venues included the Golf Metropolitain Anjou for golfing, the Parc du Domaine Vert à Mirabel for mountain biking, the Little Italy neighbourhood for the Cycling Criterium, as well as various parks across the city for sports such as soccer, tennis and softball.
The main social and entertainment location for non-sporting events during the 2006 Outgames was located at the west side of Viger Square.

35 Sporting events contested including