HISTORY: The Gay Games were founded in 1982 in San Francisco by the late Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic athlete in the decathlon. Dr. Waddell’s objectives were to offer an ‘Olympic-like’ experience to everyone while eradicating discrimination and homophobia and breaking down stereotypes.
Organized every four years in cities around the world, such as San Francisco, Vancouver, New York, Amsterdam, Sydney, Chicago, Cologne, and Cleveland, thousands of athletes and artists are expected to participate in Paris 2018-Gay Games 10. This will be the first time that the Gay Games will have been organized in a francophone and capital city.
Paris’s history in the LGBTIQ sports movement in France, including as Host of the 1997 EuroGames, and, for the past 15 years, the annual Paris International Tournaments, reflect the expertise and unity of the Paris and France LGBTIQA sport and culture community.