Following a hotly contested bidding process and presentation in Washington DC where the team received a standing ovation, Cape Town’s hopes were dashed when the city did not garner enough votes to progress to the final three.
Cast their virtual votes
Federation of Gay Games (FGG) members cast their virtual votes to decide the top three bid cities over the weekend.
Denver, Perth and Auckland are now competing for the chance to host the Gay Games in 2030.
“I am incredibly proud of our bid and the work that has gone into creating a world class bid and international presentation,” says Ian McMahon, who has been on a mission to bring the event to the Mother City for over a decade, and supported the bid team for the 2030 Gay Games.
“While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, our journey is far from over. We wanted to use the Gay Games in Cape Town as a platform to start necessary and important conversations, reshape the narrative around what it means to be queer in Africa, and leave a legacy of lasting change across the continent. I believe that we can still achieve this, even if it’s not in the way we had envisioned.”
The bidding process began in December 2023, when cities from across the globe expressed their interest in hosting the games.
In total 21 cities passed this stage.
In May this year, Cape Town progressed to the top 10 cities, with seven cities remaining in the running in August after submitting their official bid books illustrating their respective cities’ readiness to host the event.
Edmonton and Taipei also missed out on a place in the top three, while Melbourne withdrew from the selection process in October.
“We are thrilled to congratulate Auckland, Denver, and Perth on advancing as finalists on this journey toward selecting the host city for Gay Games XIII in 2030.” said Austin Manning, Officer of Site Selection at the FGG.
“Each city has worked incredibly hard to present themselves as a potential host, and has firmly stamped their local culture and uniqueness onto their proposals. This milestone is not just about choosing a city; it’s about envisioning a future where LGBTQ+ sports and culture, and the values we have in common, shine brighter than ever. We look forward to the next 12 months and working closely with the three teams as they prepare their final bid books for review in October 2025.”
Cape Town bid co-chair, David Ryan, also congratulated the top three candidate cities and added “our bid team displayed immense dedication and passion from the get-go, and I want to thank them for their enthusiasm and professionalism. I also extend our team’s thanks to everyone – from the City to LGBTQ+ groups and human rights advocates – who supported us on our journey and believed in our mission.”
The next milestone in the process involves the short list cities delivering a more detailed document outlining the organisation of the event down to the smallest details to ensure everything is anticipated.
The FGG will then undertake comprehensive evaluations and site visits to the finalist cities, culminating in the final vote at their Annual General Assembly in October 2025, where individual and group Q&A sessions and additional in person presentations will occur.
The 2030 Gay Games host will be announced shortly thereafter.
About the Gay Games
The Gay Games is the world’s largest LGBTQIA+ sports and culture event, hosted once every four years in a different location around the world.
It was launched in San Francisco in the USA in 1982 as the brainchild of Olympic decathlete (Mexico City 1968) and medical doctor Tom Waddell, who wanted to promote the spirit of inclusion and participation, as well as to promote the pursuit of personal growth in a sporting event.
Waddell wanted to recreate the Olympics’ power to bring people of various different backgrounds together through the international language of sport.
The event has similarities with the Olympic Games, including the Gay Games flame which is lit at the opening ceremony.
The Games are open to all who wish to participate, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, and without the need to qualify.
The event welcomes over 10 000 participants from across the globe, including from countries where being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community is still illegal.
The 1994 Gay Games, held in June in New York City to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the modern start of the LGBT movement in the United States, “overtook the Olympic Games in size” with 10 864 athletes compared to 9 356 at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 10 318 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The Gay Games is governed by the Federation of Gay Games (FGG), which was founded in 1982 by Tom Waddell in response to the prejudice towards LGBTQIA+ athletes and their inability to openly participate in sporting events.
The 2023 Gay Games – which was postponed amid the COVID pandemic – was jointly hosted by Hong Kong and Guadalajara.
The next Gay Games XII will take place in Valencia in 2026.
