The city of Paris is now a candidate to host the Gay Games – with official support. After a demonstration by a group of environmentalists, the mayor of the French capital, Bertrand Delanoë, and his allies won approval from the City Council to host the event.
With the measure, Paris now has an official commitment from the city hall to host the gay version of the Olympic Games in 2018. The measure had already been proposed by the representative of the second district of the capital, Jacques Boutault, on behalf of the group Europe-Ecologie-Les- Verts (EELVA), but had been rejected.
The Gay Games are currently the largest sporting and cultural event organized for and by LGBT athletes. In each edition, around 10 thousand participants compete in 30 sports and participate in artistic activities, including band, choir and visual arts.
The next edition of the Games will be held in 2014, in the city of Cleveland, in the United States. São Paulo is also competing for host the 2018 edition.
The mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, is openly gay and has governed the city since 2001, having been re-elected in 2008. The term of office is six years.
