2014 Gay Games Coming to Cleveland
The 2014 Gay Games will be held in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Federation of Gay Games announced Cleveland as the games’ 2014 host city – at a news conference in Cologne, Germany – site of next year’s Gay Games. The events will be held mostly in and around Cleveland, with several being held in Akron, about 40 miles south.
Doug Anderson is founder of the Cleveland Synergy Foundation – the group that organized the winning bid. Speaking from Cologne, Anderson said the 2014 Gay Games will be the biggest event ever held in Ohio – and because of this, he doesn’t forsee many problems from people who are opposed to gay rights.
Anderson: “Once they realize it’s not about sexual orientation – it’s about the largest event in Ohio’s history generating over 100 million dollars. And anybody who has a sense of any wisdom in there is going to go ‘I actually can benefit from this.’”
Anderson said he thinks landing the games could also be the difference in swaying state and local leaders to support measures to broaden gay rights.
Anderson: “It would be very surprising to me if they didn’t do that, because they realize how beneficiail this is to the entire community.”
Cleveland was picked over fellow bidders Boston and Washington DC. Anderson said he hopes leaders in both cities will accept his invitation to act as ‘Sister Cities’ for the games.
