November 2, 2005
By Tammy O'Reilly
IN exactly 10 days time, the Johannesburg Gay Games Bid Committee will hear whether the two years spent preparing the bid to host the Gay Games VIII in 2010 will be rewarded.
The host city for the games will be announced on 13 November in Chicago, but not before the competing bid cities, Johannesburg, Paris, in France, and Cologne, in Germany, have a final opportunity to sell their cities to the International Federation of Gay Games.
The nine-strong South African delegation will make a final 45-minute video presentation, which will be followed by a rigorous question and answer session.
"The video is a summary of the venues, stadiums and infrastructure that we have in the written bid proposal," said Tanya Harford, the co-chair of the Johannesburg Gay Games Bid Committee.
"What the video aims to do is to visually show that we can back up what we have put in writing."
Johannesburg's bid was lodged in March this year and in August three delegates from the federation did a site inspection.
"We surprised even ourselves with how highly our venues rate, and our community support nearly overwhelmed them," said James Mathias, the co-chair of the bid committee.
"There was exceptional support from the government, civic society and the community, with people coming out to welcome the delegates and show their active support for the games to be held in Johannesburg."
Should Johannesburg get the nod for the games, more than 11 000 participants will take part in at least 27 different codes of sports and various cultural activities.
The plan is to use sports hubs, like the Ellis Park Sports Precinct, the Randburg Sports Precinct and Mark's Park. Also, since the Soccer World Cup is going to be held in the same year, it is likely that there will be new world-class venues, as well as renovations done to existing sporting venues that could also be used for the Gay Games.
In addition, a multitude of entertainment events will be planned for the duration of the games. The Newtown Cultural Precinct will be the administrative centre and will be the site of many festivals and concerts.
The operational budget submitted as part of the bid stands at R48-million. The economic benefits, however, will be tenfold. Based on the spending trends of visitors, tourism alone will net more than half-a-billion rand, not to mention the temporary and permanent job creation that the games will bring.
"Our bid has three main strategies. Firstly, we produce a world-class product in mostly superb venues for almost half the price of either of our competitors. Secondly, the games have never been held in a developing country and we know the federation wants to expand," continued Harford.
"Thirdly, we have a strong desire to host the games not just for the competition and fun they will bring, but because many of our sisters and brothers still struggle for their constitutional rights - here and especially in the rest of Africa. These games will change Africa."
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
