General information taken from the Official Registration Brochure Gay Games Amsterdam 1998:

Friendship through Culture and Sports

The theme of the fifth Gay Games is friendship. The 15,000 participants in the sports and cultural celebrations in Amsterdam can meet each other in a spirit of friendship. The capital of the Netherlands is an open and tolerant city whose residents have no difficulty dealing with alternative lifestyles. In the first week of August 1998 everybody can be themselves. This tolerance is demonstrated by the 'Homomonument' in the heart of the city. At the foot of the important Westerkerk, on one of the city's most beautiful canals, there is a large monument constructed in pink marble. The marble blocks form a pink triangle, a symbol for the gay and lesbian movement throughout the world. The text at the Homomonument is closely linked with the theme of friendship. The lines are from a poem from 1917, 'Aan een vissersjongen' (To a young fisherman), by the openly gay Jewish writer, Jacob Israël de Haan.

To a young fisherman
Roses are not as beautiful as your cheeks
Tulips not as your bare feet so tender
And in no eyes have I ever read more
For Friendship such boundless desire.

Every four years, thousands of lesbians and gays gather for a great sports and cultural event. The Games welcomes everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political beliefs, physical ability, athletic/artistic ability or HIV status. Friendship plays a big role during the sports and cultural events. Participation is more important than winning. Athletes of all ages and levels of skill can join in, there are no minimum standards to qualify for Gay Games.

Founded by Dr. Tom Waddell, a U. S. Olympic athlete in 1968, the Gay Games were first held in San Francisco in 1982. Tom saw Gay Games as a tool to break down stereotypes and to educate people about who and what we are, in the spirit of better understanding the true Olympic ideal. By creating a safe and accepting environment, Gay Games offers participants the opportunity to express themselves openly Tom Waddell can no longer enjoy the continuing success of his initiative. He died of Aids in 1988.

The Federation of Gay Games is the international governing body of the Gay Games movement. It is based in San Francisco and has 45 members from seven countries. The Federation ensures that the original principles of participation, inclusion and achieving one's personal best, are maintained at each Games. The Federation chooses the site for each Gay Games, works with the host city in its production of the event and reaches out to the international lesbian and gay community to promote the Games and its ideals.

The first Gay Games attracted 1300 participants from twelve countries. In 1994 the organizers in New York managed to attract about 10,500 participants from about forty countries. The choice of Amsterdam as the location for the fifth edition means that the event is leaving North American shores and alighting on European shores for the very first time. We are anticipating a maximum of 15,000 participants and many hundreds of thousands of spectators. Gay Games Amsterdam 1998 will be one of the largest lesbian and gay events ever seen. For a week visitors can enjoy themselves at a whole selection of sports events. Athletics, soccer, swimming, ballroom dancing, ice hockey and bridge are just some of the thirty sports included in the program. Excitement, competition, grace and concentration are the key words. The cultural agenda is no less varied. Song, dance, exhibitions and film are some of the highlights. Every evening there will be large parties throughout the city and in front of the Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace) for visitors to relax and enjoy. Amsterdam is working hard to attract participants from countries which have so far been under-represented at the Gay Games. We are concentrating on to countries which have an historical association with the Netherlands, such as Surinam, the Netherlands Antilles (Dutch West Indies), South Africa and Indonesia. Participants are also being actively recruited from countries around the Mediterranean Sea.

It goes without saying that we hope there will be equal numbers of men and women participants. Women are being strongly encouraged to participate. In addition, the number of participant places for the sports events where lots of women are expected have been increased. Our aim is a 50/50 distribution.

No city in Europe is more suitable for an event such as Gay Games than Amsterdam. Amsterdam is the Gay Way to Europe, the gay capital of Europe. More than 700 years old, the city is an ideal destination for the gay tourist thanks to its tolerant social climate and the diversity of cafés and restaurants for lesbian women and gay men.

The city's tolerance has its roots far back in history. For centuries Amsterdam was a haven where the oppressed and persecuted from other parts of the world sought refuge: Portuguese, Jews and many other groups found safety in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has always been a commercial center. The 17th century, the Golden Age, brought wealth to the city. The ships of the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) travelled the world's seas, and brought precious raw materials back to Holland. The rich merchants gave the city its world-famous canals lined with gracious and stately homes. In this era, famous painters such as Rembrandt worked in Holland. His masterpiece 'The Night Watch' hangs in the Rijksmuseum at the edge of the city center. In the Museum Quarter you can also find the Van Gogh Museum with paintings by Vincent van Gogh, and the Stedelijk Museum with modern art.

In the Golden Age, homosexuality was still not really an issue, but it was certainly around. Stadholder (provincial governor) William of Orange (1650-1702), also King of England for a while, was famous for his affairs with men. In the 18th Century, homosexuals (sodomites) were persecuted. The climate became more tolerant in Napoleonic times (around 1800). At the start of this century a law was introduced forbidding sex between people of the same gender under the age of 21 years. This discriminatory legislation was only repealed in the 1960s. The age of consent is now 16. The gay and lesbian movement was legalized in the 1970s. Together with the feminist movement successes were achieved in fighting for equal rights and positions. Nowadays no one in the Netherlands makes an issue of homosexuality.

For more information about Gay Games 1998 check out their web site at www.gaygames.nl; E-mail: info@gaygames.nl

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