Hong Kong is now officially the host for the LGBT Olympics, known as the Gay Games, in 2022 – after the upcoming Gay Games X that is set to take place next year in Paris, France
Many in the comment section congratulated Hong Kong for being the next host of the LGBT Olympics. High profile celebrities in the city, particularly Hong Kong’s openly gay legislator, Raymond Chan, was very excited by the news, as apparent on his latest Twitter post.
“Hong Kong has been chosen to host the Gay Games 2022! We fought tirelessly and are elated to bring the games to Asia for the first time!”
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also congratulated Hong Kong for winning as the host of Gay Games in 2022.
“Congrats to Hong Kong. We hope the 2022 Gay Games spark reforms to bring about equality for our LGBTQ friends there,” she wrote in her social media post.
The first ever event was held in San Francisco, California, in August 1982. At the time of its conception, the organizers wanted to call the event “Gay Olympics,” but sadly, a lawsuit was filed that barred the group for using the word Olympics for its official name, according to the archived record for Gay Games I.
Other cities that hosted the Gay Games in the past include Vancouver, New York, Amsterdam, Sydney, Chicago, Cologne and Cleveland. Hong Kong, meanwhile, is going to be the first Asian city to host the event.
According to Shanghaiist, the event promotes sexual diversity that features LGBT athletes and artists. But despite the name, others can still participate in Gay Games regardless of their sexual orientation.
Featured image via Facebook / Gay Games
