Site Selection

The bidding process to choose a host for the Gay Games XIII 2030 has now begun, with 10 cities on 5 continents in the running

Prospective Cities

  • Adelaide

    Australia

  • Auckland

    New Zealand

  • Cape Town

    South Africa

  • Denver

    USA

  • Edmonton

    Canada

  • Frankfurt

    Germany

  • Melbourne

    Australia

  • Perth

    Australia

  • Taipei

    Taiwan

  • Vancouver

    Canada

The bid process began in January 2024 with 25 cities across five continents expressing an interest in bidding to host the 13th Gay Games event in 2030.  

Ten of those cities have now moved to the next stage of the process, by submitting an official letter of intent to bid and payment of the first bid fee. Each of these cities have participated in a number of meetings over the last few months in anticipation of this deadline, including informational sessions, Q&A sessions, and individual meetings.

These cities are now expected to submit a first version of their “bid book” - a document which describes how they aim to host the Gay Games in their city - by August 2024.  This document will validate that they understand and have control over the whole process of the organization and delivery of the 10-day event.

These ten cities will then be invited to present their bids to our extended delegation at the FGG Annual General Assembly in Washington DC in October 2024, and the three finalists will be announced in December 2024.

The FGG will have a first in-person contact with bidders at the next Annual General Assembly, October 2024, in Washington, DC, USA, where bidders will be invited to attend an information session and interact with FGG stakeholders and member organizations, including presentation of Preliminary Bid Books and participation in Q&A sessions.

The FGG is proud to maintain an equitable, supportive, and transparent bidding process which empowers communities to mobilize their stakeholders and unite to participate in the global LGBTQ+ movement as athletes, artists, and allies.

Austin Manning, Officer of Site Selection

“This record breaking interest for hosting the 2030 Gay Games showcases a truly global sports and culture movement with regions around the world taking the first step in bidding to host the Gay Games quadrennial event. As regions and countries around the world continue to take legislative and social action to protect human rights and create pathways to equality for all, the 2030 Long List includes 10 cities committed to empowering, uplifting, and celebrating the LGBTQ+ community at home and abroad.”

Next steps

  • Prospective bidders will receive a document outlining the information they will need to provide in order to enter into the process officially

  • Bidding cities must provide an official letter of intent by this date

  • The first bid books are expected by this date, outlining how the city plans to host the Games and validating that they understand and have control over the whole process of the Games organisation and delivery

  • Potential bidders will be invited to attend an information session and interact with FGG stakeholders and member organizations, including presentation of Preliminary Bid Books and participation in Q&A sessions at the FGG AGA in Washington DC, USA

  • Having now reviewed the preliminary bid books, the FGG will announce who are the finalist cities entering the last part of the Site Selection process

  • Finalist cities will now have to deliver a more detailed, compehensive document outlining the organisation of the event down to the smallest details to ensure everything is anticipated

  • The culmination of the process will be the announcement of the presumptive 2030 host in November 2025 in Valencia, Spain

David Killian, Co-Chair of the Site Selection Committee

“The Gay Games has been an iconic event in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond for the last forty years, and adding these amazing cities to the Gay Games family in order to further our mission to change the world through sport and culture is truly gratifying.  We are very excited to work with them to get the best bids possible to showcase their city’s angle on  “Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best”.”

The Gay Games sporting and culture event is an opportunity to invite over ten thousand LGBTQ+ participants and allies to one’s region. The week-long event represents a critical cultural and economic opportunity providing significant economic impact to a region.

The positive financial impact to the host city of the Gay Games is clear, as evidenced by the official economic impact highlights from the 2018 Gay Games X in Paris:

  • Total economic impact: US $117.9 million.

  • Locals and non-locals contributed a total of US $72.7 million to the economy, in the areas of lodging, dining and entertainment, travel and other necessities, and tourism. An additional US $45.8 million was generated in local incomes - roughly the equivalent of 1,429 full-time jobs.

  • 23% of participants were from France (12% from Paris).

  • 40% of local participants said they would have traveled outside Paris, France to participate in the Gay Games, taking their spend of US $9.2 million to another region.