Press Release

1st World Outgames attending Sydney's New Mardi Gras Celebrations: 450 Registered from Oceania and 3700 registrants in total

Montréal, 11 February 2005 – Montréal 2006 Co-President and Olympic gold medalist, Mark Tewksbury, will be taking part in this year’s world famous Sydney New Mardi Gras festival. At the invitation of Geoffrey Lyne, member of the Board of Directors of GLISA and of Team Sydney, Mark Tewksbury will be in Australia from 16 to 24 February to promote another highly anticipated international LGBT event – The 1st World Outgames – to be held in Montréal, Canada, in 2006.

While in Sydney, Mr. Tewksbury will host a public information meeting that will feature the Outgames and profile the host city of Montréal. He will also be meeting with several Sydney-based LGBT sports teams, (including Team Sydney member of the Gay and Lesbian Sport Association – GLISA), community organisations and media representatives. And, during Fair Day on Sunday 20 February 2005 he will be accepting registrations for the Outgames at a booth held jointly with Oz Rainbow, Montréal 2006’s Official Travel Partner for Australia and New Zealand.

The 1st World Outgames Montréal 2006 will also be participating in the New Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday, 5 March, teaming up with Tourisme Montréal and Oz Rainbow to present a float showcasing the city’s renowned Joie de Vivre, the Outgames event and its celebration of diversity, camaraderie, achievement and acceptance. This visit to Australia is part of a far-reaching international promotional campaign by Outgames organizers that will bring them to over 200 cities worldwide in 2005. Already almost 450 participants from Australia (348) and New Zealand (100) have registered.

The 1st World Outgames will be held in Montréal from 26 July to 5 August 2006, bringing together 16,000 mostly LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) participants for an event on a scale never before seen in LGBT sport. In addition, from 26 to 29 July, “The Right to Be Different” International Conference will gather 2,000 delegates to discuss LGBT rights around the world, and to draft and adopt the Montréal Declaration establishing an action plan to extend or affirm the rights of the LGBT community in the years to come.

From 29 July to 5 August, sport competitions will welcome 12,000 participants competing in 33 disciplines. Opening and closing ceremonies will be held in Montréal’s magnificent Olympic Stadium, precisely 30 years after the city hosted the 1976 Olympic Games. The ceremonies will be broadcast live on Radio-Canada, Canada’s national television network. Throughout the week, numerous cultural activities will also be made available as part of the Outgames programme.

Seventeen months to go

With 17 months to go, registration is well underway and already hundreds of athletes from Down Under have registered and made their Montréal reservations for the 1st World Outgames. Australian participation is shaping into one of the countries’ largest contingents ever to attend an international LGBT sports event held overseas.

Registrations for the 2006 Outgames have already reached the 3,700 mark, which represents an incredible success for an event that is still a year and a half away. Among registrants to date, 33% are European, 44% are North American and 12% come from Australia and New Zealand. Also worth noting is the breakthrough that Montréal 2006 is experiencing in other parts of the world, with 5% of registered participants coming from South America, 2% from Africa and 4% from Asia.

Local Australian teams, groups and media representatives who wish to meet with Mr. Tewksbury during his stay may contact him directly or reach him through Oz Rainbow (www.ozrainbow.com). As Official Partner, Oz Rainbow is an agency providing in-depth knowledge of the North American travel market. It has partnered with Montréal 2006 1st World Outgames to offer participants with exclusive services and tour packages for the 2006 Outgames.

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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SYDNEY PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING:
17 February 2005 starting at 7:30 p.m.
Upstairs VIP Bar at the Stonewall Hotel
175 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst

FAIR DAY:
Sunday, 20 February 2005
Victoria Park Camperdown
Oz Rainbow Booth - Section A
On-site registration available – 23% reduction on Registration Fees will be offered for this one day only.