Press Release

Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006: 100 Days From the Opening of Registration

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Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006:
100 Days From the Opening of Registration

Montréal, 20 February 2004 - "Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 will host the largest gay and lesbian sporting event in the world from July 29 to August 5, 2006, and this event will be preceded by an International Conference on Gay and Lesbian Rights from July 26 to 28," Ms. Louise Roy, Chief Executive Officer of the organization, announced today at a press conference. "Now that everything is coming together for us with regard to our international support, and the gay and lesbian sporting community is well on its way to founding a new international organization," added Ms. Roy, "we can concentrate all our efforts on our main purpose: to catch the Montréal feeling"

One hundred days away from the start of early registration on 1 June 2004, with over 10,000 participants already expected two years from the event, the organizers of Montréal 2006 also gave a progress report today on the current state of private sponsorships and public partnerships, on developments in international agreements with sports organizations, as well as on the makeup of the Scientific Committee in charge of the International Conference on Gay and Lesbian Rights.


CATCH THE MONTREAL FEELING

Right now, thanks to its sponsors, Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 has attained 40% of the revenues necessary to host the event. The Organizing Committee is confident that the rest of the pieces will fall into place, partly because registrations will generate strong financial returns, and partly because of the encouraging state of current discussions with future private sponsors.

Registrations made before the end of 2004 will raise $225 CAD ($165 USD or 130 EUR) per person, for which an individual will be registered in one sporting activity, attend the opening and closing ceremonies, plus much more (see www.montreal2006.info for more details). The cost for participating in the Conference on Rights will be established shortly.


SPORTING COMPETITIONS

Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 will have competitions in 31 sports. Ms. Josée Généreux, Sports Director for Montréal 2006, has made outstanding progress in establishing sporting competition formats with the support of the national and international federations concerned.

The following sports will be featured:

Aerobics, badminton, basketball, billiards, bowling, bridge, cycling, dancesport, diving, figure skating, golf, ice hockey, karate, marathon running, physique, power lifting, racquetball, roller racing, rowing, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, triathlon, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

Olympic medalist Mark Tewksbury, Co-President of the games, has begun a world tour visiting representatives of GLBT sports teams, all of whom have reaffirmed their desire to participate in the Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 games.


CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Montréal 2006's cultural programme is sure to shine thanks to an exclusive agreement with GALA Choruses, the largest choral organization in the world. GALA Choruses will be sending a major delegation to perform as part of the cultural component of the games. The opening ceremonies will be held on Saturday, 29 July 2006, at the Olympic Stadium, which will be the stage for a dynamic expression of culture in an exciting atmosphere of international friendship.


"THE RIGHT TO BE DIFFERENT" CONFERENCE

Within the framework of Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006, the Organizing Committee, with the financial support of the Ministère des relations avec les citoyens du Québec, studied the possibility of holding an international conference on gay and lesbian rights. This Conference, as a result of the widespread support for the idea expressed by the gay and lesbian community, will be held under the sponsorship of the Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse du Québec.

Dr. Robert Wintemute, professor at the School of Law at King's College in London, England, and a leading scholar in the area of minority rights, has agreed to co-chair the Scientific Committee in charge of developing the conference program with Ms. Joke Swiebel, Member of the European Parliament for the Dutch Labour Party, and Chair of the EP Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights.

As well, former Canadian Supreme Court Judge, Ms. Claire l'Heureux-Dubé is also a member of the International Scientific Committee, along with Mr. Laurent McCutcheon, President of Fondation Émergence and Gai Écoute and Ms. Line Chamberland, professor and eminent researcher at the University of Quebec at Montréal (UQAM). For a complete list of committee members, please consult our website, www.montreal2006.info.

During the two days of the Conference, about 2,000 people will gather to focus on the issues of gay and lesbian rights in sports, the media, education, the workplace and in family life.

"Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 has now hit its stride," Ms. Louise Roy concluded. "With the support of its partners and sponsors, the federal and provincial governments, the City of Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, the Hotel Association of Greater Montréal, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Labatt Breweries, with which we are proud to have reached an agreement this week, with the strength of the support of hundreds of gay and lesbian sports teams around the world, and with registrations starting in June, we are more than confident that Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 will be an unparalleled success, and an embodiment of our core principles of participation, inclusion and personal best."  

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