Press Release

1st World Outgames touring Brazil

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Montréal, 24 January 2005 –Representatives of the 1st World Outgames Montréal 2006 will be in Brazil from 25 January to 1 February 2005, visiting the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador to promote Montréal 2006. Mr. Jean-Yves Duthel, Head of Public Relations and Mr. Joseph Cruz, Liaison for South American Development, will be holding several meetings with various LGBT groups and will also be in Porto Alegre to attend the World Social Forum between January 26 and 28.

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. From 26 to 29 July, “The Right to Be Different” International Conference will be held which, with the participation of some 2,000 delegates, will examine the advancement of LGBT rights around the world and will adopt the Montréal Declaration to establish an action plan to extend or affirm the rights of the community in the years to come.

From 29 July to 5 August, sport competitions will welcome 12,000 participants competing in 33 disciplines. The opening and closing ceremonies will be held in Montréal’s magnificent Olympic Stadium, exactly 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 offered as part of the Outgames programme.

The Outgames and Brazil

For the first time in the history of LGBT sport, a large and coordinated contingent of Brazilian athletes will be taking part in sport competitions. In fact, Grupo Umas & Outras, from São Paulo, and ADGLT, from Goiás, have already become members of GLISA (the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association) – the international organisation overseeing the Montréal 2006 Outgames.

A serious, long-term strategy is being implemented by GLISA and Montréal 2006 to encourage LGBT groups from Brazil to send as many participants as possible to the 2006 Outgames. This spring, Montréal 2006, in partnership with trade unions, the Government of Canada and various foundations, will also set up a bursary programme to encourage Brazilian participation.

For the International Conference, physician, professor and author Dr. Bruno Molinari, and Desembargadora (Judge) Maria Berenice Dias have also agreed to be ambassadors for Montréal 2006 and will actively participate in conference discussions in Montréal, in July 2006.

Eighteen months to go

Registrations for the 2006 Outgames have just reached the 3,000 mark, which represents an incredible success for an event that is still eighteen months away. Of these registrants, 30% are European, 44% are North American and 15% come from Oceania. Also worth noting is the remarkable breakthrough that Montréal 2006 is making worldwide, with 5% of registered participants coming from South America – the majority of whom are Brazilian, 2% from Africa and 4% from Asia.

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