Viewing cable 06MONTREAL922, Montreal Celebrates OutGames Success - Part 2 of 2

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SUBJECT: Montreal Celebrates OutGames Success - Part 2 of 2 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. The 1st World OutGames, held in Montreal June 26-August 
5, drew some 500,000 spectators, 10,248 athletes, and 5,200 
volunteers and has been touted by officials, media, and 
human rights activists alike as a success. The three-day 
conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender 
(LGBT) Human Rights, which preceded the sports events, 
produced the Declaration of Montreal, a statement intended 
to guarantee the rights of the LGBT community throughout 
the world. Organizers and the Montreal Police told ConGen 
officers there were no reported homosexual hate crimes or 
incidents. By pursuing an LGBT human rights agenda 
simultaneously, the OutGames elicited public statements on 
LGBT rights and participation from a range of Canadian 
federal, provincial, and municipal elected officials, as 
well as business and community leaders. Finally, the 
OutGames reinforced Montreal's urban identity as an open 
and tolerant tourist destination, while also signaling LGBT 
human rights as a potential defining issue for Montreal 
voters in future elections. 
 
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Montreal vs. Chicago 
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¶2. The decision to host the 1st World OutGames in Montreal 
resulted from a dispute over the number of participants and 
over the scope of activities between Federation of Gay 
Games (FGG) and Montreal organizers, as the Gay Games were 
destined originally for Montreal. Montreal's organizers 
envisaged a large participant base, and wanted to include a 
human rights conference and many other side activities 
around the games. The Gay Games organizers, due to a 
history of financial trouble, wanted to pare down the event 
and focus only on sports competitions. After FGG 
organizers awarded the location of the Gay Games to Chicago 
(held June 15-22), Montreal organizers contemplated the 
future of Gay sports and as a result, founded a new 
international organization, the Gay and Lesbian 
International Sports Association (GLISA), currently 
headquartered in Ontario but soon to relocate its 
headquarters to Montreal. Two sports competitions resulted, 
both geared towards similar audiences, held within days of 
each other, six hundred miles apart. Despite the political 
gains, many considered the OutGames a financial risk for 
Montreal, particularly given the high debt incurred after 
previous experiences here hosting international sporting 
events.[See Reftel] 
 
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Outgames a "financial success?" 
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¶3. Despite the Outgames being held on the heels of the Gay 
Games, Montreal organizers and the Montreal Board of Trade 
quickly pointed to the financial benefits the games brought 
to the city, with an estimated C$100 million being spent by 
athletes and other visitors during the games, according to 
the Montreal Board of Trade. (note: the Quebec Gay Chamber 
of Commerce offers a much higher estimate of C$180 million) 
A representative from MontrealQs MayorQs office told 
Econoff that the city's investment in the OutGames had a 
"long-term strategy, strictly from a business sense" to 
attract more gay tourists to the city, and convince 
OutGames participants to return to Montreal in the future. 
Despite this upbeat message, Montreal organizers had 
earlier announced that it would require a minimum of 13,000 
paying participants to break even, and the games themselves 
only drew some 10,248 athletes, some of whom were sponsored 
by the Canadian government (though the number increases to 
more than 18,000 when one includes Conference participants, 
cultural event participants, and volunteers). OutGames 
organizers have yet to release any clear data on financial 
revenues (or losses) from the games, so details on the 
reality of their financial success remain sketchy. As with 
the majority of cultural and sporting events in Quebec, the 
OutGames received funding from the municipal, provincial, 
and federal government. OutGames organizers told Consulate 
officers that there were "significant" private industry 
contributions, although no precise figures on or breakdown 
of public or private assistance were provided, nor have any 
been published to date. 
 
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A good news story for human rights 
 
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¶4. Aside from declaring financial success, OutGames 
organizers and Montreal city officials point to the human 
rights conference and the Declaration of Montreal the 
legacy and long-term impact of the OutGames. Montreal 
Police contacts as well as OutGames organizers told 
Consulate officials that the games occurred without any 
reported incidents of hate crimes or gay-targeted offensive 
behavior. However, a few media reports of homophobic 
comments made by four members of a Montreal-area water 
polo team emerged and led to calls for a formal apology 
and the four athletesQ being removed from the team. The 
only frustration police encountered was actually found 
among their own ranks, for having to absorb the costs for 
force deployment and closing down many streets for a 
relatively small number of marathon runners (only 92) on 
the final day. Similarly, news about one Senegalese 
participant coming under fire upon his return to his home 
country traveled fast in human rights circles here. Cheikh 
Doudou Mbaye, a Senegalese social worker, who spoke at a 
workshop on homosexual discrimination in the workplace, 
faced public humiliation and harassment upon his return to 
Senegal, according to a senior representative of the 
Montreal-based International Center for Human Rights and 
Democratic Development and press reports. Otherwise, the 
city of Montreal (recently reported to be CanadaQs top 
tourist destination) provided participants with a welcoming 
atmosphere, with banners throughout the city promoting the 
games and gay pride, and OutGames participants to ride free 
on the cityQs public transportation. 
 
¶5. The Human Rights conference, June 26-29, included a 
keynote speech by UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise 
Arbour, and drew 1,500 participants in the first human 
rights conference of its kind to focus specifically on the 
rights of the LGBT community. The Conference included a 
section on homosexuality in the workforce, in partnership 
with the Quebec Gay Chamber of Commerce (QGCC). The 
president of the QGCC told Econoff that he was especially 
pleased at the success of the Conference, because it 
allowed participants to focus on the concerns shared by 
homosexuals in a professional setting, and to develop 
strategies for better mobilizing actions within the LGBT 
business communities. He stated that although Montreal is 
an open and welcoming city for homosexuals, he encountered 
initial resistance from large Montreal-based corporations 
in making donations to both the QGCC as well as the 
OutGames. He said, however, he overcame this resistance and 
in fact, had succeeded in his fundraising efforts, adding 
"I have not gotten one 'no' in two years." 
 
¶6. The Declaration of Montreal builds on the statement 
from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that Qall 
human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights 
and expands the acceptance of human diversity to cover 
different sexual orientations and gender identities. The 
Declaration of Montreal notes that "the oppression of LGBT 
people is a reality in most parts of the world" but that 
"more and more brave people are standing up for LGBT human 
rights." The Declaration sets out the "essential rights" 
for LGBT peoples, including the protection from state and 
private violence, freedom of expression, assembly, and 
association (for a full text of the declaration, go to 
http://www.montreal2006.org). 
 
 
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Outgames gain political support 
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¶7. Politicians from all levels of government attended 
OutGames events and awards ceremonies. MontrealQs Mayor 
Gerald Tremblay was a constant vocal advocate for the games 
throughout their preparation and execution, spoke at the 
LGBT human rights conference, and hosted a number of 
receptions at city hall. In keeping with sporting events 
tradition, he passed the OutGames flag to Martin Geerson, 
Mayor of Culture and Leisure of Copenhagen, where the next 
OutGames is scheduled to take place in 2009. Benot 
Labonte, the mayor of Ville-Marie, MontrealQs downtown 
borough covering the financial and commercial district as 
well as the Gay Village, was an active supporter. Line 
Beauchamp, Minister of Culture and Communication, 
represented the Quebec Provincial government, while Yvone 
Marcoux, QuebecQs Minister of Justice, was a keynote 
speaker at the LGBT Human Rights Conference. Gilles 
Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Quebecois, made an appearance 
 
MONTREAL 00000922 003 OF 003 
 
 
at the OutGames opening ceremony and OutGames golf 
tournament. Real Menard, the openly-gay Bloc Quebecois 
Member of Parliament from the riding that encompasses the 
Olympic village, competed in the menQs wrestling 
competition. Federal Minister of the Treasury Board John 
Baird attended a reception in honor of athletes from his 
home province of Ontario. Several Quebec and Ottawa Members 
of Parliament, from all parties, also attended the Games. 
 
¶8. Just as it opened, the OutGames ended with a festive 
closing ceremony that included participation by American 
icon Liza Minnelli and popular Quebec musical artists, 
MontrealQs Mayor Gerald Tremblay, CopenhagenQs Mayor Martin 
Geerson, Quebec Minister for Culture and Communication, 
Line Beauchamp, and Jean-Marc Fournier, Minister of 
Education, Sports, and Recreation, as well as Michael 
Fortier, Federal Minister of Public Works. In sharp 
contrast to the opening ceremony when Michael Fortier, 
Federal Minister of Public Works and Services, received 
stadium-wide jeers because of the LGBT communityQs 
dissatisfaction with the Conservative PartyQs position on 
LGBT rights, particularly same sex marriage, (Mayor 
Tremblay intervened, asking the audience to extend the same 
tolerance and respect that Montrealers are known for and 
expect), Jean-Marc Fournier, Minister of Education, Sports 
and Recreation, was better received during the closing 
ceremonies. 
 
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Comment 
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¶9. In addition to being a good news story for human rights 
in Montreal (and the desire to extend those rights 
elsewhere in the world), the popularity of the OutGames in 
Montreal demonstrates how many Quebeckers take issue with 
the Conservative governmentQs stance on gay marriage. 
Virtually all polls taken in Quebec have shown that a 
majority of the provinceQs population favors gay marriage, 
with a recent poll conducted by Environics between May 29 
and June 2 indicating that two thirds of Quebeckers support 
gay marriage. As GLISA prepares to move its headquarters 
to Montreal and looks ahead to the 2009 world OutGames in 
Copenhagen, the issue of LGBT rights will continue to be an 
important one for Montrealers, and could play a role in 
future municipal, provincial and federal elections, as 
Quebec pursues its self-proclaimed international role on 
social and cultural issues. 
 
Marshall