By Canadian Press

Toronto shortlisted as one of eight cities to host the 2026 Gay Games

Aug 13, 2020 | 1:18 PM

Toronto has been shortlisted as one of eight candidate cities to host the 2026 Gay Games XII.

Toronto is up against Auckland, New Zealand; Brisbane, Australia; Guadalajara, Mexico; Munich; San Diego; Taipei, Taiwan; and Valencia, Spain.

The deadline for cities to deliver their main bid books is Nov. 1, 2020. The announcement for the winning host city is expected in 2022.

The Gay Games are a global quadrennial sport and cultural event open to all, spanning 10 days with 10,000 athletes competing in more than 35 sports.

“This will be an excellent opportunity to promote diversity and inclusion through sport and culture in our global community,” said Kris Burley, Toronto 2026 bid chair and Atlanta 1996 Olympic gymnast. “This is the perfect city to host with an authentic emphasis on the continued work on the human rights front.”

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Mayor John Tory has thrown his support behind the bid.

“Toronto prides itself on being a diverse and inclusive city, an event like this would be great for our city and region and provide us an opportunity to amplify the power of sport, culture and human rights,” he said.

The next edition of the Gay Games is scheduled for November 2022 in Hong Kong.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2020.

The Canadian Press