Cablegate: Montreal Celebrates Outgames Success - Part 2 of 2
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FM AMCONSUL MONTREAL
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INFO RUCNCAN/ALCAN COLLECTIVE
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MONTREAL 000922
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TAGS: PHUM SOCI CASC CA
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
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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