Organizers of next year’s Gay Games are appealing to the government to open up advanced booking for public facilities, having only been able to confirm fewer than half of the venues with less than a year and a half to the sporting event.
So far, just 21 of the 56 venues required have been locked in, the organizers said at a press conference Tuesday. All of them are privately run.
Venues operated by the government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) can only be booked three to six months in advance. The organizers are currently in talks with the LCSD to discuss arrangements, and hope that the government can handle the bookings more flexibly and allow them to confirm the venues one year in advance.
Earlier this month, pro-establishment lawmaker Regina Ip flagged the organizers’ difficulty in sealing venues for the Gay Games during a Legislative Council meeting, urging the government to do more. She emphasized that Hong Kong’s hosting of the games would help boost sports, arts and cultural activities in the city.
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The 11th Gay Games 2022 will be held in Hong Kong next November, making it the first city in Asia to host the games after it beat Washington DC and the Mexican city of Guadalajara in the bidding process.
The games are estimated to bring in a revenue of HK$1 billion (US$129 million).
