dudeposthost's Blog

Outgames Are In Full Swing
4th August 2009
By dudeposthost

The World Outgames 2009, a celebration of gay sport and cultural diversity, kicked off over the weekend in Copenhagen.

Pinknews.co.uk reports that the games began with an opening ceremony on Friday night, where a 50 metre catwalk was erected in front of Copenhagen’s town hall along which participants from 98 countries walked.

Uffe Elbeak, Outgames director, has called the event “the Olympics in 3D, where sport is accompanied by two equally important dimensions: a wide-ranging cultural programme and a human rights conference”.

The Outgames run for nine days and feature 38 sports, including wrestling, football, swimming and dancing tournaments.

The Copenhagen Post reports that the opening ceremony was marred by a homophobic attack against three gay men.

Two men, aged 28 and 33, were taken into custody after they allegedly yelled “homo pig” at the three men, and attacked them as they returned from the opening ceremony. The victims are from England, Sweden and Norway and were treated in hospital for injuries, but have now been released.

Police are keeping the two suspects in custody throughout the entire Outgames event. A Police spokesperson said that they have criminal records and it is believed they were intoxicated at the time. The suspects allege that they recall nothing of the incident.

Police have been working closely with Outgames organisers to prevent hate crimes during the Outgames. Uffe Elbæk, Outgames director, said that the police response was exemplary and that the incident was isolated, but indicative of why events like the Outgames are necessary.

A member of the Canadian curling team told Danish TV: “Obviously it’s scary. That fear will haunt you forever. Hate crimes go beyond bruises, go beyond broken bones and they affect you as an individual and it scars you for life.”