Montreal: 4,800 Registered

“We now have 4,800 people registered for the 1st World Outgames Montréal 2006,” Ms. Louise Roy, CEO of Montréal 2006, has announced. “After our promotional activities over the last two weeks in the United States, France and Belgium, we are pleased to report that interest in the 1st World Outgames has not diminished at all over the last eight months.”

United States

More than 600 Americans have now registered for the Outgames and, with the increasing interest shown in the Outgames by American teams, it seems clear that many more sports teams from the U.S. will be registering over the course of the next four months.

As well, Team New York has invited Montréal 2006 to organize a registration day for the Outgames in the near future. Meanwhile, on the west coast, Montréal can now count on the support of Équipe SF2006 in San Francisco, which represents an important breakthrough in this market.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the largest LGBT rights group in the United States, has just become a partner for Montréal 2006’s International Conference on LGBT rights. Mr. Sean Cahill, the director of the Task Force's Policy Institute, will represent the NGLTF on the International Scientific Committee of the Conference. GLAF (the Gay and Lesbian Athletic Foundation) is already a partner for the Conference.

Montréal 2006 has signed a promotional agreement with Columbia FunMaps, which produces and distributes maps of more than 50 cities worldwide, highlighting the best that American, Canadian, and European cities have to offer LGBT travelers.

France

Registration days in France during the Various Voices Paris 2005 choral festival stirred up excitement about the Outgames and created a new wave of support for Montréal 2006. About ten European choruses signed up for the cultural programme and l’Autre Cercle, an association of LGBT businesspeople, became a partner for the International Conference. Nearly 300 registrants from France have now registered for the Outgames.

In sports, Parisian badminton association Acrobad has registered, as have swimmers from Paris Aquatique, along with wrestlers from France. Montréal 2006 will also be present at the Tournoi international de Paris that will take place from 13 to 16 May.

Belgium

Montréal 2006’s participation in Brussels Pride, in collaboration with two LGBT sport associations in Belgium—Brussels Gay Sport and Active Company from Antwerp—was a great success. The two associations are actively working to bring Belgian participants to Montréal in unprecedented numbers. Our registration activities in Belgium have already brought in 70 new registrations in addition to the 40 already registered, but the two clubs are aiming to send a delegation of at least 130 Belgians to Montréal for the Outgames.

As well, Homoparentalité and the Fédération Arc-en-ciel, two Belgian associations actively involved in the defence of LGBT rights, will be attending the International Conference in Montréal.

EuroGames

Montréal 2006 will be launching a large-scale registration promotion that will kick off with the EuroGames, which will be held in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, from 16 to 20 June 2005. Then, hot on the heels of the EuroGames, Montréal 2006 will also have a major presence in the CSD events in Berlin from 22 to 26 June.