Louganis to Host 100 Champions in Chicago

Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis will serve as co-host of “A Night of 100 Champions,” a gala to benefit the Chicago 2006 Gay Games. Scheduled for Saturday, 22 April 2006, the event will honor top U.S and international sports legends and top artists at the Cadillac Club at Soldier Field.

Louganis also will join the “Gay Games Ambassadors,” an international group of prominent individuals supporting the goals and principles of the quadrennial Gay Games.  Ambassadors include Elton John, Melissa Etheridge, Billy Bean, Billie Jean King and many other notable celebrities.

Greg Louganis will travel to Chicago to co-host “A Night of 100 Champions,” the first of two events at Soldier Field’s Cadillac Club the weekend of 22-23 April 2006. More than 100 individuals and organizations will be honored for achievement in sports, culture and support of the GLBT community. The event will include a silent auction, awards presentation, VIP cocktail reception, celebrity concert, and dancing on multiple stages.

 

The next morning, Sunday, 23 April, the Cadillac Club will again be the site of “Breakfast with Champions.”  A brunch buffet with entertainment will be followed by an intimate Meet the Champions Panel Discussion hosted by a surprise guest celebrity with the opportunity for questions from the audience and autograph signing.

Tickets are $75 for “A Night of 100 Champions,” $65 for “Breakfast with Champions” or $125 for both events. Patron Tables of Ten are available at $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000 levels, each offering a VIP Reception, preferred seating and benefits according to donation levels. Sponsorship levels starting at $10,000 provide upgrades to premiere seating, distinctive recognition opportunities, and specially crafted sponsorship packages.

Ticket and sponsorship information is available at www.GayGamesChicago.org.

About Greg Louganis

Greg Louganis is more than just an Olympic Champion -- he stands out as an exceptional human being who has led an extraordinary life.  Greg’s introduction to the world of diving was at the age of ten, when he first began competing.  By age 16 he had won his first Olympic medal, a silver, on the platform in the 1976 Olympics.  In 1984, at age 24, he became the first man in 56 years to win two Olympic gold medals in diving by winning both the platform and springboard events.  In 1986, Greg again won both the platform and springboard events at the World Championships.  Two years later at the 1988 Olympics, competing against divers half his age, and despite a near disastrous injury during a dive, he became the first man to win double gold medals for diving in two consecutive Olympics.

Louganis’ connection to the Gay Games is a special one.  He used the occasion of the 1994 Gay Games in New York to first publicly acknowledge his sexuality and his status as HIV positive.  More recently he served as the narrator of the Gay Games documentary, “Take the Flame,” by filmmaker David Secter (2005). “We continue to be amazed at the life of this extraordinary man,” said Kathleen Webster, co-president of the international Federation of Gay Games. “He has been a staunch supporter of the Gay Games for more than a decade and we are grateful for his continued support as the Gay Games returns to U.S. for the first time in 12 years.”