Denver Now One of Two Cities in the Running to Host 2030 Gay Games, Community Event in July

"This is Denver's chance to write ourselves in history, to have a spot in the history of the LGBTQ+ community," says Lance Husak, co-chair of the Gay Games Denver 2030 Bid Committee.

The Mile High City is now one of two finalists in the running to host the 2030 Gay Games, a sports competition that takes place every four years with an emphasis on gathering the LGBTQ community. The ten-day event brings together thousands of athletes of all genders, sexualities and skill levels.

"At the time the Gay Games was founded back in 1982, there wasn't a lot of representation in sports, not that was out and openly out. Since then, we've made a lot of progress. But in recent times, we've been pushed back a little bit," Husak says. "So Denver has the opportunity to showcase the best of the United States. Even in our regressive era, Denver is still pushing forward. So there's a lot that Denver can do for the Gay Games, just like there's a lot the Gay Games can do for Denver."

GGDEN2030's motto for the chance of hosting the Gay Games is "Together Out West, We Rise." The other city still in the running is Perth, Australia. Auckland, New Zealand, recently withdrew from the process.

The bid process began in January 2024 with 25 cities across five continents competing to host the games. Ten cities then moved to the next stage of the process and submitted a “bid book” describing how they aimED to host the Gay Games in their city. In December 2024, three cities were chosen as finalists: Auckland, Denver and Perth.

Playing a prominent role in the Gay Games is more important this year than perhaps ever before, says Lisa Seib, the other co-chair for GGDEN2030. "In this time in America when DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] is under attack, when there are voices out there that want to silence our own, to minimize us, to erase us," she says. "We're using that to gather our people together. We've done it throughout history. We've used that as a way to reinforce our resilience and to fuel our resistance. So the times we're living through right now are the best reason why we should be hosting the Gay Games."

Seib isn't just referring to Denver when she says "we." She's talking about the United States as a whole, and how America needs to show the world that it's still representative of the "Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best" motto of the Gay Games. "It hasn't been in the United States for sixteen years," she says. "When the Gay Games went to Cleveland in 2014, that city was pretty conservative, but the Games had a huge impact on that community. It opened it up, brought in a lot of acceptance and understanding. That's what we need in America today."

Seib and Husak agree that this sentiment isn't just about 2030 — it's about today. "We want to use this platform to lift up our voices, to give ourselves visibility, to strengthen us," Seib says. "To work against other forces looking to quiet us and diminish us."

Husak admits that it's an uphill battle in today's America. "But still, considering the roots of the Gay Games and their push for advancing human rights, there's no better place than the U.S. to have it right now."
To that end, Denver will be hosting a visit from the Gay Games Site Selection Committee in mid-July in order to show off all the city has to offer.

"When we submitted our 300-page bid package last April, we outlined all the venues we're going to use," Seib says. "That's one of our big positives in hosting in Denver — no new infrastructure needs to be built. We already have both the cultural and sports sites here."

She ticks off a list of 31 locations in and around Denver that will fit the Gay Games needs, from the Colorado Convention Center to the University of Denver to Arvada's Apex Center to Golden's Fossil Trace Golf Club, and many more. "When the Site Search folks get here, we take them on a tour of these places we've described, to ensure that they fit the bill for spectators and participants," Seib adds. "But we also get to put a little fun and flair and flavor into their visit. We want to immerse them into the Denver culture, and into Colorado."

A highlight of that immersion process will be a Gay Games Denver Community Event on Wednesday, July 16. The party starts at 5 p.m. at ReelWorks Denver and is free and open to the public with an RSVP and the chance to support the cause with a donation of any size. (GGDEN2030 has also put together a GoFundMe campaign to help fund its ongoing efforts.) The event will include special guests, including Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

"We want to bring together as many people as possible at that event," Seib says. "We want the selection committee to come away from that event understanding exactly why Denver is the perfect place for the Gay Games 2030."

The potential upside for Denver and Colorado isn't just cultural; the Paris games in 2018 — so far, the largest in the Games' history — boasted 10,000 participants and about 40,000 visitors, bringing in an estimated $115 million in positive economic impact. "We're aiming to top those numbers from Paris," says Husak. "We believe that Denver can do it."

But Husak brings it back to making history, and Denver being a part of it. "We were there from the beginning," he says. "Team Colorado is one of the original participants of the Gay Games movement. Hosting the Games itself is just the next logical step for a city like Denver."

The Gay Games Denver Community Event is 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, at ReelWorks Denver, 1399 35th Street; admission is free with an RSVP. Learn more on the Gay Games Denver website.