Hong Kong’s Gay Games Have Been Postponed to 2023 Due to Covid

Back in October 2017 the Federation of Gay Games announced that Hong Kong would be the host city for the November 2022 Gay Games, having beaten out Washington, D.C., and Guadalajara, Mexico, for the right to host the Games’ 11th installment. It was a historic announcement, marking the first time the Gay Games would be coming to Asia.

Now LGBTQ athletes around the world will have to wait an additional year — until November 2023 — to participate in the Hong Kong Gay Games’ more than 30 sports. Organizers have announced the Games are officially postponed one year in light of Covid and the pandemic’s travel restrictions.

“We want to make sure that everyone is able to come to the event,” Hong Kong Gay Games founder and co-chair Dennis Philipse told Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP). “We cannot be in a bubble event, people cannot be in quarantine for 21 days.”

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HKFP also mentions an official statement, which reads in part: “With many parts of the world, including many across Asia, still struggling to contain the virus and facing uneven access to vaccines, we felt that delaying the Games until November 2023 will enhance the likelihood of delivering on our promise to have the Hong Kong Games serve as a beacon of hope for the wider community across the region.”

The Hong Kong Gay Games is expected to bring in 12,000 LGBTQ athletes, 75,000 spectators and thousands of volunteers from more than 100 countries, all in the name of the Games’ theme, “Unity in Diversity.” More than just a sporting event, the Gay Games will include arts-and-culture events and live performances as well.

“2023 will be the perfect to shine,” Philipse told HKFP.

For more info on the Hong Kong Gay Games, head to gghk2022.com

Featured image courtesy of Hong Kong Gay Games Instagram