Friday, May 26, 2017

World OutGames Canceled 24 Hours Before Opening Ceremonies


Imagine training and saving up money for years to travel around the world to participate in a global sporting event, only to find out mid-air (via social media!) that it had been canceled. That's just happened with the long-planned sporting and cultural event known as the World OutGames, a 10-day LGBT-themed event advertised as a spectacular gathering of athletes from around the world. 

The Miami Herald reports that the event unraveled Friday about 24 hours before the opening ceremonies. Organizers announced that the opening and closing ceremonies, along with nearly all of its sports events, were canceled due to financial issues. The bombshell revelation came via a short Facebook post from the event’s board of directors Friday.
“It is with deep regret that due to financial burdens, World OutGames must cancel its sports programming and Opening and Closing Ceremony with the exception of soccer, aquatics and country western dance,” reads the text. “The Human Rights Conference and cultural programs will continue as planned. We thank everyone who has supported the effort and apologize to those who will be impacted by this difficult decision.” 
And with that, the high hopes for this international event were dashed as athletes from around the world streamed into Miami, ready to compete only to learn the games were canceled. Some arrived before the announcement, and others found out mid-air. 

The first clue that something was horribly wrong might have been that the (un)organizers tried to pad the event's finances with an IndieGoGo campaign earlier this year that raised just $3,350 of its $100,000 goal (about 3%). Why they didn't cancel the event before it got this far is inexcusable. (I wonder if a deep-pocketed LGBT type would have been willing to pick up the slack given the extraordinary circumstances, but it's hard to know if anyone even asked.)

Here's hoping all of the would-have-been participants manage to have a good time in Miami in spite of this (Tallahassee) tacky turn of events. 

Full story HERE.

5 comments:

jaragon said...

Terrible for the athletes. Did Danell Leyva come out? Or is he just gay friendly?

Jim Hopkins said...

Leyva is hawt!

Anonymous said...

I HATE when any gay organization is sloppy and excuses itself when it was trying to help a gay cause Etc. We have some of the brightest and best in the world. Everything with our name on it should be done right

Bob K

Unknown said...

I think he's an ally. Just like the British gymnast Louis Smith. And they don't mind flaunting themselves for their gay fans. Danell married a woman a while back, not sure if they're still together. But, yes, hottie.

jaragon said...

Dannel (like his lookalike porn star cousin Damien Crosse) is one fine Cuban-American hombre