On Thursday, things get serious at the annual general assembly of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG). Then the global sports games of the LGBTQ movement for the year 2026 will be awarded in the English seaside resort of Brighton; Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people and queer people are grouped under this abbreviation. Before the next host is announced in the evening, there is still a “barbecue” on the program for the representatives of the last three applicant cities, as Munich city council Beppo Brem (Greens) calls the final event before the freestyle.
At this barbecue, two representatives each from Guadalajara, Valencia and Munich are grilled on the open stage for the last time by the delegates who are entitled to vote – they are grilled, as this type of cross-examination is called in English. Beppo Brem believes and hopes that this appearance could be the decisive plus point for Munich’s candidacy.
Two women get into the ring for them, Martina Kohlbauer and Natascha Gräf, which is remarkable in itself, as Brem explains, one of the initiators of the local application. It is operated by a seven-person committee in which all members have equal rights. Brem admits that it is “an unfamiliar organizational structure”.
At the FGG, too, people tend to know that there is “a head Zampano and the rest of them just take part”; Brem believes that the flat hierarchy of Munich is well received, especially since the FGG’s motto is expressly “to promote equal rights for all people”. That is why the Gay Games, originally launched in 1982 for homosexual participants, are now open to everyone: There is no athletic qualification, anyone can take part, only an entry fee has to be paid.
“We are already very far in terms of financing and sports facilities”
The Munich delegation has been in Brighton since Monday and is confident about the award, but of course Beppo Brem knows: “All three are optimistic.” The Mexican city of Guadalajara is applying for the second time, and the popular sports event, which is held every four years, has never taken place in Latin America. Not even in a Spanish-speaking country, which could also speak for Valencia.
However, Munich is also entering the final spurt with very good arguments. “We are already very far in terms of financing and sports facilities,” says Beppo Brem. In the Olympic Park and in the central university sports facility, 80 percent of the competition venues that are necessary for the 34 planned sports are concentrated. There are also commitments from major Munich companies to become sponsors. “That is very unusual in this application phase,” says Brem. In the organizing committee, they expect a budget of ten or eleven million euros.
The city wants to support the games with a grant
The city of Munich also supports the application, as the city council of Brem knows, who represents Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) as the representative of the municipality in Brighton. However, Reiter will be switched on with a video message at the official presentation on Wednesday and Brem announces that the mayor will use this opportunity to specifically quantify Munich’s monetary subsidy. The ideal commitment of the city leaders to the LGBTQ movement is documented anyway.
During the European Football Championship, the city wanted the arena to shine in rainbow colors. The Uefa disagreed.
(Photo: Sven Hoppe / dpa)
The dispute with the European football union Uefa because of the lighting of the Fröttmaninger Arena in the symbolic rainbow colors during the European championship last summer got stuck, says Brem: “It got through the media around the world and showed that Munich is serious and is doing something . ” When visiting an inspection group in August, he had the impression: “We are already doing well in the internal evaluations.”
And if nothing works with the award for the Gay Games? “We didn’t think about that,” says Beppo Brem, “we’re playing to win.” However, not out of arrogance, assures the chairman of the Munich district in the Bavarian State Sports Association. It simply has to do with the personal biographies of the organizers, who would be four years older if they applied again – and anyway do everything on a voluntary basis: “We don’t have a single full-time employee, we do everything in our free time.”
They were positively surprised that the Munich team came under the last three under these circumstances. Of the original 20 candidates, twelve had already been screened out in the first application round; after the second, three remained at the beginning of the year. “We have been working towards this goal for two years now and we feel that we have done our best,” says Beppo Brem. “If others were better in the end, that’s how it is.”