Greg Louganis To Co-Host Gay Games Benefit
Sun. February 26, 2006 12:00 AM
Olympic Gold Medalist becomes International Gay Games Ambassador
Chicago, IL -
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.”
About the Gay Games Ambassadors
The international Federation of Gay Games started the Gay Games Ambassadors program prior to the 2002 Gay Games VI in Sydney. Charter members were actor Judith Light, Olympic gold medal swimmer Bruce Hayes, former U.S. Ambassador James Hormel, and photographer Tom Bianchi. The Ambassadors now also include rock superstar Elton John, German cycling champions Petra Rössner and Judith Arndt, former U.S. professional football players Dave Kopay and Esera Tuaolo, tennis legend Billie Jean King, rock star Melissa Etheridge, actor/director Amanda Bearse, world champion powerlifter Chris Morgan of the U.K., former professional baseball player Billy Bean, South African beach volleyball Olympian Leigh-Ann Naidoo, Australian trampoline Olympian Ji Wallace, and champion figure skater Rudy Galindo.
About Gay Games VII
Gay Games VII Sports and Cultural Festival will take place 15-22 July 2006. Over 12,000 athletes from more than 100 countries will compete in 30 sports ranging from softball to dancesport, swimming to tennis. The weeklong event will include band, cheerleading and color guard performances, chorus, an ancillary arts festival, and a series of community-organized social events and parties. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 15 July at Soldier Field, the lakefront home stadium of American-style football’s Chicago Bears. Closing ceremony will be 22 July at Wrigley Field, the home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, located in the heart of Chicago’s largest LGBT neighborhood.
Global sponsors of Gay Games VII include PlanetOut/Gay.com; Q Television Network; Walgreens; Lexiva; Centaur Entertainment; The New York Times; Fleishman Hillard International Communications; Orbitz; Sydney New Mardi Gras; Chicago Sun-Times; Olivia Cruises & Resorts; Lambda Legal Defense; McKnight Kurland Baccelli; Human Rights Campaign; Chicago Free Press; Mate, Genre, Pink and Girlfriends Magazines; Windy City Media Group; and more than 120 business sponsors.
Registration for Gay Games VII is now open at http://www.GayGamesChicago.org (English), http://www.GayGamesChicago.org/es/ (Spanish), http://www.GayGamesChicago.org/fr/ (French), and http://www.GayGamesChicago.org/de/ (German).
About The Gay Games
The Gay Games was conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, and was first held in San Francisco in 1982 with 1,350 participants. Subsequent Gay Games have been held in San Francisco (1986; 3,500 participants), Vancouver (1990; 7,300 participants), New York (1994; 12,500 participants), Amsterdam (1998; 13,000 participants), and Sydney (2002; 11,000 participants).
The Federation of Gay Games is the international governing body that perpetuates the quadrennial Gay Games and promotes the event's founding principles of Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best™. For more information, visit www.GayGames.org.
Chicago Games, Inc. is the host of Gay Games VII and is led by experienced civic leaders from Chicago’s business, sports and non-profit sectors. For information about how to sponsor or participate in Gay Games VII in Chicago, visit www.GayGamesChicago.org, e-mail info@GayGamesChicago.org, or phone (773) 907-2006.
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.”
About the Gay Games Ambassadors
The international Federation of Gay Games started the Gay Games Ambassadors program prior to the 2002 Gay Games VI in Sydney. Charter members were actor Judith Light, Olympic gold medal swimmer Bruce Hayes, former U.S. Ambassador James Hormel, and photographer Tom Bianchi. The Ambassadors now also include rock superstar Elton John, German cycling champions Petra Rössner and Judith Arndt, former U.S. professional football players Dave Kopay and Esera Tuaolo, tennis legend Billie Jean King, rock star Melissa Etheridge, actor/director Amanda Bearse, world champion powerlifter Chris Morgan of the U.K., former professional baseball player Billy Bean, South African beach volleyball Olympian Leigh-Ann Naidoo, Australian trampoline Olympian Ji Wallace, and champion figure skater Rudy Galindo.
About Gay Games VII
Gay Games VII Sports and Cultural Festival will take place 15-22 July 2006. Over 12,000 athletes from more than 100 countries will compete in 30 sports ranging from softball to dancesport, swimming to tennis. The weeklong event will include band, cheerleading and color guard performances, chorus, an ancillary arts festival, and a series of community-organized social events and parties. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 15 July at Soldier Field, the lakefront home stadium of American-style football’s Chicago Bears. Closing ceremony will be 22 July at Wrigley Field, the home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, located in the heart of Chicago’s largest LGBT neighborhood.
Global sponsors of Gay Games VII include PlanetOut/Gay.com; Q Television Network; Walgreens; Lexiva; Centaur Entertainment; The New York Times; Fleishman Hillard International Communications; Orbitz; Sydney New Mardi Gras; Chicago Sun-Times; Olivia Cruises & Resorts; Lambda Legal Defense; McKnight Kurland Baccelli; Human Rights Campaign; Chicago Free Press; Mate, Genre, Pink and Girlfriends Magazines; Windy City Media Group; and more than 120 business sponsors.
Registration for Gay Games VII is now open at http://www.GayGamesChicago.org (English), http://www.GayGamesChicago.org/es/ (Spanish), http://www.GayGamesChicago.org/fr/ (French), and http://www.GayGamesChicago.org/de/ (German).
About The Gay Games
The Gay Games was conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, and was first held in San Francisco in 1982 with 1,350 participants. Subsequent Gay Games have been held in San Francisco (1986; 3,500 participants), Vancouver (1990; 7,300 participants), New York (1994; 12,500 participants), Amsterdam (1998; 13,000 participants), and Sydney (2002; 11,000 participants).
The Federation of Gay Games is the international governing body that perpetuates the quadrennial Gay Games and promotes the event's founding principles of Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best™. For more information, visit www.GayGames.org.
Chicago Games, Inc. is the host of Gay Games VII and is led by experienced civic leaders from Chicago’s business, sports and non-profit sectors. For information about how to sponsor or participate in Gay Games VII in Chicago, visit www.GayGamesChicago.org, e-mail info@GayGamesChicago.org, or phone (773) 907-2006.