AGQ-F0086

 

Fonds Outgames Montréal 2006. – [before Oct. 1994]-Sept. 2006. – 90 cm of textual records and other records

 

 

 

Administrative history:

 

The Gay Games were created by Tom Waddell in 1982 in San Francisco, with the aim of breaking down stereotypes surrounding LGBT people and fighting hatred towards them. These games take place every four years, each time in a different city. Montreal submitted its bid on January 31, 2001, in the hope of hosting the 2006 Gay Games VII. It had previously submitted its bid for the 2002 Gay Games, but was not selected. On 1 May 2001, Montreal was among the finalist cities for the 2006 games, competing with Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles. On 25 October 2001, the Federation of Gay Games board of directors made its final decision and Montreal was chosen to host the 7th Gay Games in 2006.

 

A dispute over associated costs and expenditure control then caused the plans to be scrapped. On 10 November 2003, Montreal was stripped of the right to host the 2006 Gay Games, which were awarded to Chicago instead. However, the organizing committee, named Rendez-vous Montreal 2006, was keen to host an international LGBT sporting event. Thanks to the support of the European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation (EGLSF), they were able to create their own games. In fact, they joined forces with the European federation to form GLISA (Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association) and organized the first World Outgames. As a result, two major LGBT sporting events were organized for 2006: one in Montreal and the other in Chicago.

 

To finance the games, the Montreal organizers planned several galas. These lasted a few days and included a number of activities. The first edition of these galas took place in 2003 and was called the Bronze Editions. The second, called the Silver Editions, took place in 2004. Finally, the third edition, the Gold Editions, took place in 2005. During these three editions, gourmet evenings (named the Bronze Night, Silver Night and Gold Night, respectively) were held to raise funds.

 

The Montreal Outgames took place from 26 July 2006 to 5 August 2006. This included 11 days of activities, including the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights, entitled The Right to Be Different (26 to 29 July), and the sports games themselves (29 July to 5 August). Thirty-five sports were represented at the games. The conference, which was a great success, also gave rise to the Montreal Declaration, which was promoted and publicized by the United Nations to obtain significant international support for the rights of the LGBT+ community.

 

A total of 12,599 participants from 111 countries attended, along with 500,000 spectators. The economic impact for the city of Montreal was estimated at 100 million Canadian dollars, although several media outlets reported a deficit of 5.3 million dollars. Many reasons were cited to explain this deficit, including the Gay Games being held in Chicago the same year, a significant rise in the value of the Canadian dollar, and ticket sales that were lower than expected. Nevertheless, the 1st World Outgames contributed to tourism in the city and to the global reputation of Montreal’s gay village.

 

 

Scope and content:

 

The fonds documents the activities of the organizing committee for the 2006 Outgames Montréal event, primarily focusing on the Montreal organizers’ bid for the VII Gay Games, the organization of the Outgames between 2003 and 2006, the promotion of the event, and fundraising activities. It also includes documents concerning Gay Games prior to 2006 and Montreal’s bid for the 2002 games, as well as documents about events related to the Outgames, such as the International Conference on the Right to Be Different. The fonds also documents the games themselves, with numerous documents on sports and sports results, as well as the official games newspaper, the Outgames Xpress.

 

The fonds contains several press clippings, merchandise, press releases written by the organizers, information leaflets and advertising brochures, posters, Outgames and Conference programs, and the sports schedule.

 

The fonds contains the following series:

 

  • AGQ-F0086/S1. Gay Games antérieurs à 2006
  • AGQ-F0086/S2. Candidatures pour les Gay Games VII-2006
  • AGQ-F0086/S3. Organisation des Outgames Montréal 2006
  • AGQ-F0086/S4. Promotion et visibilité des Outgames Montréal 2006
  • AGQ-F0086/S5. Événements reliés aux Outgames Montréal 2006
  • AGQ-F0086/S6. Revues de presse des Outgames Montréal 2006
  • AGQ-F0086/S7. Rapport final des Outgames Montréal 2006
  • AGQ-F0086/S8. Gay Games à Berlin en 2010

 

 

Notes:

 

Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.

 

Physical description: The fonds also contains 4 VHS tapes, 1 Betacam tape, 4 CD-ROMs containing PowerPoint slides, and 5 CD-ROMs containing logos and photos. There are also numerous objects: 24 admission tickets for various Outgames events, 4 passes, 5 Outgames wristbands, 1 poster, 1 inflatable ball, 3 bronze medals, 3 silver medals and 3 gold medals, 2 medals given to volunteers, 2 Diversity Empowerment bronze medals, 1 roll of Outgames sticky tape, 1 Montreal tourism computer mouse pad bearing the Outgames logo, several clothing labels, numerous pins, 1 badge, 3 T-shirts, 2 caps, 1 bag, 6 banners and 1 sign.

 

Immediate source of acquisition: The fonds was donated to the AGQ on 3 May 2007 by Jean-François Perrier, who worked as coordinator and webmaster for the 2006 Montreal Outgames (acquisition 2007-006).

 

Arrangement: The classification established by the donors has generally been maintained. A few minor changes have been made to ensure chronological order, and some clarifications have been added regarding the distinction between Gay Games VII and the Outgames to facilitate understanding.

 

Language: Most of the documents are in French and English. Other languages are also present in the international press reviews. Some articles are in German, Spanish, Norwegian, Italian, Dutch, and Slovenian.

 

Associated materials: The ArQuives, located in Toronto, have several Outgames items in their LGBTQ Serials collection. These include the official games program, programs for certain sports and conferences, the Outgames Xpress and the events calendar. Some items are in their Artifacts collection, such as T-shirts and pins. Other documents are in the Vertical Files and Posters Collection.

 

Finding aids: Digital inventory of the fonds in Excel format. Classification plan is available in PDF format.

 

 

Bibliography:

 

The Outgames official website is still live: https://montreal2006.info/

 

Boullé, Denis-Daniel. (2016). Retour sur ce qui fut le plus gros événement LGBT à Montréal. Retrieved from https://www.fugues.com/244793-article-retour-sur-ce-qui-fut-le-plus-gros-evenement-lgbt-a-montreal.html

 

Lavallée, Nicolas. (2004). Les Jeux de Montréal 2006 deviennent les premiers Outgames mondiaux. Retrieved from https://www.fugues.com/233355-article-les-jeux-de-montreal-2006-deviennent-le-premiers-outgames-mondiaux.html

 

 

 

 

Dernière modification : 2025-08-12