Gay Games Amsterdam 1998 - Uncle Donald's Castro Street

I have no affiliation with The Federation of Gay Games or Stichting Gay and Lesbian Games Amsterdam 1998.

Uncle Donald's Castro Street
FRIENDSHIP '98
Gay Games V

Amsterdam, The Netherlands
August 1st to 8th 1998

FRIENDSHIP THROUGH CULTURE AND SPORTS

"Friendship Through Culture and Sports"

is the motto of Gay Games V held on the first eight days of August 1998 in Amsterdam. This was the first time Gay Games was held outside of North America. Amsterdam with its liberal reputation and tolerant attitude was the perfect choice to host the Games. The citizens were very friendly and happy to have the Games in their city.

The visitors were delighted to have arrived in Amsterdam for Gay Games V. A wonderful first impression was made in the lobby of the airport where the smiling faces of Gay Games volunteers welcomed new arrivals . They had answers to questions, and generally made travelers feel at home. Electricity filled the air. 250,000 dreams were about to converge in Amsterdam.

THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM

The beautiful city of Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, is home to 750,000 people. It is built mostly on piles with a radial system of canals and has hundreds of bridges. The buildings in the City Center are tall and narrow. Many of them were built in the 1600's and 1700's.

The streets are hundreds of years old and too narrow to accomodate modern day traffic. So the city has an excellent and efficient public transportation system. Tram routes run to every corner of the city. All the routes start in front of Centraal Station. Bicycles are also a very popular means of transportation.

200,000 people were expected (250,000 came) for the Gay Games and Amsterdam was ready. The city sparkled, the WELCOME mat was in place, and excitment filled the air. Huge bright yellow banners with the word FRIENDSHIP in red, decorated public buildings and many businesses. Yellow flags with the Gay Games logo (a tulip and a triangle) hung everywhere. Displays in many store windows either had a gay theme or showed some indication of support for the Games. Many museums and Galleries had special exhibits with themes relating to the Gay Games. The Public Library showed selections related to gay history from the collection of the local Gay and Lesbian Archives. The Rijksmuseum showed artworks featuring "Olympic Gods".

CANAL PARADE

THE CANAL PARADE is an annual event organized by GAY BUSINESS AMSTERDAM. Although not associated with Gay Games, the Games were the predominant theme of the Parade and it initiated the festivities for many of the newly arrived visitors. 300 colorfully decorated boats sailed through the canals of Amsterdam on the afternoon of Saturday August 1st, opening day of the Games.
The event was much like a Gay Parade in San Francisco. Many thousands of people lined the canals all over the city to watch the parade. Some boats represented gay businesses and were huge (but not tall. They have to fit under all the bridges.) They had loud music and dancing. Many wore outrageous costumes and makeup. Some wore almost nothing. It was quite a parade; a wonderful display of pride and an outrageous welcome from Amsterdam's gay community.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

OPENING CEREMONIES

AMSTERDAM ARENA

Opening and closing ceremonies were held in the beautiful new 50,000 seat ArenA. Nearly one million people viewed the event on Dutch TV. The above picture shows Team Netherlands marching across the Arena floor carrying rainbow umbrellas with the crowd cheering wildly for the hosts of the Gay Games V. Colored banners were distributed to the spectators. Everyone in each section was given the same rainbow color, but the color for each section was different, so that every time the crowd cheered, the arena turned into a rainbow of color!

The Mayor, Mr. Schelto Patijn, speaking on behalf of the people of Amsterdam, welcomed us with glowing praise and encouragement. During the week he participated in the golf event and visited several athletic venues. Tennis star Martina Navratilova, via video, expressed her pride in the Gay Games. Playwright and gravel-throated activist Harvey Fierstein reminded us:

"WE HAVE ARRIVED HERE ON THE BACKS OF GENERATIONS BEFORE US. WHEN YOU STEP INTO THE SPOTLIGHT, STAND PROUD FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME THAT WILL BE RIDING ON YOUR BACKS!"

The crowd roared in unison when he finished with:

"STAND PROUD! WE ARE NOT DIFFERENT.
WE ARE EXTRAORDINARY!"

FRIENDSHIP VILLAGE

The MUSIEKTHEATER, Amsterdam's concert hall, was transformed into FRIENDSHIP VILLAGE for the Gay Games. It was the center of the Gay Games World. Management offices, press room, communications center , data processing, security, and many other operations were based in this building. Here, one could buy event tickets and merchandise, volunteer to help out, check out the posted results of various events, wander through the halls and view the MEGA-POSTERS which changed daily, make travel arrangements at the KLM desk, get information about sporting and cultural events of the Games as well as shows, concerts, and exhibits around the city.

Friendship Village was also the center of daily social life. The plaza outside was like a street fair. It was the perfect place to meet friends for lunch or drinks, make new friends, or relax with a cappuccino and a copy of the free newspaper, THE DAILY FRIENDSHIP. You could shop at the booths along the canal, or simply sit and watch the boats pass by.

There was a stage at one end of the plaza providing non-stop free entertainment. The day began with an aerobics class at 9:30 AM. A wide variety of musical groups from all over the world continued throughout the day, as well as dance performances including ballet, belly, and square. A daily feature was the soap opera at 5:30 PM. Every day a different group would write and perform an episode continuing the story of the previous day. There were also comedy acts, impromptu skits, and DJ music to fill the lulls between acts. The show usually went on until around 11 PM.

Friendship Village quickly became part of the daily routine. It was a great place to hang out, and it seemed everybody did. There was always a crowd, always something happening, someone interesting to talk to, something to do. Waiting in line for food or drink was not an ordeal. Lines were short and moved fast, almost too fast to get to know the person standing next to you. Many people were wearing yellow identification badges. These displayed the picture, name, city, and country of the wearer, as well as his/her sport, event, or volunteer status. A quick glance at the card could provide a topic of conversation. Everyone was easy to talk to. Everyone spoke english. There were so many event locations throughout the City, so many fun places to be, but Friendship Village was definitely the social hub of the Gay Games.

AMSTERDAM NIGHTS

Every evening around 8 PM, the focus shifted to the Dam (in front of the Royal Palace) in the City center. Here, a huge temporary stage and bleachers converted the square into an outdoor concert hall large enopugh to hold 20,000 people. It was the best show in town, free, nightly! The presentations were mostly rock music.

One night there was a choir festival featuring some of the over 2000 singers who came from all over the world to participate in the cultural events of the Gay Games.

ATHLETIC EVENTS

There were 30 sporting events. One of them, Figure Skating, had to be changed to a demonstration event instead of a competition due to an unresolved conflict between Gay Games and the International Skating Union (ISU). The ISU declared that it would sanction any figure skater who participates in the contest. Games officials called it discrimination because ISU does not permit same-sex couples to compete. ISU claimed that the Games was using their regulations without asking for permission. The event became an emotional rallying point of the week. A huge crowd, including the Mayor, came out to support the disappointed skaters.

FROM A GAY GAMES PRESS RELEASE:

There were some impressive records. Dutch Champion pole vaulter Monique de Wilt broke her own national pole-vaulting record.She achievied 4.16 metres. Swimmer Peter Prijdek ker from Out To Swim, London, broke two European master Records 50 and 100 metres freestyle in his age category (50 -54 years). More than 100 'Meet records' or 'Gay records' and national Master records were broken in Swimming and Track and Field.

There were 29 competition sports, 14 artists workshops, two international Marching bands and a Choirfestival on 56 different venues. All 32 choirs performed in the Concertgebouw. The participants, visitors and the inhabitants mingled in a very friendly atmosphere during the many free Gay Games events in the centre of the city. The six AmsterDam Nights drew over 75,000 spectators. The Open Air Film Program had more than 20,000 spectators. Many of the sports finals and theatre programs were sold out. In total approximately 250,000 visitors attended Gay Games.

42% of the participants were women. 250 people with 'Special Needs' (people in wheelchairs or with hearing problems) took part. Never before there were so many sign language interpretators. Never before were wheelchair dancers together in a gay and lesbian dancing competition. 238 people from non-western countries took part as guests of the organizers.

The above picture shows one of the MARTIAL ARTS events which were held at the University of Amsterdam Sport Center. I worked there as a Volunteer and so I have no other sports pictures. Can anyone provide pictures of other GAY GAMES SPORTING EVENTS?

CLOSING CEREMONIES

The Closing Ceremonies were held in the Amsterdam ArenA and were just as exciting as the Opening Ceremonies although the jubilant crowd was slightly smaller. As always, the highlight of the event was the entrance of the athletes. The picture shows the GAY GAMES FLAG being presented to officials of Gay Games VI - Sydney 2002, where, hopefully, we shall all meet again,

"UNDER NEW SKIES!"

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This page created September 1, 1998 - modified June5, 2002
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