Gay Games get through turbulent times in Valencia and keep flame alive
Despite boycotts, organizational flaws and political tension, the enduring spirit of LGBTQ athletes kept the Gay Games flame alive in Spain.
Mark
When Valencia won the bid to host Gay Games XII, local organizers described the news as “sueño hecho realidad” — “a dream come true.”
“We are waiting for you with open arms,” they told prospective participants, emphasizing that the Spanish city is “a place that adapts to you.”
However, four-and-a-half years later, visitors arriving at Valencia Airport or its train stations would find few signs of welcome. Gay Games visibility was scarce in the city’s historic center, and Pride 2026 was already in the past, the annual parade having been purposefully moved to the previous weekend.
Related
‘My LGBTQ soccer team changed my life — now I’m at my first Gay Games’
Yuta Shirai is competing at his first Gay Games, playing for his team Mersey Marauders FC from Liverpool, U.K, in the 11-a-side soccer tournament.
Local LGBTQ groups had certainly adapted, choosing to go in the opposite direction for political reasons, distancing themselves from a quadrennial event they were once so proud to be hosting. In intense summer heat, they gave the Gay Games the cold shoulder.
Get off the sidelines and into the game
Our weekly playbook is packed with everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
Add it all up, and Valencia 2026 was far from a dream. But neither was it a nightmare, thanks to the indefatigable spirit of the thousands of athletes and supporters.
Having brought energy to an Opening Ceremony that was at times incoherent due to sound problems, the visitors began to settle into the city. Some competitions started the next day, while many of the athletes headed for the gay-friendly beaches as they waited for their events to begin.
Meanwhile, on the Sunday evening, a demonstration march snaked through the streets of the Russafa district, with shouts going up of “Boycott Gay Games!” — a reminder of the disharmony in Valencia.
Saturday had seen long queues in the sun at the accreditation hub, but the nearby “Meeting Point” was quiet throughout the week, considering the registration numbers. Located a 30-minute walk north-west of the centre, away from popular bars and restaurants, it wasn’t where most people wanted to mix and mingle.
By Monday, more than half of the 41 sports events were underway, plus the cultural program, in temperatures reaching 93F around noon.
At least one media outlet ran an article explaining to residents that the reason the athletes were competing during the daytime heat — “el infierno” — was so that they could keep their evenings free for socializing.
The old basketball arena was the venue for the dancesport. Thanks to air conditioning, there was a particularly high attendance.
Spectators were treated to a dazzling display of jives, tangos and cha-chas, delivered by dancers wearing a rainbow kaleidoscope of costumes. Every Progress Pride flag color was represented.
There were traditional Valencian dancers at the cheerleading competition, and “pop-up” performances around the city by Spanish bands and choirs.
Alas, the local art contribution that was most talked about was probably the graffiti sprayed onto a vibrant new Gay Games mural located near the soccer and softball fields in the Turia riverbed.
Messages included “Tourist go home” and “Stop pinkwashing.” Reports later emerged of sabotaged lockboxes on rental apartments. ¿Bienvenido a Valencia? Hardly.
Athletes’ enthusiasm keeps the Gay Games spirit going
During the Games, I spoke to visitors from various nations, almost all of whom were curious about the protesters and their various stated causes, which include pushing back at attempts by Valencia’s right-wing coalition government to regress trans rights, raising awareness of the impact of gentrification, and Palestinian solidarity.
For some athletes, just being at the Gay Games meant making a political point. A significant percentage of the 88 who were awarded scholarships are from countries where being LGBTQ is criminalized or severely stigmatized, such as Lebanon, represented by fencer Beshara Samne. Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, both with dismal LGBTQ human rights records, were also among the delegations in the Opening Ceremony’s Parade of Nations.
There were trans and nonbinary athletes who faced exclusion in their homelands but who felt free to be themselves in Spain, and countless competitors who once had complicated relationships with sports but had since discovered camaraderie and pride in their LGBTQ inclusive teams.
Queer joy was the overarching sentiment. Yes, it was almost always sweltering; you might have felt ripped off at any time by high registration fees, expensive drinks and over-priced official merchandise (there was also a warning issued about scammers lurking in unofficial Facebook groups); and there were reports of organizational flaws in more than a few sports.
But there were also uplifting stories, such as the Venezuelan team Mariposas Asesinas winning the men’s volleyball tournament after the devastating earthquakes back home; French-Canadian figure skater Stef Vachon, diagnosed with fibromyalgia and returning to the sport after 20 years away, claiming three medals, one of them gold; and soccer player Lian Ndappe, who grew up as a self-described “tomboy” in Cameroon, where the attitudes of adults made her feel she didn’t belong in the sport.
She does now, thanks to the Gay Games. Lian told the Muholi Art Institute website: “I definitely feel more visible here. I feel seen and valued. People encourage me, compliment me, and celebrate me.”
Browse through the many social media posts tagged to the Gay Games accounts or hashtags, and you’ll see images of athletes who left Valencia feeling inspired (and exhausted).
For those who missed out on medals and podiums, there was still immense satisfaction, a strong sense of chosen family, and most of all, lifelong memories of fun and laughter. Photos and videos from the swimming gala’s famous “pink flamingo” finale show off the silly and sexy side of queer sports.
With its detractors, drawbacks and disorganization, this Gay Games was more than a little “loco” but it did prove once again there is ongoing high demand in our community for international LGBTQ multisport events.
Enthusiasm is already evident for EuroGames 2027 in Cardiff, Wales; the 2028 edition in Frankfurt, Germany; and Gay Games XIII in Perth, Australia, in 2030. Here’s hoping they each get a smoother run.
As for Valencia 2026, it was the visitors who adapted to the place, not vice versa. As attitudes in the city blew hot and cold around them, the athletes persisted, participated, and partied hard.
“That’s why we came: to share this happiness,” said Lian. In times of global turmoil, amid a local boycott and buffeted by winds of change, the Gay Games has managed to keep its flame alive.
Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.
