Orlando’s Gay Games bid turned in

Orlando’s Gay Games bid turned in

Now, we wait.

On Feb. 28, Orlando’s Gay Games team, “Orlando 2018,”officially turned in its bid to bring the 2018 Gay Games Orlando.

The next step is a series of questions from the voting members – some of which will be readable on GayGames.org – followed by an electronic vote on May. 31 which will create a short list of the top three cities still in the running, according to Mikael Audebert of Converge, a visitor’s bureau focused on LGBT travel.

Those three cities will have site visits and inspections in July and August, and then each city’s bid teams will head to the Gay Games general assembly in Cleveland to make a final presentation. The winner will be announced the weekend of Come Out With Pride Orlando, Oct. 5-6.

Audebert said Orlando has “extremely good chances,” stating that the bid is focused on Orlando’s vibrant economy mostly based on tourism, hospitality, transportation, sports and entertainment, plus potential for growth and innovative social experience.

“Also, our budget is looking very good,” he said. “This means we are low on expenses and looking fantastic on revenues thanks to our expertise in running and managing events of this size.”

Orlando’s bid got another boost Feb. 20 in the form of a letter of support from Alex Martins, CEO of Orlando Magic. As of press time, endorsement letters have been submitted by President Barack Obama, the Florida Sports Commission, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer,  Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, Universal Studios COO Bill Davis and George Kalogridis, the newly-instated, openly-gay president of Disney World.

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