The anticipation for the opening ceremony of the Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010 is immense.
Not only for the organizational team, also for the artists, who will perform Saturday, July 31 at the two and a half hour long show in the RheinEnergieStadium on stage. “I am happy to perform for people who want to convince through athletic performance and stand up for equal rights for homosexual people” says Taylor Dayne. The American singer will sing the official hymn of the Gay Games, “Facing a miracle” at the opening ceremony.
Also for the Swedish pop singer Agnes Carlsson the appearance at the Gay Games Cologne is something special. “Many homosexuals supported my career from the beginning. It´s a great honor for me to perform at the opening ceremony”, says Agnes. She will sing her top hit “Release me”.
At the beginning of the opening ceremony, the nearly 10.000 athletes from more than 70 nations will formally enter the stadium. “I hope that they will be welcomed loudly by the spectators” is the wish of Annette Wachter, co-president of the Gay Games Cologne gGmbH. Tickets are still available for the show at our homepage or at the evening box-office (open from 4 pm).
Matthew Mitcham has also arrived in Cologne. The Australian Olympic Gold Medalist in High Diving will not only speak the oath of the athletes at the opening ceremony – he also brought his swim suit. On the weekend he will perform spectacular high diving from the 10 m board on the verge of the competitions. Mitcham came out of the closet during the Olympic Games in Peking in 2008. “Since then I only had positive experiences. In the past I thought being gay is a weakness, but I didn´t experience any disadvantages after my coming out”, says Mitcham.
The British basket ball player John Amechi, the cyclist Michelle Ferris (Australia) and the beach volleyball player Leigh Ann Naidoo (South Africa) are also looking forward to the start of the Gay Games. The ambassadors of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) were officially presented in Cologne on Thursday.
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| AnnetteWachter, Agnes, Taylor Dayne, Michael Lohhaus |
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 Annette Wachter |
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| Agnes | ||
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| Michelle Ferris | John Amechi | |
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| AnnetteWachter, Agnes, Taylor Dayne, Michael Lohhaus |
Matthew Mitcham | |
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| Leigh Ann Naidoo |
