Money games: Amsterdam officials can't hurdle transition; Gay Games V proves a financial fiasco too.

Amsterdam officials can't hurdle tradition; Gay Games V proves a financial fiasco too

From the point of view of most of those attending, Gay Games V, held in Amsterdam August 1-8, was a terrific success. With 15,000 competitors from 66 countries engaging in events in 34 sports and more than a quarter million visitors watching the competitions, the first Games to be held outside North America turned a city already famous for its tolerance into a gay playground. Organizers were able to proclaim the event a triumph, the largest gathering ever for the Gay Games.

In one respect, however, Gay Games V was, unfortunately, no different from its most recent predecessors. After priding themselves on keeping to a strict budget, organizers were forced to acknowledge just after the Games opened that the event was running a deep deficit. On August 2 the board of directors announced that the Games had run $1 million over cost and that they had fired executive director Marc Janssens as a result.

"We won't deny that the financial situation has been very serious," board president Len Rempt said. The event was bailed out when the Amsterdam city council agreed to pay for up to $2.5 million for uncovered debts. Several sponsors of the events, including KLM airlines, also anted up more money to pay vendors.

The first Gay Games was put on in 1982 with a modest budget of $125,000. That figure increased to $350,000 by the second Games. By Gay Games IV in 1994, the budget had grown to $6.5 million. The budget for this year's event was about $6.8 million. Under an agreement with the Federation of Gay Games, the international governing body for the Games, the local organizing committees are responsible for costs. The last two events--the 1990 Games in Vancouver, Canada, and the 1994 Games in New York City--finished in the red. Two months after the Games ended in 1994, Karen Merbaum, co-president of the Gay Games IV board, acknowledged that the group had $1 million in outstanding debts, which would be partially offset by income yet to be collected. The board tried to defray some of the debt by fundraising and selling commemorative videos.

In an interview with The Advocate before Gay Games V, Janssens said Dutch organizers were carefully avoiding past pitfalls: "We examined the New York Games very carefully and also all the larger events that took place in the Netherlands in the last five years. And we learned from them." Janssens said his group was careful about expenditures. "We do not start projects if the funding of the project is not guaranteed," he said. "The expenses are in balance with the total income." Moreover, he claimed the group had added in 10% of the total budget for unforeseen expenses.

However, Janssens apparently authorized expenses exceeding the amount of money raised. Other unforeseen expenses may drive the final debt over $2 million.

Some income was lost when the Games was forced to cancel the ice-skating competition. The event had not been sanctioned by the International Skating Union, the governing body for competitive skaters, and the group had threatened action against anyone who participated in the Games. The competition, tickets to which had sold briskly, was canceled. Some skaters blamed Dutch organizers for failing to seek a waiver from the ISU.

The next competition is scheduled to be held in 2002 in Sydney. "Do not believe in promises," Janssens had advised organizers of future Gay Games events. "Go only for written agreements." However, the Dutch organizers apparently never followed that advice. The day before Janssens's firing was announced, a Dutch newspaper revealed that the executive director had a spotty financial track record and owed more than $2 million from a company of his that failed. Only time will tell if the city of Sydney will learn from the current debacle and break the fiscal slump that dogs the Gay Games.