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Gay Games 9 to begin Saturday in Ohio

A man looks over Gay Games t-shirts for sale in the downtown convention center in Cleveland Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. Cleveland and Akron might seem like odd choices to host the 9th International Gay Games, but organizers of the weeklong, Olympic-style event say that’s exactly the point. There are hopes that bringing the Games to the Rust Belt will help chip away at barriers that persist between the gay and straight communities. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
A man looks over Gay Games t-shirts for sale in the downtown convention center in Cleveland Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. Cleveland and Akron might seem like odd choices to host the 9th International Gay Games, but organizers of the weeklong, Olympic-style event say that’s exactly the point. There are hopes that bringing the Games to the Rust Belt will help chip away at barriers that persist between the gay and straight communities. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan) A man looks over Gay Games t-shirts for sale in the downtown convention center in Cleveland Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. Cleveland and Akron might seem like odd choices to host the 9th International Gay Games, but organizers of the weeklong, Olympic-style event say that’s exactly the point. There are hopes that bringing the Games to the Rust Belt will help chip away at barriers that persist between the gay and straight communities. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

By Associated Press 5 min read

CLEVELAND (AP) – If Cleveland and Akron seem like odd choices to host the international Gay Games, that’s because they are. The eight previous hosts for this quadrennial affair have been gay-friendly cities with identifiable “gayborhoods” – places where those who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered feel comfortable living and hanging out.

Cleveland and Akron don’t have gayborhoods and their LGBT communities generally keep a low profile. That will all change Saturday with the opening ceremonies for Gay Games 9 at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. The Games run through Aug. 16.

Gay media outlets pilloried the decision to try and bring the 2014 Games to northeast Ohio, which was competing against the more gay friendly cities of Boston and Washington.

A group no longer associated with Gay Games 9 joined forces with officials from Cleveland, Akron and their respective tourism boards to convince Gay Games officials that northeast Ohio would represent a big win for everyone.

Tourism officials hope the Games will turn the region into a tourist destination for the gay community.