Things to do

Copenhagen 2021: Let the games begin!

Enjoy 22 different sports in this year’s EuroGames

Lena Hunter

The annual EuroGames, hosted by the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF), kicks off on Wednesday 18 August. In the spirit of inclusivity, it’s open to all – irrespective of age, race, gender, sexuality and experience.

Contests in 22 different sports will be judged by the same international sporting federations who adjudicate the Olympics – so if you fancy having your javelin throw or 100m breaststroke judged by the highest echelon of industry professionals, this is your moment.

Besides throwing Europe’s largest celebration of the LGBTI+ sports community, EGLSF’s manifesto includes fighting sexual discrimination in sport, stimulating integration and emancipation of LGBTI+ athletes, and supporting new LGBTI+ groups and the coming out of LGBTI+ athletes.

The birth of EuroGames
The EuroGames follows in the footsteps of the Gay Games – the first international LGBTI+ sporting contest established in San Francisco in the 1980s by Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell.

The founding of the EGLSF, created by German and Dutch LGBTI+ sport clubs in 1989, quickly followed. It counts over 120 LGBTI+ clubs from all over Europe among its members, representing more than 22,000 European athletes.

Three years later the first EuroGames was held in the Netherlands. Since then, the largest EuroGames have been in Munich in 2004 and Barcelona in 2008 – where over 5,000 athletes took part. This year’s tournament in Copenhagen is expected to be one of the biggest to date.

A need for change
Despite an overall trend towards inclusivity, the sporting world has historically leant towards homo and trans-phobia. Perceptions of ‘macho’ identity, locker-room banter, laddish fan behaviour, and hazing are just a few examples of heteronormativity as the dominant paradigm in sports culture.

According to Outsports, this year’s Tokyo Olympics had at least 182 publicly out LGBTI+ athletes – more than all past Olympics combined. The 2020 Olympics also featured its first transgender athletes, notably New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard and Canadian women’s footballer Quinn, who use they/them pronouns and became the first openly transgender Olympic gold-medal champion.

The importance of organisations like EuroGames was laid bare when plans for the usual ‘Pride House’ – an inclusive space inside the Olympic Village – at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia were struck down by the Ministry of Justice on the basis that it constituted “propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation which can undermine the security of the Russian society and the state”.

(photo: Kelly Hansen)

Get involved!
So what better cause to dust off your sneakers or dig your hockey stick out of the attic for? There are a plethora of events to sign up for: from artistic (previously known as synchronised) swimming and track and field events (running, high and long jump, discus, javelin) to squash, tennis, bowling and chess … even dodgeball and the little-known Swedish sport floorball, which was invented in the 1960s.

There is a participation fee of 90 euros for members of EGLSF and 120 euros for non-members, which allows you to sign up for as many tournaments as you like.

Of course, if team sports make you shudder you can sign up for one of the lower commitment and less sweat-inducing EuroGames initiatives.

A series of drop-in events under the name ‘Sports to the People’ – including the Drag Olympics, roller-skating through the city, bicycle workshops and skiing – are open to visitors. Rolling sign-ups are available on the EuroGames app.

A Sports Leader Conference will also take place, with a mix of keynotes and panel debates. Smaller workshops that delve into issues affecting athletes and clubs, which offer concrete tools to fight discrimination, will run in parallel.

Finally, a Sports Village will be set up at Islands Brygge Havnepark with food and drinks, DJs, yoga, casual tournaments in golf, petanque, boxing and pub quizzes, workshops and performances.

So whether you’re leading a team to hard-fought sporting glory or eating a hotdog and watching ‘Intro to Fencing’ from a deckchair in the sun, #youareincluded in the biggest LGBTI+ event of the year.

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs