Actual athletic events were played in venues scattered throughout Chicago and its suburbs, all participating in the Gay Games through special permissive votes in their respective town or village councils.

Cultural events included concerts and performances by Cyndi Lauper, Margaret Cho, Megan Mullally, and others added to the festival's feel and charm.

Corporate sponsorship was key in planning Gay Games VII, garnering support for global advertising from large companies like Absolut Vodka, American Airlines, Ernst & Young, Fleishman-Hillard and Walgreens.

[4] Chicago's bid was backed by several corporate sponsors, including Miller Brewing Company, United Airlines and Third Coast Marketing.

[5] Proposed venues in Chicago's bid included Soldier Field (opening and closing ceremonies), McCormick Place (volleyball, wrestling, and martial arts), Northwestern University (diving), and the UIC Pavilion (figure skating).

Reasons for Montreal's selection over Chicago and the other bidding cities included guarantees for government funding, U.S. ban on HIV-positive foreign tourist, and the relative affordability of Canada.

[6] After Montreal lost the right to host the Gay Games, Chicago, Atlanta, and LA were invited to submit a re-worked version of their earlier bids.

However, a week after rejecting the proposal, the park board reversed their decision in a 3-2 vote, granted the Chicago Games Inc. approval to host their rowing competitions in Crystal Lake.

According to Boyer, this was accomplished, "with additional fundraising from donors and sponsors, especially longtime Gay Games competitors and supporters Dick Uyvari and Joe LaPat, as well as negotiated reductions in expenses with some of our vendors."

The Federal government ruled that non-United States citizens with HIV or AIDS would be allowed to travel to attend the Gay Games in Chicago.

The four acts represent the four stages of this evolutionary process as envisioned by the Director: Exclusion - that moment when we discover that we may not fit into the world as we might have thought, growing up ... the moment of discovery of difference; Oppression - the manifestation and formalization of the dynamic initiated in Exclusion ... homophobia, gay bashing, contemplation and execution of suicide out of despair ... ending with the embracing of self and the beginnings of hope; Expression - the power of community and standing up for oneself, of coming out of the closet, finding Like Others, celebration of individuality and difference within even our own communities; Ignition - the taking of all this powerful energy and philosophy and lighting the world with the ideals of enlightenment and acceptance.

I would also like to thank the Federation of Gay Games, for choosing Chicago as the 2006 host City and for carrying on the vision of Tom Waddell.

[1] The games benefited from its leadership's media connections, with Baim being the founder and producer of the Windy City Times and Boyer being a prominent Chicago public relations manager.

[1] Fleishman-Hillard donated time and expertise to make sure that stories covering the games were published in Europe, South Africa, Australia, and the US.

[1] Major media sponsors of these games included Sirius XM Radio, Logo TV, The New York Times, Out.com and Gay.com.

Among the more than 300 sponsors that provided financial contributions and in-kind support to the Games were American Airlines, PepsiCo, Glaxo, Orbitz, Viacom's Logo TV channel, Sirius XM, ESPN, Ernst & Young and Chicago-based companies like Kraft and Walgreens.

It was felt that Chicago's experience hosting the Gay Games might boost its chances of winning its Olympic bid.