Collecting the City: Gay Games 1998

Gay Games in Amsterdam

The Gay Games, a four-yearly sports and cultural event, is aimed at people from the LGBTQ+ community, in which everyone is allowed to participate. The idea originated in San Francisco in the 1980s. After editions in San Francisco (1982 and 1986), Vancouver (1990) and New York (1994), it was Amsterdam's turn for the fifth edition.

During the Gay Games in August 1998, LGBTQ+ people from all over the world formed the majority in the city centre of Amsterdam. With more than 200,000 visitors, the city was put on the map as the gay capital of the world. It led to the ultimate visibility of the LGBTQ+ community and an atmosphere of friendship. The years-long battle for visibility and acceptance seemed to have been won momentarily. Many who were there still consider the Gay Games 1998 the week of their lives. This is reason enough to reflect on this special event 25 years later.

Old and new stories

In 1998, people of colour, transgender, non-binary and intersex people were less visible in Dutch society than now. This was also the case during the Gay Games. As a result, few of these stories can be found in the archives, and people rarely get to speak.

In addition to existing material, there are also new stories in this exhibition. Photographers Tengbeh Kamara and Jonnah Bron made portraits of eight LGBTQ+ key figures who share their memories of this festive week.