According to numerous press releases and reports, negotiations between Montréal 2006 and the Federation of Gay Games have failed to resolve a dispute over the size and financial control of the planned 2006 Gay Games. The talks broke off in the early morning hours of November 9 after a 15-hour session.
      Montréal 2006 says it will hold games and cultural events under the name "Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006" without the sanction and logo of the Federation of Gay Games. An FGG spokesman said the organization will go to plan B, which - according to a previous statement - might include delaying the games and moving them elsewhere, probably to another city in the U.S. Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles were unsuccessful bidders of the 2006 games and will reportedly have a second chance.
      An organization of gay nonprofits called The Purple Star issued a press release questioning the choice of any city in the U.S. for several reasons, including visa issues (declaration of the trip's purpose, photographing and fingerprinting of foreign visitors at the borders, and special registration for athletes from Arab countries), the U.S. ban on allowing HIV-positive visitors to enter the country, and anti-gay sentiment.
      "We realize now that it is time to break with the past and with an organization that ultimately represents little more than itself, with only 21 of the 1000 sports teams around the world being FGG members," according to the Montréal 2006 press release. "Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 will, however, move forward as planned." Mark Tewksbury, co-president of Montréal 2006, declared, "Our event will take place without the FGG."
      According to an FGG statement, co-president Roberto Mantaci said, "We deeply regret that Montréal 2006 made the decision to walk away from these negotiations which were planned with the best interests of future Gay Games participants in mind."
      Mantaci continued, "The Federation made multiple concessions to Montréal 2006, and we are confident that we tried everything we could to reach an agreement with them while remaining true to our stated obligation towards safeguarding the fiscal responsibility by Gay Games hosts."
      Montréal 2006 had planned for the largest games ever, with 24,000 participants at a cost of $20 million (CAD). At the insistence of the FGG, it had presented an alternate proposal for 16,000 participants at a cost of $16 million (CAD).
      The FGG sought a fallback plan for 12,000 participants, because the last four Gay Games organizations were faced with financial disaster, at least one flirted with cancellation, and the Games generated substantial debts.
      The Gay Games were conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, and first held in San Francisco in 1982 with 1,350 participants. Subsequent Gay Games were held in San Francisco (3,500 participants), Vancouver (7,300 participants), New York (12,500 participants), Amsterdam (15,000 participants), and Sydney (11,000 participants).