Speech of the Lady Mayor
at the Reception in Utrecht City Hall

At the reception of the Mayor and Aldermen of Utrecht on the occasion of the 10th EuroGames, Annie Brouwer-Korf addressed the invited guests with the following speech...

"Welcome in the Utrecht Town Hall, ladies and gentlemen.

"Please allow me to tell you first that it was the city of Utrecht which was recently acclaimed as the fourth Festival Town of the Netherlands. And rightly so.
Last year, we celebrated that 750 years ago the foundation stone of our gothic Dom Church was laid. In order to make a real treat out of it, many Utrecht citizens, the municipality, but also many local and other companies and institutions joined in and did their bit.

"This year it is not the Dom Church which serves as a pillar under Utrecht as a Festival Town. This year we've got TWO pillars: gays and lesbians, and sports.
Last week the World Youth Football Championship started, which means that 24 teams from the whole world show their football talent to the audiences of Utrecht and five other Dutch towns.
At the same time MidZomerGracht began, the Utrecht Gay Cultural Festival. As you will certainly know, during MidZomerGracht the Utrecht gay and lesbian world is bubbling over with activity.

"It was in this splendid atmosphere that yesterday the EuroGames started, an event which supports both of the pillars of Utrecht Festival Town 2005.
This is something VERY different from the struggle of my Warsaw collegue with the Pink Parades in his town and I am very proud of towns like Munich and my own town Utrecht, where gays and heteros prefer to have a party together. And again many prominent Utrecht companies, the Dutch State, the Province and the Municipality of Utrecht contributed to the Games.

"Especially I would like to mention the Utrecht City Transport Company, which is keeping all accommodations within easy reach, and the shop owners in the Utrecht town centre, who are organizing a special late opening the day after yesterday. As an executive board you decided rather in a hurry to choose Utrecht to host this year's EuroGames.

"As you remember, I dropped by in Munich. We received a terrific welcome and I knew it for sure: Utrecht and the EuroGames, they fit like a glove. Consequently, you as executive board and volunteers managed together to set up the Games in a remarkable short space of time. I think all participants should appreciate the way YOU created the conditions under which THEY can enjoy four days of carefree sports practice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have a vivid recollection of the 1998 GayGames swimming competition. The 1998 Games were in Amsterdam, the swimming tournament excepted, which took place in Amersfoort, where I was mayor. There was a small problem: during my holidays I had broken my leg, which had not yet entirely recovered. I had to walk around the swimming pool with crutches. This was rather annoying, also because everywhere it was extremely slippery.
Later, I attended the closing ceremony in the Amsterdam Arena Stadium and there the many, many stairs were playing tricks on me. Today, just after the start of the EuroGames, I do not feel any obstruction. I could handle anything and so can the EuroGames themselves.
Although the quest for the fitting accommodation must sometimes have been difficult. One of the causes of trouble is the World Youth Football Championship, which coincides with the EuroGames. But at last, you succeeded, which further enhanced my admiration for you as an executive board and volunteers. After all, for each of you setting up the EuroGames is not your main job but a side activity.

"It's great that you all came this way. I am very proud that also thanks to you Utrecht may call itself gay and lesbian town AND sports town of the Nethelands."