In addition to the entertainment which sports events provide per se, major international sporting events like Gay Games have a special role to play in our country. They represent a showcase for France and thus contribute to her influence worldwide. Through the support and enthusiasm that they engender in the population, they encourage social diversity and strengthen national solidarity. Regarded as models of organisation, they may permanently influence the attitudes and habits of spectators and stakeholders, thus helping to change social norms. Their beneficial effects and their legacy may be considerable and long-lasting.
However, Gay Games may, like any other human activity, have adverse effects on the environment. It is imperative to reduce this adverse impact to a minimum, even to reverse it. Conscious both of this responsibility and of the important role played by the international events that they organize, the signatories of these “collaborative commitments” are choosing to play a real part in the ambitious process of implementing environmental responsibility instigated by the Ministry of Urban Affairs, Youth and Sport. This document is the result of a productive collaboration between the aforementioned ministry and the organizers of major international sporting events.