The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) and the Montreal 2006 organizing committee are arguing about plans for the next gay olympics.

Montreal wanted to bring in as many as 24,000 athletes but FGG wanted to limit participants to as few as 10,000 to save money. After negotiations, Montreal reduced its number to as few as 16,000 but the FGG will go no higher than 12,000 as an initial goal.

In a second area of disagreement, although Montreal organizers have lined up extensive public and private funding, FGG allegedly wants to control all financial details.

“Fundamentally there’s an issue of vision which includes number of participants, size of budget and the issue of control,” said Montreal organizer and Olympic gold medalist Mark Tewksbury. “I empathize with the deficits of past games but, at the same time, we believe we have a vision that could really change things. We’ve done the math and we need 15,540 participants to break even.

“This is a turning point for the Gay Games movement, or a crisis, since the last four games have lost money,” Tewksbury said. “They are dealing with the challenge in their own way, we just have a very different vision of how to deal with it. It would be irresponsible of us to plan for a Games smaller than our break-even point.”

FGG Co-president Kathleen Webster said the federation simply doesn’t want Montreal organizers to make promises they can’t keep, resulting in the Gay Games ending up in debt for the fifth time in a row.

“We have four host organizations that have ended up in bankruptcy, leaving a legacy of debt,” she said. “It’s our job to do something now to break this cycle of financial failure.

“Montreal’s vision was grand and beautiful but not safe and prudent. The federation board, rather than repeat the mistakes of Sydney, Amsterdam, New York and Vancouver, wants to start out at a smaller level and build flexibility into the plan so that as income is realized we can build the event. We want to achieve the 24,000 part [but] we want to make promises we can deliver. We can’t stand by and let history repeat itself.”

Webster said it is unfortunate that Montreal organizers have chosen to argue their case in the press.

“It’s not appropriate to negotiate though the media,” she said. “We find it unfortunate. We think it’s a shame they have chosen that path. But negotiations are moving forward, we’ve made progress, and we have until Nov. 7 to reach a mutually acceptable licensing agreement. We remain optimistic we’re going to meet that goal.”

The worldwide Anglican Communion likely will split in two because the U.S. Episcopal Church’s Diocese of New Hampshire selected an openly gay man as its next bishop, the communion’s leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, said Oct. 17.

Gene Robinson is set for consecration Nov. 2 after his selection was confirmed by delegates at this summer’s Episcopal Church convention in Minneapolis, Minn.

“Undoubtedly there is a huge crisis looming,” Williams told the BBC. “It leaves the church with a huge challenge about coordinating its discipline and its legal systems across the world, which we have never had to do before.... There may be a number of provinces who will declare outright that they are not in the union in the long run, [and] others which would wish to continue with an impaired state of relations.”

The Anglican Communion is composed of 38 autonomous churches, such as the U.S. Episcopal Church, with 70 million members in 164 countries.

Williams’ remarks followed an emergency meeting in London of 37 of the communion’s 38 primates to deal with the New Hampshire situation and other ongoing internal controversies related to homosexuality.

But following the meeting, U.S. Episcopalians refused to back down.

“We look forward to the consecration of Bishop-elect Robinson on Nov. 2, believing that God has called him to this ministry, a call confirmed by diocesan election and by the consent of [the] General Convention, in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church,” the New Hampshire diocese stated.

Some 180 activists, academics, lawyers and government officials from 36 nations gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, Oct. 15-19 for the 25th European conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association.

The meeting explored the relationship between legislation and policy in areas such as policing, health, youth, disability, family and faith.

“Much attention was given to the changing definition of family and the destructive role of the Vatican in this context,” said ILGA-Europe Public Affairs Officer Birgit Hardt.

Next year’s ILGA-Europe confab will be in Budapest. The 2005 conference will be in Paris.

About 2,500 anti-gays protested outside the provincial legislature in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, Oct. 18, demanding the federal government abandon its plans to legalize full same-sex marriage nationwide, Canadian Press reported.

The demonstration was organized by the Canada Family Action Coalition and local clergy.

Full same-sex marriage was legalized by court orders this summer in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, and gay weddings began taking place immediately. The federal government accepted the rulings, which found the opposite-sex definition of marriage unconstitutional, and is working on legislation to rewrite federal marriage law. Foreign gays are welcome to marry in Ontario and B.C. Couples can buy a license and marry the same day.

Around 200 people turned out to see 40 films at India’s first gay film festival held in Bombay Oct. 17-19.

The “Tremors of a Revolution” festival was staged in a university auditorium on the outskirts of the city.