Celebration of gay sport and culture with a focus on human rights in homophobic countries begins this weekend

There will be triathlon and handball – but also bridge and line dancing. Copenhagen is preparing for thousands of gay people from dozens of nations to descend this weekend for the Outgames, a nine-day sporting and cultural olympics for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

When the 5,500 participants are introduced on a catwalk in Copenhagen's central square today, it will kickstart nine days of sport, arts and political debates with almost 100 nations represented in more than 30 events, traditional and improvised.

But the event is about much more than podium places. The Outgames has launched itself under the banner of sport, culture and human rights. Participants from a host of cities, including Tel Aviv and Mexico City, will take over public spaces throughout Copenhagen to showcase artists and performers.

At the centre of the political programme is a human rights conference, where speakers include the British basketball player and sports commentator John Amaechi, the first NBA player to have come out.

On the fringe of the games, the people of Copenhagen have been encouraged to embrace the event and play an active role. At the main library you can "take out a gay" for a half-hour chat after you've scanned his or her barcode, while many of the participants are staying in private homes throughout the city.

The director of the Outgames, Uffe Elbæk, hopes the Copenhagen event will attract people from countries where gay people still face imprisonment and the organisers have funded the journey to Copenhagen for 250 participants from Asia, Latin America and Africa.

"The world is coming to Copenhagen, and we have worked towards our goal of ensuring that participants from places such as Africa, Asia and not least the Middle East have the opportunity to come to Copenhagen for the Outgames," he said.

Elbæk sees the games as not just a celebration for the LGBT community, but a global event, highlighting that gay people are still criminalised in a third of the countries represented.

"We want to make this top priority and put the focus on human rights," he said.