Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are among the seven cities competing to host the next iteration of the Gay Games.

The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) on Wednesday announced the results of the first phase of bidding for Gay Games X, which will be held in 2018.

Making the cut were Amsterdam, Limerick, London, Orlando, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

According to officials, responses from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo represent the first potential bids from Latin America.

“The FGG has never received seven expressions of interest, and these RFI responses go well beyond a simple expression of interest,” said Dennis Sneyers, who heads the site selection committee. “This is the first time we have used a preliminary step of a Request for Information, and we are very satisfied with this procedure which allows for potential bidders to learn more about what the process entails. Bidding is long, demanding, and has a cost that any interested party needs to take into account. After a review of the responses, we consider that all bidders are able to continue the bidding process.”

Cleveland, Ohio will play host to the 2014 Gay Games IX Sports and Cultural Festival.