Tarragona to Host the 2017 Mediterranean Games
October 25th, 2011
Tarragona will host the XVIII Mediterranean Games in 2017. The Catalan city beat the Egyptian nomination from Alexandria in a vote that took place last week in Mersin (Turkey), reported ABC News.
These will be the third Mediterranean Games to be held in Spain, after Barcelona in 1955 and Almeria in 2005. The Games take place every four years and attracts athletes from 24 Mediterranean countries. The Games are set to be inaugurated on 30th June, 2017 and close on 9th July.
“We have shown that with explanations and fair play we are able to prevail over a nomination as enormously complicated as Alexandria’s. But we have shown we are ready, and this is a winning project. I am proud and very happy, as is all of Tarragona” said Mayor of Tarragona, Josep Felix Ballesteros.
The Mayor has pledged eternal gratitude to the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) for driving the campaign to promote the candidacy, to the point of proposing the naming of a city street after the sporting body. In addition, Tarragona has promised that the Games will be organised “with austerity”, as the economic situation dictates. Although the project will be a help to overcome the crisis since, according to Ballesteros, it will create 7,000 jobs, it will place Tarragona on the international map and input about 1,000 million euros.
A video of Spain’s Pau Gasol was a main clinching factor in Tarragona’s project presentation, entitled “History making history.” Now a power forward/centre player for the Los Angeles Lakers, he appeared in his team colours and stated in English and in Spanish, “I want the best for the Mediterranean Games and that is why I support Tarragona”.
The success of the Spanish candidacy was decided on 70 votes : 66 from the 22 National Olympic Committees (represented by three members each) plus one each from four IOC members (Lebanese, Syrian, Greek and Turkish). The final result: 36 votes for Spain, compared to 34 for Alexandria.
Only three facilities remain to be built for the Games in Tarragona which supports 30 sports, a record in this competition, with 13 locations, 18,500 hotel rooms and a 57 million euro budget.
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