The opening ceremony of the 19th Mediterranean Games, which took place in the Algerian city of Oran from June 25 to July 5, 2022, took place on Saturday evening with the participation of 26 countries.
The Mediterranean Games were supposed to take place in 2021 last year but were postponed to this year due to the crisis caused by the Corona virus pandemic, which disrupted the Olympic calendar and also contributed to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.
The opening ceremony of the session was attended by many heads of state, ministers and diplomats, led by Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebbun, Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Italian David Tisano, President of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games.
And the Organizing Committee of the 19th Mediterranean Games announced that all tickets for the opening ceremony have ended, 24 hours after they were put up for sale through a dedicated digital platform, as the organizers put up 32,000 tickets for sale, at the price about a dollar per ticket.
The course will be attended by 26 countries, including 7 Arab countries: “Albania – Andorra – Bosnia – Croatia – Cyprus – France – Greece – Italy – Kosovo – Malta – Monaco – Montenegro – Portugal – Macedonia – San Marino – Serbia – Slovenia – Spain – Turkey – Egypt – Lebanon – Libya – Morocco – Tunisia – Syria – Algeria.
The final number of athletes is approved by the Sports Events Committee of the Organizing Committee of the Mediterranean Games. A total of 3,390 participants from 26 Mediterranean countries will take part in this international event.
Europe will be represented by 18 countries with athletes over half of the total, including Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Croatia, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia and Albania Monaco.
Africa will then take part with 636 athletes from five countries, Algeria with 324 athletes, Tunisia with 175 players, and Morocco with 137 participants, 14 from Libya and 191 from Egypt.
As for Asia, it will be represented by 388 athletes from three countries, 26 from Syria, 324 from Turkey and 38 from Lebanon.
The city of Oran was chosen to host the tournament during the General Assembly of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games in Pescara, Italy on August 27, 2015, defeating the Tunisian city of Sfax (51 votes to 17).
The Mediterranean Games were launched in 1951 when the Egyptian city of Alexandria hosted the first edition.
Until now, they have been held every 4 years, with the exception of the 1993 edition, which was held just two years after the 1991 Games in Athens.
The idea for the course came from the desire of the Egyptian political science professor Mohamed Taher Pasha to create a competition that would unite countries that share a common point – the Mediterranean basin.
The first Mediterranean Games were held in Alexandria in honor of the owner of the idea of the Games, where the opening ceremony took place on October 5, 1951, in the presence of 10 countries that competed in 13 different sports.
Italy is the most successful country in the history of the Games with 2,153 medals, including 820 gold, 686 silver and 674 bronze.
Oran will organize a tournament in a group of stadiums where the Oran Olympic Stadium and Ahmed Zabana will host the football competition.
Each of them can accommodate 40,000 spectators, in addition to the Marsa Al-Hajjaj stadiums with a capacity of 5,000 spectators, the Mohammed bin Said stadiums with a capacity of 18,000 and the New Sik stadiums with a capacity of 20,000 people. spectators.
As for the handball competitions, they will be held in the multifunctional hall in Bir El Gir, as well as the February 24 hall in Arezzo, tennis in a tennis boat and swimming in an Olympic water boat.
Volleyball events will be held at the Sports Palace (Hamou Polisis), cycling competitions will be held at Veldrum Hall, and equestrian competitions will be held at Antar Bin Shaddad Center.
Source: agencies