2013 Mediterranean Games
 |
|||
| Host city | Mersin, Turkey | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nations participating | 24 | ||
| Athletes participating | 2,994 | ||
| Events | 264 in 27 sports | ||
| Opening ceremony | 20 June 2013 | ||
| Closing ceremony | 30 June 2013 | ||
| Officially opened by | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | ||
| Main venue | Mersin Arena | ||
| Website | www |
||
|
|||
The 2013 Mediterranean Games (Turkish: 2013 Akdeniz Oyunları), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games (XVII Akdeniz Oyunları), was an international multi-sport event held in the tradition of the Mediterranean Games, as governed by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (ICMG) (French: Comité international des Jeux méditerranéens). The host city of the Games was Mersin, Turkey, as announced after an on-line poll conducted on 23 February 2011 by the ICMG. The games were held from 20 to 30 June 2013. Mersin is the second city in Turkey after Izmir to host the Mediterranean Games. All 24 member National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the ICMG participated in the Games. The official programme for the Games is featuring events in 27 different sports.
The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event, much like the Summer Olympics (albeit on a much smaller scale), with participation exclusively from countries around the Mediterranean Sea where Europe, Africa and Asia meet. The Games started in 1951 and are held every four years. The idea of holding the Mediterranean Games originated with Muhammed Taher Pasha, who was the chairman of the Egyptian Olympic Committee and the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), at a meeting during the 1948 London Olympics. The Games "were designed specifically to bring together the Muslim and European countries surrounding the Mediterranean basin" to promote understanding through sporting competition.
The first edition of the Mediterranean Games was held in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 1951 and attracted 734 competitors from 10 nations. Initially the female athletes were not allowed to compete. Beginning by the fifth (1976) game in Tunis female athletes were also allowed. Turkey hosted the Games for the first time in 1971 in Izmir—the sixth edition of the Games.
...
Wikipedia