Mediterranean Games

Mediterranean Games

Alexandria Mediterranean Games 1951
Flag of the games
First event	1951, in Alexandria, Egypt
Occur every	four years
Last event	2009, Pescara, Italy
Purpose	Sports for the Mediterranean
President	Mr. Amar Addadi (ALG)
Website	International Mediterranean Games Committee

The Mediterranean Games are a multi-sport games held every four years, mainly for nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea, where Europe, Africa and Asia meet. The idea was proposed at the 1948 Summer Olympics by Muhammed Taher Pasha, chairman of the Egyptian Olympic Committee, and they were first held in 1951. The first 10 games took place always one year preceding the Olympics. However, from 1993 on, they were held the year following the Olympic games. The Games were inaugurated on October 1951, in Alexandria, Egypt, in honour of Muhammed Taher Pasha, the man to whom their inspiration is owed, with contests being held in 13 sports along with the participation of 734 athletes from 10 countries. Ever since, they take place every 4 years without any interruption. In 1955, in Barcelona, during the II Games, the set up was decided of a Supervisory and Controlling Body for the Games, a kind of Executive Committee. The decisions were finally materialized on June 16, 1961, and the said Body was named, upon a Greek notion, ICMG (International Committee for the Mediterranean Games).

Description

The Mediterranean Games present an opportunity for peaceful athletic competition between youth from different continents, cultures and religions — all bound together via a common Olympic Ideal, which has sprung from the ancient Mediterranean country of Greece, the cradle of contemporary western civilization. A chance is thus given, through these games, for young people to get to know each other, appreciate each other, reaffirm or strengthen their ties in a climate of genial rivalry.

The Mediterranean Games, in terms of the preparation and composition of the National Delegation, are held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee and the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC). However, their establishment too must be credited to the HOC, for it held a leading part in their being founded despite all difficulties.

Athens is the permanent seat of the ICMG (irrespective of who the President might be) and the Committee’s General Secretary is Greek. This comes as a further tribute to Greece, highlighting its leading role with regard to the function and strengthening of the institution.

The logo of the games, also referred to as the "Mediterranean Olympics", is composed of three white rings symbolically representing Africa, Asia, and Europe — the three continents that border the Mediterranean Sea. This logo has been used since the Split games in 1979, for which it was devised and afterwards accepted for the whole Games. During the closing ceremony, the flag of the games is transferred to the country of the city chosen for the organisation of the next Mediterranean Games.

Participating countries

Participating countries

At present, 23 countries participate in the games:

• Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia

• Asia: Lebanon and Syria

• Europe: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey

National Olympic Committees within the Olympic Movement bordering the Mediterranean Sea which are not permitted to participate are Israel and Palestine.

Allen Guttman in The Games Must Go On argued that Israel's exclusion is both antisemitic and politically motivated due to antagonism towards Israel by the participating Arab nations. The IOC's Avery Brundage was not supportive of Israel's desire to compete, saying: "I cannot understand why anyone wants to go where he is not wanted". The International Amateur Athletics Federation pushed the issue at the 1959 Mediterranean Games in Beirut by refusing to grant permission to hold an athletics competition unless Israel were allowed to compete. Lebanese games organiser Gabriel Gemayel conceded to this, but side-stepped the ruling by holding a parallel Lebanese Games comprising athletics events between the present nations alongside the official Mediterranean Games competitions.

There are countries not bordering the Mediterranean Sea which nonetheless participate: Andorra, San Marino and Serbia.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee has suggested that nine more countries that do not satisfy geographic criteria to be allowed to participate, such as Bulgaria, Macedonia, Portugal and some Arab countries.^{[citation needed]}

Flag

The symbol of the Mediterranean Games consists of three rings representing Asia, Africa and Europe, the three continents involved in this competition. The rings dissolve in a wavy line in their lower part, as if they were immersed in the Mediterranean Sea. During the closing ceremony, the flag is transferred to the country of the city chosen to host the next Mediterranean Games.

Host cities

Cities that have hosted the Games

No inland city has ever hosted the games. All but one of the host cities to date have been situated on the Mediterranean coast. (Casablanca is located on the Atlantic coast.) Recently, Dubrovnik (Croatia), Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Kotor (Montenegro) signed an official Declaration for joint candidacy for hosting 2021 Mediterranean Games.

Below together the official numbers in sequence

No	Year	Host		Participating Countries	Sports	Competitions	Athletes		Total
		City	Country				Male	Female
I	1951	Alexandria	Egypt	10	14	91	734	---	734
II	1955	Barcelona	Spain	10	20	102	1.135	---	1.135
III	1959	Beirut	Lebanon	11	17	106	792	---	792
IV	1963	Naples	Italy	13	17	93	1.057	---	1.057
V	1967	Tunis	Tunisia	12	14	93	1.211	38	1.249
VI	1971	İzmir	Turkey	14	18	137	1.235	127	1.362
VII	1975	Algiers	Algeria	15	19	160	2.095	349	2.444
VIII	1979	Split	Yugoslavia (now Croatia)	14	26	192	2.009	399	2.408
IX	1983	Casablanca	Morocco	16	20	162	1.845	335	2.180
X	1987	Latakia	Syria	18	19	162	1.845	335	2.180
XI	1991	Athens	Greece	18	24	217	2.176	586	2.762
XII	1993	Languedoc-Roussillon	France	20	24	217	1.994	604	2.598
XIII	1997	Bari	Italy	21	27	234	2.999	804	3.803
XIV	2001	Tunis	Tunisia	23	23	230	2.002	1.039	3.041
XV	2005	Almería	Spain	21	27	258	2,134	1,080	3,214
XVI	2009	Pescara	Italy	23	28
XVII	2013	Mersin	Turkey
XVIII	2017	Tarragona	Spain

List of sports

There are Athletics, Field Athletics, Aquatics, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Fencing, Archery, Bowling, Shooting, Cycling

All-time medal table 1951-2009

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Italy	750	634	583	1967
2	France	579	524	447	1550
3	Spain	274	381	471	1126
4	Turkey	263	171	203	637
5	Yugoslavia	199	177	182	558
6	Greece	165	215	291	671†
7	Egypt	103	161	191	455
8	Tunisia	70	61	112	243
9	Algeria	56	51	94	201
10	Morocco	52	64	83	199
11	Croatia	30	51	57	138
12	Slovenia	27	28	46	101
13	Syria	26	35	73	134
14	United Arab Republic	23	21	30	74
15	Serbia*	17	22	27	66
16	Lebanon	13	22	42	77
17	Cyprus	8	12	9	29
18	Albania	5	14	12	31
19	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	5	12	20
20	Libya	2	1	12	15
21	Montenegro	2	2	3	7
22	San Marino	1	7	2	10
23	Malta	0	2	3	5
24	Monaco	0	1	1	2
Total		2668	2662	2986	8316

• *competed in 1997 and 2001 as FR Yugoslavia, and in 2005 as Serbia and Montenegro.
• ^† Note: The official medal table incorrectly states Greece's medal total as 670, rather than 671.

Competitions

30 sports were presented in the Mediterranean Games history.

Sport Years Archery () since 1971 Athletics () since 1951 Basketball () since 1951 Beach volleyball () since 2005 Boxing () since 1951 Bowling () since 1997 Canoeing () since 1979 Cycling () since 1955 Diving () since 1951 Equestrian () since 1993

Sport Years Fencing () since 1951 Football () since 1951 Golf () since 1983 Gymnastics () since 1951 Handball () since 1967 Hockey () since 1955 Judo () since 1971 Karate () since 1993 Rugby union () since 1955 Rowing () since 1951

Sport Years Rhythmic gymnastics () since 2005 Sailing () since 1955 Shooting () since 1951 Swimming () since 1951 Table tennis () since 1971 Tennis () since 1967 Volleyball () since 1959 Water polo () since 1951 Weightlifting () since 1951 Wrestling () since 1951

External links

• International Mediterranean Games Committee
• Mediterranean Games Athletic results at gbrathletics website
• Dubrovnik, Mostar and Kotor joint application for 2021 Games, Croatian newspapers Slobodna Dalmacija
• Dubrovnik, Mostar and Kotor joint application for 2021 Games, Bosnian-Herzegovian newspapers
• Mersin 2013 Web Site