Pescara 2009 – the 18th staging of the Mediterranean Games is from June 26-July 5. It’s a multi-event spectacular, with more sports to see than at the Olympics !

Pescara 2009 will be the biggest sports festival that Abruzzo's ever staged. Like the Olympics, the Mediterranean Games takes place every four years and is a multi-event spectacular – but it features 30 different sports, while at the Olympics, you can see only 26. Pescara 2009 will be only the third occasion that an Italian city has hosted the Mediterranean Games since they were first held at Alexandria in Egypt in 1951.

Taking part in Pescara 2009, from June 26 to July 5, will be competitors from 23 countries bordering the Mediterranean, contrasting sporting superpowers like Italy, France and Spain with countries like Monaco, Andorra and San Marino that in the past have scarcely ever rippled the waters of international sport. But there's always a first time… 

On view – and highly accessible too – are the kind of sports you generally expect to see on occasions like this – Athletics, Swimming and Cycling – and a few you don't – Golf, Roller-Skating and Water-Skiing.

The most easily-accessible sports to go and watch if you're staying at Villasfor2 from June 26 to July 5 will be the rowing and canoeing at Lake Bomba, about 20 minutes away. Lake Bomba was artificially created in 1962 by the damming of the Sangro River as part of a hydroelectric power scheme and it'll be the perfect setting for these two sports. It's long – around 7 kilometres – but not that wide, so you'll get some particularly good views from the banks.

I'm going to try and see at least one day's play in the golf at Miglianico GC. The course has been 'reworked' – OK, toughened-up – over the past few months. This might cause the pros the odd problem or two, (especially if they've tweaked the big water hazard on the 8th), but it'll mean major and lasting headaches to players as excessively moderate as me, who'll have to negotiate this new, cranked-up course on a regular basis once the pros have played their four rounds, pocketed their medals and gone home. 

Pescara 2009 wil be centred in and around the Stadio Adriatico – home of Serie C football club Pescara Calcio – which can hold around 25,000 people. The opening and closing ceremonies take place at the Stadio Adriatico, plus the athletics programme and the football.

Incidentally, you may be wondering about the significance of the three rings on the design of the Pescara 2009 logo. Echoing the five Olympic rings, the three rings symbolise the three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa – from which countries come to the Mediterranean Games. And the little 'ripple' at the base of each ring represents the Mediterranean Sea lapping around the coastlines of these three continents. 

Although ticketing arrangements/prices haven't been released yet – though much will be free – you can find out more about Pescara 2009 on the official website. You could even immerse yourself completely in the entire Mediterranean Games experience by working as a Volunteer – the site will explain how !

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 2:18 am and is filed under About Abruzzo, Daily Life, Where To Go. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.