Mediterranean Games

Mediterranean Games

The Mediterranean Games are a regional multisport competition consisting of Olympic and non-Olympic events and are very interesting for Slovenian sport due to the presence of highly developed sporting nations.

The Mediterranean Games are organized by the International Mediterranean Games Committee and host athletes from countries in Europe (Albania, Andorra Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Macedonia Malte, Monaco, San Marino, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey), Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia) and Asia (Lebanon, Syria).

History


The story of the Games takes us back to London in 1948, when a Turkish doctor of political sciences by the name of Mohamed Taher Pasha made a proposal to organize the Mediterranean Games. He wished for the Games to serve as a symbol of peace between the various cultures of the Mediterranean region. During the London Olympics, National Olympic Committees of the Mediterranean countries welcomed Taher Pasha's idea and the first Mediterranean Games were held in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1951. The games are held every four years; up to 1991 they were organized a year before the Olympics and then the schedule changed to a year after the Olympics with the following games being held in 1993.
 
The symbol of the Mediterranean games are three circles, representing Asia, Africa and Europe. These are also the three continents of the 24 states that participate in the Games. The bottom part of the circles is wavy, representing the Mediterranean Sea.