Ostrava - European City of Sport
In June of this year, Ostrava was nominated to be European City of Sport 2014. Mayor Petr Kajnar welcomed the decision: “It is a great honour for us to join the family of European cities of sport. We will be holding a wide variety of exciting sports events, which will encourage both citizens and visitors to take an active part in sport. Increased visitor numbers will also bring tangible benefits to our local economy, so the title is good news all round for the tourism and services sector – not only in Ostrava, but throughout the region.”
Ostrava has a rich tradition of sport at all levels. The city has become renowned among athletes and athletics fans for hosting the annual Golden Spike meeting, and Ostrava’s modern sports facilities are popular venues for many European and world championships in a wide range of sports. Sport at grass-roots level has always had a strong presence in Ostrava, and many talented local sportsmen and women have gone on to achieve outstanding career success, representing their city and their country far beyond its borders.
Deputy Mayor Martin Štěpánek emphasized the inclusive approach which underlies the European City of Sport project: “We will provide grant funding for a range of activities targeted at citizens who are not regularly involved in sports, which will help to promote a healthy lifestyle. Being a European City of Sport is not just about top-level sports: even more important is recreational sport, including sport for people with special needs. We will support a broad range of sports clubs and associations in all parts of the city and the wider region, and we will also give people the opportunity to meet top-level sportsmen and women who will get involved in coaching activities. Ostrava 2014 will be a year-long festival of sports, offering a wealth of sports and leisure activities for everyone.”
The title European City of Sport is part of a system devised by ACES Europe in 2001. The system has three tiers. At the top are Capitals of Sport; these have included cities such as Madrid, Stockholm, Glasgow, Copenhagen, or Warsaw. The current (2013) Capital of Sport is Antwerp. On the middle tier are Cities of Sport; this is Ostrava’s category. European Cities of Sport in 2013 are Cremona, Modena and Reggio Calabria (Italy), Lorca (Spain), Lisburn (Northern Ireland), Pitesti (Romania), and Guimaraes (Portugal). Ostrava will be the third Czech city to be nominated for this category; last year the title went to Liberec. The third category is for Towns (up to 25 000 inhabitants); the Czech representative this year is Náchod in East Bohemia.
For more information see http://ostravamestosportu.cz/