Portimão was distinguished as the best European City of Sport 2019 by the entity responsible for this community project.
The distinction was then given by ACES Europe – Association of European Cities of Sport.
By the end of September, the date of submission of the dossier evaluated by the Fundación Deportiva Municipal de Valencia, an independent entity chosen by ACES Europe to analyze all applications, Portimão – European City of Sport (CED 2019) had received 614 activities, of which 344 of popular character and 146 competitive ones, mobilizing 556.910 participants.
Of the 60 sports dynamized, 22 were new activities, highlighting the holding of 20 events for people with disabilities, as adapted sport is one of the main bets of CED 2019.
In parallel, 82 training actions were promoted, another of the vectors of CED 2019, having participated from January to September a total of 1947 collaborations of volunteers, aged 16 to 69, in more than six hundred events.
It is estimated that CED 2019 has generated around 4,4 million euros of potential financial return until that date, for an investment very close to 3,8 million euros, an amount largely justified by the construction of the Boavista Sports Pavilion , to open in December, and the BMX/Race track at the Parque da Juventude de Portimão, among other interventions.
For Isilda Gomes, Mayor of Portimão, «this distinction closes with a golden key an extraordinary year and rewards the commitment of all those who dedicated themselves body and soul to making the project a success, from the local associative movement to the various partners , without forgetting the role of the many volunteers who said they were present and, above all, of our team of dedicated employees, in the most diverse areas».
«An aspect that I am pleased to note in this moment of joy has to do with the expressions of satisfaction I received from countless athletes and managers of the sporting sphere who passed through Portimão, either for the affectionate way in which they were received, or for the excellent conditions for the practice of sport found here», stresses Isilda Gomes.
The mayor also highlights the "quality and quantity of events that the city hosted and promoted and their impact on the lives of Portimonsians", expressing the conviction that the CED 2019 "will create lasting roots in encouraging regular and inclusive sports practice by the population, for your health and well-being, under the motto 'More sport for all!'».
In addition to Portimão, the European Cities of Sport 2019 were Coventry (England), Fuenlabrada, Granada. Igualada and Soria (Spain), Livorno, Mantova, Oristano and Vercelli (Italy), Ganja (Azerbaijan), Batumi (Georgia), Kumanovo (Northern Macedonia), Michalovce (Slovakia), Paggaio (Greece), Sisak (Croatia), Torun (Poland) and Varna (Bulgaria).
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