Taranto enters the final stretch of the Mediterranean Games: the event kicks off in 12 days’ time

There are 12 days to go from today, 9 August, until the opening ceremony at Taranto Stadium of the 20th edition of the Mediterranean Games, an international sporting event in which around 4,000 athletes from 26 countries in the Mediterranean region will take part, 500 of whom are from Italia. And with 12 days to go until the start, the organisational machine is running at full speed.

The Games are modelled on the Olympics and feature the same sporting disciplines, except that in this case participation is limited to three continents. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend the opening ceremony on the evening of the 21st at the stadium in Taranto. The previous edition of the Games took place in Oran, Algeria. The Games were awarded to Taranto in 2019 by the International Games Committee, however, it was not until the summer of 2023, with the Government’s appointment of a commissioner (Massimo Ferrarese), that the organisational machinery really got into gear, tackling first and foremost the enormous delays that had accumulated between late August 2019 and June 2023. These delays were, however, overcome thanks to an extraordinary effort by the commissioner’s office, the contractors and the workers – an effort that was also recognised and appreciated by the Minister for Sport, Andrea Abodi, and the Minister for European Affairs, Cohesion and Sport, Tommaso Foti, and the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Raffaele Fitto, during their recent visits to Taranto, which included site inspections of the facilities. Before Foti, it was in fact Fitto, in his capacity as minister, who was responsible for the Games.

It was no easy task to turn things round. In December 2024, during a meeting of the international committee in Tirana, Taranto was in serious danger of having the Games cancelled due to delays in the schedule. An alternative venue, Naples, was already in the running, where the facilities used for the Universiade a few years ago would have been utilised. In recent months, however, further complications have arisen due to the high number of rainy days this winter and the scorching heat this summer. These two weather-related factors have had a significant impact on construction site operations, forcing them to halt or slow down work.

The two master plans drawn up by Commissioner Ferrarese, which enabled the design phase to begin, tenders to be launched, contracts to be awarded and construction sites to open, were approved by the Government and registered with the Court of Auditors between early 2024 and August 2024. Operations can therefore be expected to commence during that period. There are forty-one sports facilities – both newly built and refurbished – across Taranto and its province, Brindisi and its province, Lecce and the province of Bari. Among the most significant projects is the complete, total refurbishment of the Iacovone Stadium in Taranto, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games – the opening ceremony has been sold out for days – at a cost of over 60 million. Also worth mentioning is the construction in Taranto of both the PalaRicciardi indoor and outdoor athletics complex – built following the demolition of the old PalaRicciardi – and the swimming stadium, which features two Olympic-sized 50-metre pools, one indoor and the other outdoor. A total of 275 million euros was spent on the sports facilities, as approved by the Government, and the budget was not exceeded. No additional funds needed to be allocated for the Games. By contrast, the organisational costs borne by the local organising committee for the Games, also funded by the Government – specifically the Ministry of Sport – amount to around 80 million. Currently, Ministers Abodi and Foti are in fact the ones managing the event on behalf of the Government, with media coverage in Italia entrusted to the RAI. Taranto is the main city, but events will also be held in the province of Taranto, in Brindisi and its province, in the province of Bari and in Lecce, where the stadium has been refurbished.

The facilities are essentially complete. Workers and technicians are currently carrying out the finishing touches and final adjustments. And precisely because this is the final stage, the work is extremely intense. Shortly after 15 August, meanwhile, the two ships chartered by the organising committee to accommodate the 400 athletes will arrive in Taranto. These are a Maltese cruise ship and a premium-class ferry operated by an Estonian company. The two vessels will moor at the quays of the Italian Navy’s naval base in the Mar Grande in Taranto.