The city expects more than 3,000 registered security and emergency forces from 30 countries from September 29 to October 7 -The organizers assure that it will have an impact of six million euros
Torrevieja will host the ninth edition of the European Police and Fire Games, which will be held in the city from September 29 to October 7, 2023.
The tournament, a sporting event in an Olympic format, first held in 2006, will take place over 9 days, and include about 40 sports modalities with the participation of some 3,000 athletes representing law enforcement, security and emergency services from more than 30 European countries.
The announcement of the games was made on Friday by the mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, the Councillor for Sports, Diana Box, and of Security and Emergencies, Federico Alarcón, the president of the Games, José Carlos Baquero, and his vice president, Ricardo Tilve.
Dolón said he was delighted to host the event which would have an enormous economic impact “not only for sports tourism, but it will also be reflected in local shops and hotels and in the city’s own brand image.”
José Carlos Baquero said that the economic benefit to the town, with the arrival of these 3,000 participants, in addition to family and companions, could amount to more than 6 million euros. He said that, because of the climate and the tourism opportunities, he fully expects the Games to have their greatest participation ever.
Among the disciplines that will be held are track athletics, cross country, night running, half marathon, swimming, open water, rescue and first aid, indoor rowing, canoeing, sport fishing, 7-a-side football, futsal, beach volleyball, tennis, paddle tennis, table tennis, badminton, golf, wrestling, judo, jujitsu, karate, taekwondo, kickboxing, boxing, precision shooting, dynamic shooting, skeet shooting, archery, road cycling, mountain biking, triathlon, duathlon, trail running, orienteering, weightlifting, crossfit, horse riding, K9 and firefighter specialties.
These games are usually held every two years having had their origin in the world games, also dedicated to the security forces, that were held in Barcelona in 2003. So far, all the competitions have been hosted by Spanish cities, including Pontevedra, Valencia, Huelva and Tenerife with the exception of the Brussels tournament in 2014. The last occasion that the games were held, however, was pre pandemic in Algeciras in 2018.
The one important aspect yet to be announced is the financial implication to Torrevieja with, currently, no information available about the exclusive contracting file between the municipality and the organisers of the games on the State Contracting Portal.
