TIWGA President Ron Froehlich announced the Executive
Committee’s final decision to grant the hosting rights to Cali, COL, at one of
his daily press conferences during The World Games in Kaohsiung, TPE, on 21
July 2009. “The Games will be held for the first time in South America,“ Froehlich
proclaimed.
Bid leader Pascual Guerrero, who now heads the Cali
Organizing Committee (COC), was able to explain the motivation behind the
city’s bid for The World Games 2013 to the international press as well. “The
excitement among the public here in Kaohsiung justifies our efforts all the
more; this is what we can look forward to in Cali, in Colombia and around Latin
America,” Guerrero said. “This event offers the people in South
America the opportunity to learn more about interesting and fascinating sports,
and it gives Cali a chance to push urban development.”
The conclusion of the Host City Contract was celebrated at
the Cali Congress Center in August 2009. Then Colombian President Álvaro Uribe
Veléz, who attended the celebrations, reaffirmed the national government’s
all-out support to the Cali organizers in the lead-up and during The World
Games 2013.
Cali will stage the multi-sport games together with two
other cities in the Cauca Valley from 25 July to 4 August 2013. The
Opening Ceremony will be held on 25 July, the day the City of Cali celebrates
the 100th anniversary of its foundation. The organizers are preparing to
seize the moment to promote the full breadth of sports to the world, and to
bring about significant change to the nation, region and cities. The slogan for
The World Games 2013 is Fair Play to the Planet! The COC is committed to pay
particular attention to environmental friendliness in all its actions. Adding
the new slogan to those used in the marketing of Cali makes for a promising
formula. The city of Cali, aka “Heaven’s Branch Office,” and frequently labeled
the “Sporting Capital of the Americas”, ensures “Fair Play to the Planet!”
during The World Games 2013.
Cali brings considerable experience as an organizer of major
sporting events to the challenge of staging The World Games. In 2008 Cali was
host to the Colombian national multi-sport games with over 6,000 participants.
The city was also an acclaimed host to the Pan-American Games and hundreds of
large-scale international championships in the past. The most recent major
event held there – in December 2009 – was the UCI Track Cycling World Cup. Cali
and its partner cities in the Cauca Valley have the necessary infrastructure to
accommodate The World Games. Even if all events will be hosted at existing
venues, Cali has already embarked on a number of projects to improve them even
further.
With a view to The World Games and the FIFA U-20 World Cup,
which is held in Cali and seven other Colombian cities in 2011, the 35,000-
capacity multi-purpose main stadium was renovated completely over a period of
only 16 months.
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