Official Ceremony at SportAccord Convention 2012 in Quebec/Canada IWGA and Wroclaw sign Host Agreement for The World Games 2017

QUEBEC (20/05/2012). On the day before the Annual General Meeting of the International World Games Association President, Ron Froehlich, and Rafał Dutkiewicz, Mayor of the City of Wroclaw, signed the Host Agreement for The World Games 2017. The city in western Poland is now the official host of the 10th edition of the multi-sport event, following Cali, Colombia the host city for The World Games in 2013. The signing ceremony took place on Sunday after an IWGA Executive Committee meeting, on the occasion of the SportAccord Convention in Quebec/Canada.

Giving reasons for looking forward to The World Games in Wroclaw, President Ron Froehlich mentioned the excellent bid and his personal experiences during his visits to the city. “We are happy to present our sports in Wroclaw in the summer of 2017, and we are sure that we will be offered optimal conditions for our sportsmen and women there. All the bids we received were of a very high quality, and it was not easy for us to select the best out of all.” The multi-sport event showcases 30-plus sports and is the pinnacle of the year for 4,400 athletes (including those of invitational sports) from over 90 countries.

Wroclaw offers a perfect setting for an event like The World Games. This refers not only to the required sporting venues and infrastructure. The city also has a record of hosting big sports events and can count on the support of the city administration, the government and the National Olympic Committee.
Mayor Rafał Dutkiewicz said during his short presentation before the official signing ceremony: “The World Games will be the biggest sporting event in Polish history, after the Euro 2012. The organizers plan to celebrate the jubilee 10th edition of The World Games in style, marking the return of the Games to Europe after a 12 year gap (the 7th edition was in Duisburg, Germany in 2005).”

The IWGA awarded The World Games 2017 to Wroclaw in early January 2012, in Lausanne. After an almost twelve-month long bidding process the city finally prevailed over its last-remaining competitor Budapest (Hungary). Following the award, the IWGA and representatives from the City of Wroclaw still had to negotiate and agree on the final contractual details, so it was not until the signatures on Sunday that the city of 630,000-odd inhabitants officially became host of The World Games 2017.