Braga receives distinction of Best European City of Sport 2018
The city of Braga received today in Brussels the distinction of Best European City of Sport 2018, the “icing on the cake of an extraordinary year”, according to the Mayor of Braga.
Speaking to reporters, Ricardo Rio highlighted the “quality and quantity” of the events that the city received and promoted, and the “impact on the life of Bra- caenses” that the European Sports City had.
“This distinction is the icing on the cake of an extraordinary year for the city at all levels, with a very intense set of activities. More than 570 events to date and not yet finished,” said the mayor.
According to Ricardo Rio, “there was a very great cadence of activities, great quality, competitive national and international events that brought to Braga more than 70 modalities and thousands of participants of the highest calibre.”
The mayor also said that the distinction now given is an “additional stimulus” for Brabantans to “adopt sport as a way of life.”
Among the objectives that Braga intended to achieve as the European City of Sport, Ricardo Rio stressed “making sport in Braga increasingly inclusive, open to participation by all, not distinguishing ages, conditions and, above all, creating awareness that sport is, in fact, an element of territorial development “.
Throughout the year, Braga received “up to the moment” 575 events of 74 modalities, in a total of four thousand hours of activity with more than 110 thousand participants.
The European City of Sport Braga 2018 registered more than 300 thousand spectators.
“These are data that have decisively contributed to Braga’s standing out of the remaining 20 cities that during this year held the title of European City of Sport,” said the mayor of Braga.
In addition to Braga, they have already been European City of Deportivo Guimarães (2013), Maia (2014), Loulé (2015), Setúbal (2016) and Gondomar (2017), Portimão already being designated for that title in 2019 and Anadia, Odivelas and Penafiel are candidates for the title in 2020.
