SEVGİ KORKUT, İSTANBUL
İstanbul has been chosen as the 2012 European Capital of Sports and city officials say they will use this opportunity to make İstanbul one of the healthiest cities in the world.
A meeting for the coordination of activities to be carried out during the year was held on Thursday at the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s conference hall in Sütlüce, İstanbul. Youth and Sports Minister Suat Kılıç, EU Minister and chief negotiator Egemen Bağış, İstanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu and İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş as well as district mayors attended the meeting.
İstanbul will be given the title on Nov. 30, Minister Kılıç announced, adding: “Being a European Sports Capital involves the concept of being a city where every individual is interested in sports. If we can grasp this emphasis well and do exactly what it necessitates, İstanbul will become one of the healthiest cities in the world.”
Kılıç noted that İstanbul was preparing to host the World Athletics Championship next year in March. “We want to make sure that the 15 million residents of this world city that offers facilities to engage in various branches of sports as a sports capital also make time for sports in their personal lives.” He said sports investments returned as savings in health spending.
The minister also said it was important for Turkey every time İstanbul hosted an international event. “The door to more comprehensive events will be opened, and it will remain open after this.” He said to live up to the requirements of being a sports capital, İstanbul will have to work with all of its institutions and civil society groups, noting that the ministry could not tackle such a task alone. He called on investors to become partners in the project.
A flag transfer ceremony will take place in Brussels to initiate the city as the new European Capital of Sports, after which Mayor Topbaş and Minister Bağış will bring the flag, which symbolizes the city’s title as the capital of sports activities, to İstanbul from Brussels.
During Thursday’s meeting, EU Minister Bağış said the city’s title as sports capital should be treated as an opportunity to carry out projects to increase İstanbul’s earthquake preparedness. He said many new sports facilities will be built in the city. “The earthquake in Van tore at our hearts, but there are great lessons to be learned from it. We could use the title of sports capital as an opportunity to prepare the city for an earthquake. There is no other İstanbul and we will protect our İstanbul and our country.” He also said the country’s determination will earn it the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games.