2013 Mediterranean Games

2013 Mediterranean Games bidding results
City	NOC	Round 1	Round 2
Volos-Larisa	Greece	31	37
Rijeka	Croatia	24	34
Mersin	Turkey	13	—

Cities from three countries submitted their bids to host the 2013 Mediterranean Games. Two Greek cities, Volos and Larisa, made a combined bid. This was the fourth attempt by the Croatian city of Rijeka to host the Mediterranean Games. Rijeka had lost its bids in 1995 for the 1997 games, in 1999 for the 2001 games and in 2003 for the 2009 Mediterranean Games.[4] The voting for the selection of the host of the 2013 Games was held in Pescara, Italy, host of the 2009 Mediterranean Games, on 27 October 2007. The election was conducted by the Mediterranean Games Bid Committee. At the end of the first round of voting, only Volos-Larisa and Rijeka remained; Mersin was eliminated after having received only thirteen votes. In the first round, Volos-Larisa and Rijeka received 31 and 24 votes, respectively. In the second round, the Greek bid of Volos-Larisa received enough votes to be elected as the host. The final round was comparatively more competitive, which was demonstrated by a three-vote difference between the final two bids.[5]

Mersin

Location of Mersin in Turkey

Greece was stripped of the hosting rights on 28 January 2011 because of its financial crisis.[6] The ICMG cited Greece's inability to conform the organisational requirements as a reason for this action. Culture and Tourism Minister of Greece Pavlos Geroulanos said that the initially proposed budget "would have wasted money on a big, spendthrift party, [and that] [t]here are much better things [they] could spend that money on in the current situation".[6] ICMG conducted an on-line poll on 23 February 2011 to decide the new host. Three cities—Tarragona, Tripoli and Mersin—offered to host the 2013 Mediterranean Games. Citizens of the 21 member nations of the ICMG cast their votes to select the host. Mersin was selected after it received more than half of the total votes, and on 4 March 2011, ICMG president Amar Addad officially handed over the hosting rights of the 2013 Games to Mersin.[7][8]

The organising committee of the 2013 Mediterranean Games consists of eight members: president of the committee is Minister of Youth and Sports Suat Kılıç, Hakan Hakyemez, Governor of Mersin Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu, Mehmet Baykan, Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Macit Özcan, rector of the Mersin University K. Aydin Süha, Hasan Albayrak and president of the Turkish Olympic Committee Uğur Erdener. It is in charge of "organising and controlling the essential preparations".[9]

After the success of the bid in February 2011, the Ministry of Youth and Sports spent ₺ 215 million on building the venues and infrastructure up to 31 December 2012. The Ministry has allocated a budget of ₺ 400 million to cover building the venues and infrastructure for the Games; at least ₺ 100 million would be spent on the development of the Games village and the main stadium, and ₺ 200 million is assigned for other venues.[10]

Karetta, mascot of the Games

The official logo of this edition of the Mediterranean Games features a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) getting out of sea, with water underneath it. An orange is shown above its back, which represents the dry summer subtropical climate of Mediterranean.[11]

Karetta is the official mascot of the Mersin Games. The organisers of the 2013 Games have taken steps to promote the Games through its mascot. It was used in various events like the 34th Istanbul Marathon, Third Citrus Festival and others.[12][13][14]

The main stadium of the 2013 Mediterranean Games is Mersin Olympic Stadium in Yenişehir district of Mersin. The stadium will host both the opening and closing ceremonies.[15] A total of 38 venues will be used to host the events during the Games, 13 of them for training purposes only. The events will take place in several venues at different districts of Mersin and neighboring city of Adana.[16]