240 000 participants at 26 venues and in the fan zone, 10 days of competition, 3 500 athletes from 111 countries, 1 600 volunteers, 700 journalists from 50 countries – that is The World Games 2017 by the numbers.
“The Games were both a sport and organisational success for us. It was a time of amazing emotions and amazing competitions involving thousands of athletes from around the world. The residents of Wrocław and of Lower Silesia as a whole, had a chance again to show what a unique meeting place Wrocław is,” commented Wrocław Mayor Rafał Dutkiewicz. “The fans’ cheering around the venues of TWG 2017 was loud and clear and there were lots and lots of fans in the fan zone, checking things out and relaxing to the tunes of both Polish and international stars. We should give a special thanks to our volunteers, who put their whole hearts into the organisation of these Games.”
More than 400 hours of live television transmissions were produced and broadcast in Poland over the Polsat, Polsat Sport, Polsat Sport Extra, Polsat Sport News, Polsat Sport Fight and Super Polsat stations. The broadcast was available in 131 countries, among others, CCTV5 from China, TBS from Japan, Germany’s Sport1, Match TV in Russia, ESPN LA covering all the countries of Latin America and finally the Olympic Channel – the official channel of the International Olympic Committee. The combined viewership totalled 420 million viewers.
Thirty medals: 9 gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze – this was the final total for Poland in The World Games 2017. It was a historical haul for the host nation – their best ever effort at The World Games. It is worth noting that of the 30 medals, 10 came in the so-called “invitational sports” (4 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze). This includes 6 medals in kickboxing, 3 in indoor rowing and 1 in speedway racing. With these subtracted, Poland’s grand total in the medal standings stands at 20 (5 gold, 6 silver and 9 bronze) giving them the 13th place. The overall winner was Russia with 63 medals (28-21-14), who finished ahead of Germany with (18-10-14) and Italy (16-13-13) who both totalled 42 medals.
The Games were the most difficult logistical undertaking in the history of Polish sport. Taking into consideration the difficult weather (a storm on 23 July damaged some of the venues) which hindered the organisers’ plans, the overall opinion of the international sport federations was extremely favourable. Through hard work and quick decision-making, the storm’s damage was cleaned up the very same day.
A special thanks from the participants went also to all the volunteers from around the world, who worked during the Games, adding their own special „brick” to the collective success. They could be found literally everywhere, taking care of guests, both in Wrocław and in the partner cities.
The capital of Lower Silesia will be left with several beautiful sport venues thanks to The World Games 2017: Olympic Stadium, the roller-skating track in Millennium Park and the swimming pool complex on Wejherowska Street.
During the Closing Ceremony on 30 July, the TWG flag was handed over to officials from Birmingham, the largest city in Alabama, USA, where the 11th edition of The World Games will be held.
