World Police and Fire Games preferred venues

31 May 2012

2013 World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) Ltd has announced a total of 41 preferred venues in Belfast and across Northern Ireland which will host the 66 sports featured in next year`s international ten day event.

Among the Belfast City Council venues which have been included are the Mary Peters Athletics Track, the Ulster and Waterfront Halls, Shankill Leisure Centre and Boucher Road Playing Fields.

The announcement follows a ten day visit by the World Police and Fire Games Federation in April when every location was visited and matched against exacting suitability criteria.

Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Niall Ó Donnghaile, said: “We are delighted at our sites being named as preferred venues for the 2013 event.”

John Tully, Chief Executive 2013 WPFG explains, “Every two years the World Police and Fire Games provide the host country with a unique opportunity to showcase its country, its people and its very best facilities to a captive audience of over 25,000 visitors. Sport is at the core of the event and it is essential both for the credibility of the Games and the reputation of the host country that competitors enjoy the optimum experience across every sport in which they participate. Over the last year we have been in consultation with the WPFG Federation, the local governing bodies of sport and an extensive list of venues to ensure that all the required criteria are met. We are delighted that following the Federation`s visit last month we now have a list of 41 preferred venues for next year`s Games. Indeed the Federation Directors were extremely impressed by the range and quality of our facilities and share our confidence that Northern Ireland will deliver the most successful and the friendliest games ever.”

Preferred sports venues are subject to further planning discussions with the governing bodies of sport, commercial negotiations with a view to securing value for money and contractual arrangements. 2013 WPFG Ltd will now work with each venue to finalise an event schedule for each of the allocated sports and begin the development of a detailed operational plan.

Mike Graham, President of the WPFG Federation, was very positive in his evaluation of both the organising committee`s work and the facilities on offer saying, “2013 WPFG Ltd is meeting or exceeding our expectations in all areas and at this juncture, taken as a whole, is one of the best prepared organising committees in our history. We have full faith and confidence that 2013 WPFG Ltd has developed and is implementing a business plan that will deliver the 2013 World Police and Fire Games that will be judged as highly successful on multiple levels.”

Caral Ni Chuilin, Minister of Culture, Arts & Leisure said, “The announcement of the venues for the 2013 World Police and Fire Games is a significant milestone for the Company. The Games will be the biggest sporting event ever held in this part of Ireland. While this is a tremendous opportunity for tourism, there will also be other economic benefits for the areas hosting the 66 events over the ten days of the games.”

Approximately 66sports will be featured in the Games which take place from 1st – 10th August 2013. As the main host city Belfast will be home to the majority of the sports. The remaining events are spread across N.Ireland from Eglinton and Portrush to Rostrevor Forest and Donard Park.

ENDS

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