The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games () and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (ICMG) (). A total of 3,368 athletes (2,183 men and 1,185 women) from 23 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games. Montenegro participated for the first time at the Mediterranean Games, after their independence in 2006. The program included competitions in 24 different sports, including three non-Olympic sports – bocce, karate, and water skiing – and golf, which was reinstated as an official Olympic sport in 2016 Summer Olympics. Water skiing was introduced as a demonstration sport. Two disabled sports, athletics and swimming, were also contested in the Games. Italy became the first nation to host the Mediterranean Games three times, having previously hosted them in Naples (1963) and Bari (1997).

Pescara was awarded the Games on 18 October 2003 in Almeria, Spain, which was the host of 2005 Mediterranean Games, defeating bids from Rijeka and Patras. The organising committee of the Games, Comitato Organizzatore dei XVI Giochi del Mediterraneo (COJM), was created in 2006 to oversee the staging of the Games. A total of 33 venues were used to host the events, including Stadio Adriatico — main stadium of the Pescara Games, hosted both the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the athletics competition and football final. Many events took place in several different cities. The official logo of the 2009 Mediterranean Games featured simple graphical illustrations of mountains and sea of the Abruzzo region, and the Marsican brown bear was chosen as the mascot of the Games.

Athletes from 21 countries won medals, leaving two countries without a medal; 18 of them won at least one gold medal. A total of 782 medals – 243 gold, 244 silver and 295 bronze – were awarded. Competitors from the host nation, Italy, led the medal table for the eleventh time in the history of the Games, with 64 gold medals. Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini and Spanish swimmer Aschwin Wildeboer set new world records in their respective events.

Background The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event, much like the Summer Olympics (albeit on a much smaller scale), with participation exclusively from countries around the Mediterranean Sea where Europe, Africa, and Asia meet. The Games started in 1951 and are held every four years. The idea of holding the Mediterranean Games originated with Muhammed Taher Pasha, who was the chairman of the Egyptian Olympic Committee and the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), at a meeting during the 1948 London Olympics. The Games "were designed specifically to bring together the Muslim and European countries surrounding the Mediterranean basin" to promote understanding through sporting competition.

The first edition of the Mediterranean Games was held in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 1951, attracting 734 competitors from 10 nations. Female athletes were not allowed to compete. Italy hosted the Games for the first time in 1963 in Naples, the fourth edition of the Games. Naples was the second in Europe (following Barcelona in 1955) to host the Games. Thirty-four years later, another Italian city, Bari, hosted the Games.

Organisation Selection of host city

Pescara was elected as the host city for the 2009 Mediterranean Games on 18 October 2003 in Almeria, Spain, defeating bids from Rijeka and Patras. The decision for the host city was made after the voting by members of the International Committee of Mediterranean Games, held in Almeria, host of the 2005 Mediterranean Games. Croatia's bidding city, Rijeka, was the first city to be eliminated, followed by Patras, Greece's bidding city. This was the third time that any Italian city hosted this multi-sport event.

Croatian delegates were outraged by the final decision, particularly as this was their third bid in recent years; Croatia made bids in 1995 and 1999 for the 1997 and 2001 Mediterranean Games, respectively. Former Prime Minister of Croatia and the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee Zlatko Mateša expressed his disappointment: "It just shows, once again, that small countries have no chance of competing with the big ones". The Croatian bid was supported by the president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration Bernie Ecclestone, 1992 Olympic bronze medallist in tennis Goran Ivanišević and 1998 FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe Award winner Davor Šuker.

Organising committee The Comitato Organizzatore dei XVI Giochi del Mediterraneo – Pescara 2009 (English: Organizing Committee of the XVI Mediterranean Games – Pescara 2009; abbreviated as COJM) was created in 2006 to oversee the staging of the Games. The committee was in charge of implementing and staging the Games, and to maintain the infrastructure and provide other services. The committee's board of directors consisted of politicians, IOC members from Italy, and presidents of the various Italian sports governing bodies. Mario Pescante was appointed as the Commissioner Extraordinary of the Games in 2008 by the Italian Government. He had held the same office during the 2006 Winter Olympic, held in Turin.

A few weeks before the Games on 18 May, Sabatino Aracu resigned from his post of the president of the organising committee in order to allow its dissolution, which according to him was "incapable of taking urgent measures". Aracu's decision was reportedly motivated by the bureaucratic reasons. He was later appointed Honorary President of the Games.

Logo and mascot

The official logo of this edition of the Mediterranean Games featured simple graphical illustrations of mountains and sea of the Abruzzo region. Pescara is the capital of Province of Pescara which is situated in the Abruzzo region. The official mascot was a Marsican brown bear, called Aua', wearing a diving mask and flip-flops with swimfins in his hands. The Marsican brown bear is a highly threatened, unrecognised subspecies of the Brown bear, with a range restricted to the Abruzzo National Park. The mascot was unveiled by the Mediterranean Games Executive Committee during their meeting in Pescara from 24 to 28 March 2008.

Medals The medals of the Games were designed and produced by the Italian company, Coinart, specialising in the manufacture of medals, jewellery, badges, plaques, and trophies. The medals were made up of brass, bronze, and gold. The obverse features the Games logo, stylised shape of an athlete posed to plunge into the waves, with the inscription "Pescara 2009" and XVI Jeux méditerranéens in French and the ICMG logo at bottom—three interlocking rings, representing Africa, Asia and Europe. The reverse features the Warrior of Capestrano (Italian: Guerriero di Capestrano), a fourth-century BC statue, measures more than two metres in height. The statue was discovered in 1934 in Capestrano, Province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo region. It is widely considered to be an archaeological evidence of the pre-Roman settlements in Abruzzo.

Venues

The main stadium of the 2009 Mediterranean Games was Stadio Adriatico. The stadium received major renovations and upgrades at a cost of about €10 million. It hosted the opening ceremonies as well as the athletics competition and football final. A total of 33 venues were used to host the events during the Games. Many events took place in several different cities.

The Mediterranean Village provided accommodation and training for athletes of the Games. It was designed by the Italian architect Paolo Desideri, and the total cost of the project was €150 million. It was located in the municipality of Chieti and was spread over an area of , including a public park. More than 450 apartments accommodated athletes and team officials.

The village was designed according to modern architecture and was said to have adopted green features like solar water heating. Key facilities such as a restaurant, medical centre, and a conference hall with a seating capacity of 800 people were hosted there. Rhythmic gymnast Fabrizia D'Ottavio was appointed the mayor of the village.

+ List of venues, showing the city, venue, sport and venue capacity City Venue Sport Capacity Ref Pescara Stadio AdriaticoAthletics 22,000 Pescara Stadio Adriatico Football 22,000 Chieti Stadio Guido Angelini Football 12,750 Lanciano Stadio Guido Biondi Football 6,500 L'Aquila Stadio Tommaso Fattori Football 5,000 Francavilla al mare Stadio Valle Anzuca Football 1,500 Teramo Stadio Comunale Football 8,000 Pescara Stadio del mare Beach volleyball 2,000 Pescara Stadio Adriano Flacco Bocce 800–1,000 Bomba Lago di Bomba Canoeing 1,000 Bomba Lago di Bomba Rowing 1,000 Pescara Street circuit Cycling Chieti PalaTricalle Artistic gymnastics 2,400 Silvi Pala Universo Artistic gymnastics 2,000 Miglianico Golf Club Miglianico Golf Pescara Stadio Adriatico Disabled athletics 22,000 Pescara Piscine Le Naiadi Disabled swimming 4,000 Pescara Centro Sportivo Febo Judo 800–1,500 Pescara Centro Sportivo Febo Wrestling 800–1500 Pescara Piscine Le Naiadi Swimming 4,000 Pescara Centro Sportivo Febo Karate 800–1,500 Pescara PalaElettra Basketball 2,000 Pescara PalaElettra II Basketball 555 Teramo PalaScapriano Basketball 3,500 Roseto degli Abruzzi PalaMaggetti Basketball 4,000 Ortona Palasport Basketball 1,450 Pescara Palasport Giovanni Paolo II Handball 2,000 Chieti Palasport Santa Filomena Women's handball 1,500 Pescara Piscine Le Naiadi Water polo 4,000 Chieti PalaTricalle Volleyball 2,400 Montesilvano PalaRoma Montesilvano Volleyball 1,500 Vasto Sports Hall of Vasto Volleyball 1,700 Avezzano Palaghiaccio Boxing 2,000 Pineto PalaVolley S. Maria Fencing 1,000 Pescara Arena del Mare Water skiing 2,000 Pescara PalaRigopiano Weightlifting 1,200 Chieti Centro ippico "Teaterno" Equestrian 1,000 Pescara Tennis Club Pescara Tennis 1,500 Lanciano Palasport Table tennis 2,000 Pescara Centro Sportivo Febo Shooting 100 Manoppello Poligono S.Uberto Trap shooting 1,000 Pescara City marina Sailing 2,000

Calendar

In the following calendar for the 2009 Mediterranean Games, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport were held. On the left the calendar lists each sport with events held during the Games. There is a key at the top of the calendar to aid the reader.

Although the Games officially began on 26 June 2009, the first football games were held on 25 June. Opening ceremony was held on 26 June, and on the same day Tunisian weightlifter Khalil El-Maaoui won the first gold medal of the Games in the men's 56 kg event.

 ● Opening ceremony ●  Competitions  ● Event finals ● Closing ceremony