Island Games: Get to know... Gozo
The Mediterranean island of Gozo is the International Island Games Association’s newest member, having been admitted just last year at the general assembly here in Guernsey.
It is the second largest island of the Maltese archipelago, after Malta itself.
‘I would say that Gozo is much quieter and more rural than Malta, with beautiful beaches and, of course, a very typical Mediterranean climate,’ the Gozo Island Games Association’s technical director Kevin Azzopardi said.
He has had a particularly busy summer already. As well as preparing for a first Island Games, he has also – in his role as secretary general of the Maltese Olympic Committee – hosted the Games of the Small States of Europe, which ran from 28 May to 3 June.
Like the Island Games, this is a biennial, multi-sport event, founded in 1985. The hosts were staging the games for the third time.
They finished with Malta – including Gozo – at the top of the medal table, ahead of Cyprus and Luxembourg.
Kevin considers agriculture to be Gozo’s best-known contribution to the world, with its most cherished delicacy being gbejna – a bite-sized round of soft sheep’s cheese, which can be aged for a crumblier texture.
The island also produces wine to go with it, principally from two deep valleys with protected micro-climates. Gozo has its own certified viticultural denomination and the earliest evidence of a wine press dates from 1000 BCE.
As for the islanders themselves, Kevin gave the following assessment.
‘I would say that the Gozitans are very hard-working people and I think that is something that they really own and they are really proud of. They’re also excellent hosts when it comes to welcoming Maltese tourists and also foreign tourists.’
However, the island has had to manage without one of its most popular tourist attractions for the last six years.
The Azure Window was a 28-metre tall limestone arch which protruded out into the Mediterranean sea. It was invariably busy with tourists who were able to walk along a narrow, connecting ridge and stand upon it. But it was completely destroyed by a violent storm on 8 March 2017.
Such was the national trauma of losing such an iconic site, there was even a plan to rebuild it in metal, housing a five-story heritage centre too, but these plans fell out of favour due to environmental considerations.
As for Gozo’s sporting preoccupations, ‘for sure, football is the dominant force,’ Kevin said.
‘Horse racing also has huge popularity in Gozo, just the same as shooting and the traditional, local bowls game, which is not the one that will be played in Guernsey 2023 – it’s closer to petanque. And then, of course water polo and swimming and motorbiking is also very popular, so it’s quite a mix.’
Gozo has shown some considerable sporting ambition, having just built its own 50m swimming pool and a sports complex. So, could the IIGA’s newest member one day host the Island Games?
‘Well, we’re mulling it, believe me,’ Kevin said, ‘but we are fully aware that up to 2029, all the Games have been taken up, with the possibility that the 2031 Games will be taken up during our general assembly in Guernsey, but you never know what the future holds in store.’
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