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Rotterdam is a prominent and striking city, both from a
national and an international point of view. It’s a city
where everyone regardless of age can enjoy the sport that
suits him or her best, and which offers a broad and
attractive range of sports facilities, events and
activities. A city where sport contributes to the locals’
quality of life and socio-economic development, and last but
not least, a city where residents, local authorities,
pressure groups, the business community and other
administrative authorities work together to give sport a
prominent place in people’s lives.
In 2001 the city established a municipal policy programme
entitled, ‘Rotterdam, City of Sports’. A proposal for the next ten
years, established by the Mayor and Aldermen of Rotterdam, the
ten-point plan comprises the following projects: physical education
at schools, sport clubs, sport in the suburbs, major sporting
events, high-performance sport, city marketing and communication,
sports infrastructure, sports education, recreational sports and
commercial sports facilities.
Over the last ten years, Rotterdam has hosted several large
sporting events, notably the final of the 2000 European Football
(Soccer) Championships, Davis Cup tennis (2001 and 2007), the Hockey
Champions Trophy (2001 and 2008), the 2002 UEFA Cup Final (won by a
local team, Feyenoord), the 2003 Korfball World Championships, the
2005 European Judo Championships, the 2005 Baseball World
Championships, the 2006 Volvo Ocean Race, and most recently the 2009
Judo World Championships.
Future events on the Rotterdam sports calendar include the 2010
Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, the 2010 European Korfball
Championships, the 2011 Table Tennis World Championships, the 2011
European Dressage Championships, and the 2012 European Handball
Championships. Furthermore, the 2010 edition of the largest cycling
event in the world, the Tour de France, will kick off in Rotterdam. |
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