World Gymnaestrada

World Gymnaestrada
World Gymnaestrada 2011, Lausanne
Statusactive
Genresports event
Frequencyevery fourth year
Inaugurated1953 (1953)
Mass routines at the 1949 Lingiad in Stockholm

The World Gymnaestrada is the largest general gymnastics exhibition. Much like the Olympics, the event is held every four years. However, the focus of this event is not on winning medals but instead Group Performances – some with hundreds or even thousands of participants.[1] Adults and children of every age and description perform. Countries from around the world come together to showcase their talent and the culture of their various countries. The choreography is designed both to challenge the participants and to delight audiences. Routines are performed at various venues within the host country. Large group routines are known as "mass routines" which involve hundreds of gymnasts. The mass routines are often performed in large stadiums where spectators can take in routines performed by gymnasts from all over the world.

The World Gymnaestrada is the successor to the two Lingiads that were held in Stockholm in 1939 (100 years after Pehr Henrik Ling's death) and 1949.

The name Gymnaestrada is formed from the words gymnastik (international name for all sports relating to gymnastics), estrada (stage) and strada (street). It is believed to have been invented by J H Sommer, chairman of the Royal Dutch Gymnastics Federation and Mrs J. v.d.Most-Leyerweert, member of the board of DGF. They submitted their request for an international meet at the 1951 FIG conference.[2] Zurcaroh from season 13 of America's Got Talent represented Austria at WG in Helsinki.

Host cities

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Edition Date City Country Participating
federations[3] 		Gymnasts[3]
I 15–19 July 1953 Rotterdam  Netherlands 14 5,000
II 10–14 July 1957 Zagreb  Yugoslavia 16 6,000
III 26–30 July 1961 Stuttgart  West Germany 16 10,000
IV 20–24 July 1965 Vienna  Austria 28 15,600
V 2–6 July 1969 Basel   Switzerland 29 9,600
VI 1–5 July 1975 Berlin  West Germany 23 10,500
VII 13–17 July 1982 Zürich   Switzerland 23 14,200
VIII 7–11 July 1987 Herning  Denmark 25 17,300
IX 15–20 July 1991 Amsterdam  Netherlands 28 19,500
X 9–15 July 1995 Berlin  Germany 34 19,300
XI 2–10 July 1999 Gothenburg  Sweden 39 23,500
XII 20–26 July 2003 Lisbon  Portugal 57 25,000
XIII 8–14 July 2007 Dornbirn  Austria 56[4] 21,000
XIV 10–16 July 2011 Lausanne   Switzerland 55[5] 19,100
XV 12–18 July 2015[6] Helsinki  Finland 55 21,000
XVI 7–13 July 2019 Dornbirn  Austria 66[7] 18,000
XVII 30 July – 5 August 2023[8] Amsterdam  Netherlands 56 18,746
XVIII 11–17 July 2027 Lisbon  Portugal TBA TBA


Impression of one of the outdoor stages at the 2007 Gymnaestrada event in Vorarlberg (Austria)

World Gymnaestrada 2007

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Main article: World Gymnaestrada 2007

The 13th World Gymnaestrada was held in Dornbirn in Austria from 8 to 14 July. Over 22,000 gymnasts from 53 nations participated in the event. The opening- and closing ceremonies in the Birkenwiese Stadium had an audience of 30,000 each. The participants were looked after by about 8,000 volunteers.[9]

World Gymnaestrada 2011

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The World Gymnaestrada Lausanne 2011 was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, from 10 to 16 July.[10]

The World Gymnaestrada Lausanne 2011 in brief

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[11]

  • 7 days of events
  • 55 nations
  • 19,100 participants coming from 5 continents
  • Average age 30
  • Over 600 hours of demonstrations and shows
  • More than 1,800 productions
  • 4,300 volunteers a day

World Gymnaestrada 2015

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The World Gymnaestrada 2015 was held in Helsinki, Finland, from 12 to 18 July.[6] It was the largest event ever held in Finland in terms of number of participants, surpassing even the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.[12]

The World Gymnaestrada Helsinki 2015 in brief

[edit]
  • 7 days of events
  • 55 nations
  • 21,000 participants coming from 5 continents
  • Average age 30
  • Over 600 hours of demonstrations and shows
  • More than 1,800 productions
  • almost 4,000 volunteers required
Logo of the Gymnaestrada 2019 in Vorarlberg, Austria

World Gymnaestrada 2019

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Main article: World Gymnaestrada 2019

The 16th World Gymnaestrada in Dornbirn in Austria took place from 7 to 13 July 2019. It was the second time that this event was held in Dornbirn.[13] The festival brought over 18,000 athletes from 66 federations and hundreds of guests to Vorarlberg, achieving record figures in Vorarlberg's tourism sector.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hofmann, Annette; Gems, Gerald; Smith, Maureen (2017). Global Perspectives on Sport and Physical Cultures. Routledge. pp. 614–629. ISBN 978-1-138-68243-6.
  2. ^ "Het Utrechts Archief". hetutrechtsarchief.nl.
  3. ^ a b Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, Book "The story goes on..." 125 years of the FIG 1881–2006, p. 33 ; FIG Editions, 2006
  4. ^ "wg2007.com". Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Australian Pokies Games". Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Home – 15th WORLD GYMNAESTRADA 2015 HELSINKI". Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Tourismus aktuelle Zahlen". vorarlberg.at (in Austrian German). Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  8. ^ "World Gymnaestrada 2023". Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Again in Dornbirn". 16th WORLD GYMNAESTRADA 2019 Dornbirn Vorarlberg Austria. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Wg-2011.com". www.wg-2011.com.
  11. ^ "Wg-2011.com". wg-2011.com.
  12. ^ "Sunnuntaina käynnistyvä Gymnaestrada on osallistujamäärältään suurin Suomessa järjestetty tapahtuma – Terveys – Ilta-Sanomat". Ilta-Sanomat. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  13. ^ "16th WORLD GYMNAESTRADA 2019 Dornbirn Vorarlberg Austria". 16th WORLD GYMNAESTRADA 2019 Dornbirn Vorarlberg Austria. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
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