Half-time Ceremony To Pass On European City Of Sport Title

Last year, Stoke-on-Trent held a series of events to celebrate sport and sporting achievement. They have gained international attention across Europe and the rest of the country off the back of the award and are now passing the role on to Bristol.

Handing over the baton from Stoke-on-Trent will be Councillor Terry Follows, Cabinet member for Greener City, and Councillor Alistair Munday, Lord Mayor for the city.

Taking the baton on behalf of Bristol, will be the city’s own Lord Mayor, Councillor Jeff Lovell.

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said: “We want to use our year as a European City of Sport as a platform to talk about how we can improve Bristol as an international sporting destination and help make sport more accessible for people who live here.

“Whilst we are proud to be one of the cities with the highest participation rates in sport and active recreation there is still plenty that we can do to improve our international sporting profile, make sure that local people have access to facilities and making sure that everyone is able to take part.

“Not only is sport and being active a great way of improving our physical health but it has also been proven to improve our general mental wellbeing.”

European City of Sport will bring together the best of what Bristol is already doing to support and celebrate sport with additional events and campaigns especially for 2017.

Across the city there are a wide array of groups and organisations involved in delivering sports to local people and communities, and the aim is for everyone to work together throughout the year to highlight opportunities for even more people to get involved.

The European City of Sport title is awarded by ACES Europe, a not-for-profit group based in Brussels who promote sport across Europe.

Cities are judged on their sporting facilities, residents' level of participation, the success of local teams and sporting events.

Bristol is one of several European cities to be awarded the title, which is announced annually.

A list of sport and activity clubs from every ward in the city can be found here www.bristolcityofsport17.co.uk

To stay up to date with all the upcoming events, head to the European City of Sport Facebook page: www.facebook.com/BristolCityofSport17