World Gymnaestrada

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.

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 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
Edition Date City Country Participating
federations[3]		 Gymnasts[3]
I1953Rotterdam Netherlands145,000
II1957Zagreb Yugoslavia166,000
III26–30 July 1961Stuttgart West Germany1610,000
IV20–24 July 1965Vienna Austria2815,600
V2–6 July 1969Basle  Switzerland299,600
VI1–5 July 1975Berlin West Germany2310,500
VII13–17 July 1982Zurich  Switzerland2314,200
VIII7–11 July 1987Herning Denmark2517,300
IX15–20 July 1991Amsterdam Netherlands2819,500
X9–15 July 1995Berlin Germany3419,300
XI2–10 July 1999Göteborg Sweden3923,500
XII20–26 July 2003Lisbon Portugal5725,000
XIII8–14 July 2007Dornbirn Austria56[4]21,000
XIV10–16 July 2011Lausanne  Switzerland55[5]19,100
XV12–18 July 2015[6]Helsinki Finland5521,000
XVI7–13 July 2019Dornbirn Austria66[7]18,000
XVII30 July-5 Aug 2023[8]Amsterdam NetherlandsTBATBA


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

World Gymnaestrada 2007
Main article: World Gymnaestrada 2007

The 13th World Gymnaestrada was held in Dornbirn in Vorarlberg (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

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

The World Gymnaestrada Lausanne 2011 in brief[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

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
  • 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
Main article: World Gymnaestrada 2019

The 16th World Gymnaestrada in Dornbirn in Vorarlberg (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

References
  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. 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. "Home – 15th WORLD GYMNAESTRADA 2015 HELSINKI". Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  7. "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". www.wg-2011.com.
  12. "Sunnuntaina käynnistyvä Gymnaestrada on osallistujamäärältään suurin Suomessa järjestetty tapahtuma – Terveys – Ilta-Sanomat". Ilta-Sanomat. 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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