Sofia 2013 Host City Contract Signed

Host City Contract Signed For Sofia 2013 Deaflympics
 
Sofia, Bulgaria; 26 September 2012: the host city contract for the Sofia 2013 Deaflympics was signed today, by the Bulgarian government, by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf and by the Bulgarian Deaf Sports Federation. The Sofia 2013 Deaflympics will open on 26 July 2013 and close on 4 August.
 
“On behalf of all the world’s deaf athletes, I would like to express my sincere thanks to our Bulgarian friends for offering to host the 2013 Deaflympics in Sofia. We will be forever grateful,” said ICSD President Craig Crowley.
 
Sofia first hosted the Deaflympics in 1993 and now joins Copenhagen as one of the only two cities in the world to have hosted two Deaflympics. (Oslo has twice hosted the Winter Deaflympics).
 
“Now the shadow of uncertainty has been completely lifted, I know deaf athletes everywhere will be training hard, to make their dreams of Deaflympics participation come true,” added Crowley. “We will now quickly move to the task of supporting ICSD members to prepare the biggest and strongest teams possible.”
 
“Bulgaria has recently proven that we are good hosts thanks to the successful World Deaf Volleyball Championships and the World Deaf Wrestling Championships here in Bulgaria and I believe we will once again show the world how well we can host sports events with the Deaflympics next year,” said Sports Minister Svilen Neykov. “There is a good sprirt of friendship and partnership between our country and the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf. We would like to express our positive attitude towards the Deaflympics. And we will deliver all that we have promised. .”
 
Iconic venue including the Vassil Levski National Stadium will feature at Sofia 2013 alongside newly built facilities including the recently-opened Arena Armeets indoor stadium, and recently-renovated facilities including the Carlsberg Bulgarian National Tennis Centre.
 
“The government’s support for Sofia 2013 is something we all value very highly,” said Bulgarian Deaf Sports Federation President Nikolay Nikolov. “Bulgaria is lucky to have a thoughtful and inclusive government that is committed to every level of sports participation, from the elite to the grassroots. We have strong federations in all the major sports and I look forward to their help in making sure the Sofia 2013 Deaflympics deliver excellent standards of competition.”
 
ENDS
 
For further information, please contact:
 
International Committee of Sports for the Deaf : Mark Cooper, cooper@ciss.org, +44 7840 611288
Bulgarian Deaf Sports Federation: Eli Zaharieva, bulgariandeafsports@abv.bg, +359 88 4330884

By Mark Cooper