13. July 2019  
Dornbirn, AUT  
Happy Gymnastics

World Gymnaestrada 2019 to host record number of nations

* The 16th FIG World Gymnaestrada started in Dornbirn, Austria and already the 2019 edition has reached a new landmark with a record 62 nations set to take part.
In the 66-year history of the World Gymnaestrada, the current high watermark is 55 nations at the Lausanne 2011 edition, while 53 was the figure when Dornbirn hosted the event previously in 2007 -  but due to bad weather, the opening ceremony had to be postponed from Sunday to Wednesday, July 10th...!
This year, though, Dornbirn and the neighbouring towns of the Vorarlberg region welcomed gymnasts from 60 different countries who will descend on this picturesque corner of Austria for seven days in July.
After the closing ceremony on Saturday, July 13 the Gymnaestrada is history now!  full of unforgettable moments, emotions, colours, friendship and for sure out-of-this world gymnastics of all kinds all are looking forward to 2023 in Amsterdam to the 17th anniversary of such a big and culturfull event ...
* Look to some impressions of the opening day in Dornbirn ...:


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* ... read more on our German-speaking website: >> www.gymmedia.de
      but also on the >> fig-website
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** f i g - new --: 07-July-2019
NEW DATE FOR THE WORLD GYMNAESTRADA OPENING CEREMONY
The Opening Ceremony of the World Gymnaestrada 2019 Dornbirn, originally scheduled for Sunday 7 July and postponed due to a thunderstorm, has been rescheduled to take place at the Birkenwiese Stadium on Wednesday, 10 July from 14:30-16:30 (GMT+2).
Marie-Louise Hinterauer, President of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), said: “The participants’ safety was an absolute priority in our decision to postpone the ceremony. This unforeseen start is obviously uncomfortable for us, but we are now looking forward to Wednesday. It would have been a pity, if we’d had to cancel altogether this beautiful event, which the gymnasts have been rehearsing for many months.”
Erwin Reis, CEO of the LOC, added: “It was absolutely the right decision. From 16:00 onwards, there was heavy rain, thunder and lightning for 45 minutes. At the Birkenwiese Stadium branches have come off trees.”
Margaret Sikkens Ahlquist, FIG Gymnastics for All Committee President, said: “I completely support this decision. It is the first time in the history of the World Gymnaestrada that we’ve had to postpone the Opening Ceremony, and we now have the challenge of re-working the rest of the programme around the new time for the event. We will do our best to arrange this and we appreciate the flexibility of the host broadcaster ORF, who immediately agreed to go ahead with the live production in this new timeslot.”

ORF’s live broadcast of the ceremony will run from 14:30-16:55 on Wednesday.