The World Gymnaestrada 2019 (officially: ''16th World Gymnaestrada 2019 Dornbirn'') took place from July 7 to July 13, 2019 in

Dornbirn Dornbirn () is a city in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the administrative centre for the district of Dornbirn, which also includes the town of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau. Dornbirn is the largest city in Vorarlberg ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...

(

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

). It was the second time that the

World Gymnaestrada The World Gymnaestrada is the largest general gymnastics exhibition. It is held every four years much like the Olympics. But the focus of this event is not on winning medals. The Gymnaestrada is about Group Performances – some with hundreds o ...

was held in Dornbirn. The event brought over 18,000 athletes from 66 federations and hundreds of guests to Vorarlberg.

Venues

The venues for the World Gymnaestrada 2019 were spread throughout the Vorarlberg Rhine Valley. The large group performances were held in

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

next to the

Lake of Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lake ...

. The opening and the closing events as well as the Dornbirn Special were held in the Birkenwiese Stadium in Dornbirn. The Trade Exhibition Centre Dornbirn was used for the group performances and almost all events in the evening. Moreover, there were eight open-air stages in the centres of different towns and villages. About 5,000 athletes from 20 nations participated in the closing event in the Birkenwiese Stadium on July 13, 2019.

Organisation

The participating countries were housed in so-called "National Villages", meaning that all participants from the same country were accommodated in the same town in Vorarlberg.

Goals

The World Gymnaestrada aims to promote the value and versatility of general gymnastics around the world and arouse people's interest in exercise and sports activities. General gymnastics brings together gymnasts from different cultural backgrounds to contribute to a better understanding between peoples. In addition, it aims to promote health, fitness and global solidarity.

External links

Website of the World Gymnaestrada Dornbirn

Documentary about the World Gymnaestrada 2019

References

{{Reflist Gymnastics competitions in Austria Sport in Vorarlberg Sports venues in Austria 2019 in Austrian sport International sports competitions hosted by Austria July 2019 sports events in Austria