We have continued to support the Chess Festival, a tournament that has become one of the world’s best. This is not a matter of my own opinion - this is a matter of the opinion of the world’s greatest Grand masters and the Chess media at large.
In addition to the above, we have also brought the PDC darts tournament to Gibraltar. This year we saw many of our young local talented players participate and do extremely well in the Junior Darts World Cup We again hosted The Gibraltar Pool Competition and the Gibraltar Snooker Open and these were televised worldwide.
When we were given the honour to host the Gibraltar Natwest International Island Games in 2015, I was confident that we would host the best Games ever. We are blessed with the calibre of people we had in the Gibraltar Island Games Organising Committee. They worked flat out for nearly 4 years. Many of them did so as volunteers.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the many people, from all walks of life, who contributed to the organisation and the running of the games. It has been a matter of immense pride for me to have been part of this, and I know the whole team in the GSLP Liberals shares the sentiment. Thank you!
But hosting the games was never, in my mind, going to be enough. As a former sportsperson and teacher, I wanted to look into the future. I know the importance of sport in the lives of many. Our facilities were adequate, but for our Games we were going to go further.
In our 2015 manifesto we had a commitment to build a 52m pool, new gymnasiums, develop Europa together with cricket and rugby, develop new squash courts and a new rifle shooting range. It was therefore sensible, prudent and convenient to do all these things and have them games-ready for the Island Games.
Our new facilities are the legacy of the Island Games. They represent an opportunity to create a sport industry which will help take local sport to the next level.
Our events-led tourism strategy is reaping rewards. Hotel occupancy is up, our flights are mainly full, our restaurants, bars and our entertainment industry are reaping the benefits. This economic activity is for the benefit of us all. Many of the events attract considerable TV coverage. The publicity value to Gibraltar of having these events beamed around the world is huge.
What is also of great benefit is the opportunity it gives our local participants to get involved in international events. Take for instance the Andrea Bocelli concert. Seeing our own Gibraltar Choir on stage singing with the world’s favourite tenor was a sight to behold and one of my proudest moments.
There is more yet to be done. The GSLP/Liberals are the team to do it. Judge us on what we have done and what we are going to do. On the 17th October Vote for the 10 GSLP/Liberals candidates.
09-10-2019 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR