Water as an element that unites people, cultures and territories. The sea as a bridge between the past and future of the great Mediterranean events. This was the message that emerged at the Main Press Center of the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games, where the fourth edition of the Mediterranean Beach Games PortimãoLagoa 2027 was officially presented, in a symbolic handover between Puglia and Portugal. A moment full of meaning, which placed the theme of legacy at its center: the organizational experience of Taranto 2026 will represent a heritage of knowledge and good practices destined to carry on along the coasts of the Algarve, where the Mediterranean Beach Games will be held in 2027.

Seated at the speakers’ table, addressing journalists directly, were Pedro Farromba, Executive Director of both the Portuguese Olympic Committee and  the Portimão–Lagoa 2027 Organizing Committee, recently elected as a member of the ICMG Executive Committee; Iakovos Filippousis, Secretary General of the International Committee of Mediterranean Games; and João Pereira, the Portuguese triathlete who will be the protagonist of the symbolic car journey from Taranto to Portimão–Lagoa. Pereira also took part in the Tarragona edition of the Mediterranean Games, further strengthening his personal and sporting bond with the event.

In the front row for the presentation were Fernando Gomes, President of the Portuguese Olympic Committee, the mayors of Portimão and Lagoa, Álvaro Bila and Luís Encarnação, and Carlo Molfetta, Director General of the Taranto 2026 Organizing Committee.

The common thread between the two events will be water itself. It is no coincidence that the concept of the 2027 Beach Games is inspired by the motto “Carried by Light, United by Water”: a light that sets out from Taranto and crosses the Mediterranean to Portugal, symbolically accompanied by water from the participating countries, in an ideal journey between the shores of the sea that has united Mediterranean civilizations for millennia. An image that also recalls the bond between the Capo San Vito lighthouse and the Ponta do Altar lighthouse, an identifying symbol of Portimão–Lagoa 2027.

The Portuguese delegation also carried out a period of observation at Taranto 2026, closely studying the work of the Organizing Committee and gaining best practices in organization, logistics and operational management of the event. Particular attention was also paid to 3×3 basketball, a discipline that will be part of the 2027 Beach Games program and which therefore represents a further concrete element of continuity between the two events.

Portimão–Lagoa 2027 will feature 14 sports disciplines, with an expected participation of between 800 and 900 athletes from 26 countries. The competitions will take place between Praia da Rocha, in Portimão, and Praia Grande, in Lagoa, two natural settings connected by the Arade river and the sea, elements that represent the very identity of the event.