The first-ever Mediterranean Athletes’ Forest will be inaugurated on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, at the corner of Via Erasmo Iacovone and Via Giuseppe Scotti, alongside the Stadio Iacovone, in a joint ceremony bringing together the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games (ICMG) and the City of Taranto.

The ICMG 1st Vice President Acting as President, Mr Mehrez Boussayene, the ICMG elected President, Mr Francesco Purromuto, and the Secretary General of the ICMG, Mr Iakovos Filippousis, and the Mayor of Taranto, Mr Pietro Bitetti, together with the Athletes participating in the ICMG Mediterranean Youth Ambassadors programme – the next generation of the Mediterranean sport family, and the generation that will inherit the environment we shape today, will plant the first trees.

The Athletes’ Forest is a flagship initiative of the ICMG Sustainability Programme, which places environmental responsibility at the heart of the Mediterranean Games and of the ICMG’s legacy commitments to every Host City. Rooted in the conviction that the Olympic and Mediterranean values – respect, excellence, solidarity – are inseparable from respect for the natural environment and social responsibility that unite the twenty-six nations of our Family around a shared sea. The Forest turns the sporting achievement of the Athletes into a living initiative, that will continue to serve the community of Taranto long after the Closing Ceremony.

Planting will continue in the months following the Games, expanding the Forest into a permanent green landmark of the city, a lasting contribution to the quality of life of the people of Taranto, and a visible reminder that the Mediterranean Games leave more behind than medals.

“With the Athletes’ Forest, we are planting the values of the Mediterranean Games into the soil of Taranto,” said Mr Iakovos Filippousis, Secretary General of the ICMG. “Every tree stands for an athlete, for a Member NOC of our Family, and for the shared future we are committed to safeguarding, a future in which sport and the environment grow together.”

The ceremony will take place at 11;30, at the corner of Via Erasmo Iacovone and Via Giuseppe Scotti, adjacent to the Stadio Iacovone. Media representatives are cordially invited to attend.