Taranto is ready to host its Mediterranean Games

The time has finally come. The 2026 Mediterranean Games are set to begin next week. President Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend the opening ceremony. The event is scheduled for Friday 21st at the Iacovone Stadium in Taranto, with live TV coverage provided by Rai Due, which will entrust the commentary to Rai executive Angelo Mellone (who is also from Taranto). The evening will mark the symbolic opening of an event that sees Italy hosting the Mediterranean Games once again, following Naples in 1963, Bari in 1997 and Pescara in 2009. Although it is an international event involving 26 countries, the organisers have focused entirely on the local area. The opening show, which we will see live on Rai and organised by the company CastaDiva, will feature guests Albano, Serena Brancale and Mietta. The ceremony has been deliberately designed as a tribute to Taranto and Puglia: creative director Paolo Conticello and artistic director Angelo Bonelli studied the region in detail whilst drafting the initial proposal for the tender, carrying out numerous in-depth site visits. The guided tours of the Mar.Ta. proved extremely useful to them.

“This ceremony,” they admit, “can only take place in Taranto because it would make no sense anywhere else.” Just as such a massive government investment might make no sense far from a city that is currently experiencing the most severe industrial crisis in Italy this century. Yet the trade unions have promised the government “not to spoil the party”, postponing the protests until September. Although Governor Decaro has said that during the opening ceremony he will hand Giorgia Meloni a letter criticising Ilva, written by a sick child. Alongside the Prime Minister, Ministers Foti and Abodi, Senate President Ignazio La Russa and European Commissioner Raffaele Fitto will be in attendance. The sports facilities are almost complete, although testing will be carried out after the Games, leaving the council to grapple with the legacy issue. Tickets for the ceremony sold out within a few hours, excluding 6,000 complimentary tickets. Traffic conditions in the city of Taranto are set to be challenging; during the two weeks of the Games, the city will be paralysed by the arrival of 200,000 visitors, as announced by the director of the organising committee, Carlo Molfetta. Athletes and guests will be travelling between the Ionian city and the other competition venues spread across the provinces of Brindisi and Lecce.

Rai will cover the 39 sporting disciplines with 55 hours of live coverage on Rai Sport, reporting on the main competitions and the achievements of Italian athletes, whilst RaiPlay will offer around 30 hours of live coverage. The athletes will be staying on two cruise ships that will remain moored in the city for two weeks. The closing ceremony, on 3 September – also organised by Casta Diva – will feature a concert by Rockin’1000 at the Iacovone Stadium, again featuring local artists. A child will sing the opening anthem. The slogan for the 2026 Mediterranean Games is ‘EMBRACE the future’ and, according to the organisers, it extends beyond the sporting event itself.