October 06, 2008 09:13 AM Eastern Time 

132 European Athletes Meet the General Public for 'Vivre L’europe, Vivre Le Sport' Day

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Earlier today, sports activities and European athletes were given pride of place at the Champ de Mars which was transformed into a huge sports arena for 'Vivre l’Europe, Vivre le Sport' day. 132 athletes representing 26 European nations gathered to celebrate the world of European sport and meet the general public: among the athletes present, the public were able to see and meet Alain Bernard, Steeve and Christophe Guénot, Teddy Riner, Laure Manaudou, Valentina Vezzali, Roberto Camarelle, Leszek Blanik, Laura Flessel-Colovic, Antoine Dénériaz, Bernhard Kohl, Gabriela Szabo, Marcus Gronholm and many others.

The sports village, set up at the Champ de Mars and open to the general public free of charge, hosted numerous demonstrations and introductory workshops at the stands of 32 sports associations and in 18 practice areas. All took place in a friendly, family atmosphere.

Following the participants' procession in the morning, athletes took up positions at their respective stands in the sports village in order to demonstrate and promote their particular sport. While Alain Bernard or Teddy Riner were signing autographs, the Guénot brothers ran the 'introduction to wrestling' workshop, which was a great success with the youngsters. Also very popular with the public was the French Chess Association: here people could pit their wits against a Master playing simultaneously against several challengers.

The 'Vivre l’Europe, Vivre le Sport' day also highlighted the European dimension of sport: during a tribute ceremony, the 132 athletes representing 26 European nations were welcomed by Roseline Bachelot, French Minister for Health, Sport, Youth and Associations, Bernard Laporte, Secretary of State for Sport, Youth and Associations and Rachida Dati, Mayor of the 7^th district of Paris.

All press information relating to this event (photos, press pack, information on participating sports associations, poster, list of sports personalities present) can be downloaded from the following address: ftp://ftp.eurorscg.fr/

User name: has_tag

Password: presse

PHOTO CREDITS: D.Roudy

The original source-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the source-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.