The 2023 Games of the Small States of Europe were launched on Monday during a news conference at the Cottonera Sports Complex as the countdown for the biennial Games got started.
This is the third time that Malta is hosting the sports festival for small European countries.
The previous time the Games were on our islands were in 1993 – when the Malta contingent finished with a then-record haul of 32 medals – four gold, seven silver and 21 bronze – and ten years later when Team Malta finished with a medal tally of 44 medals – 11 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze.
The launch took place in a hybrid format and welcomed several Maltese medallists from the 1993 and 2003 editions such as tennis players Chris Gatt and Carol Asciak, sailors Jean Paul Fleri Soler and Mario Aquilina and judoka Jackie Xuereb.