Mirada highlights historical, tourist, economic and health reasons the year before the city became the World Capital of Sports
MADRID, 26 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The councilor delegate for Sports of the Madrid City Council, Sofía Miranda, defended in plenary session this Tuesday the proposal to declare the Madrid Popular Marathon, the Villa de Madrid Half Marathon and the San Silvestre Vallecana as sports activities of general interest to the city , which next year will be the World Capital of Sports.
The proposal has been unanimously approved by all municipal groups, after the delegate emphasized the importance for the capital of these three races that have linked their history to that of Madrid for dozens of years.
Miranda has highlighted how foot races, and in particular popular races, “constitute an activity that in recent decades has been gaining popularity worldwide, and particularly in the city of Madrid.”
As defended by the councilor, three types of reasons converge that justify and support the proposal to declare the celebration of the Madrid Popular Marathon, the Villa de Madrid Half Marathon, and the San Silvestre Vallecana as of special citizen significance and general interest for Madrid, even more so when in 2022 the city “is going to become the Sports Capital of the World”.
In the first place, historical reasons for Madrid’s connection with sports in general and running in particular, since the Madrid Popular Marathon dates back to 1978, the Villa de Madrid Half Marathon to 1989, and the San Silvestre, the most old of all, to 1964.
Secondly, promotional, tourist and economic reasons, given that, as already indicated, these three races are one of the main events in Madrid annually, which reverts to direct and indirect economic benefits and is a powerful means to promote the name of the capital, its attributes and its most emblematic places around the world.
The estimate of the economic returns of the Marathon for the city amounts to 42,915,052 euros. As for the Half Marathon, in 2019 economic returns were calculated amounting to 33,294,514 euros. And finally San Silvestre, whose direct economic impact on the city is estimated at 4,452,875 euros.
And, thirdly, Sofía Miranda has highlighted sports and public health reasons. “The promotion of the practice of sport and its positive values, such as effort, improvement, perseverance, equality, respect, sportsmanship, solidarity, camaraderie or personal and collective success, supposes intangible benefits for citizens, which revert in the form of health, health savings and improvement of the quality of life “, he commented.