17 July 2002
Government and civic leaders, sports administrators and enthusiasts, tourist organisations and business people have joined a chorus of welcome to the players and officials of the 2002 European Championships. And there's been particular praise for the organisers' decision to spread the tournament throughout Northern Ireland and embrace no fewer than 24 venues in five of the country's six counties.
The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Michael McGimpsey, has underlined the importance of the championships by inviting the teams and administrators to a pre-tournament reception at parliament buildings in the Stormont estate of south east Belfast.
The Minister says in a special tournament message: "It gives me immense pleasure to be able to welcome all 12 teams and I am delighted the players will be visiting so many of our cities, towns and villages. We are indebted to the European Cricket Council and the Irish Cricket Union for selecting Northern Ireland as the venue and I am confident that their decision will be rewarded by an excellently organised tournament. I have no doubt that such a high profile event will encourage a greater interest in the game here and I am, therefore, pleased that public agencies like the Northern Ireland Events Company and the Sports Council have been able to lend tangible support to the tournament."
The new Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Alex Maskey, and the City Council have agreed to open the doors of the historic City Hall for an end of tournament dinner at which winners' trophies and medals will be presented. And, as one of the main sponsors of the tournament, the council has also given a generous grant. Councillor Maskey said Belfast was rapidly gaining a reputation as a centre for major events and the European Championships were an excellent example of this.
He too issued a special tournament message: "I'm obviously very pleased that the players and officials will be making their base in Belfast and that many of the games will be played at a number of the city's fine grounds. Only a year ago the city hosted the famous Australian touring side and now we have the opportunituy of welcoming visitors from 11 others countries as well as players from the south and elsewhere in the north. I have no doubt the welcome will be a warm one wherever the players and officials go to play or to relax. Many will be paying their first visit to what is a fine city: I hope it won't be their last."
Another leading sponsor of the tournament is the Sports Council of Northern Ireland. The body's Lottery Fund, which has poured more than £50 million into sport in Northern Ireland over the past seven years, has made a special grant to the tournament.
The Sports Council's Chief Executive, Eamonn McCartan, says: "We have been most fortunate to host two high profile cricketing occasions as the Australian game and the European Championships in successive seasons and we congratulate the Northern and North-West provincial unions for the excellent work they've put it to the organisation of the latter.
"Weather conditions for the first couple of months of the season have been dreadful and, therefore, I'm very conscious of the hard work ground staff have been putting in week after week to get things ready. The Sports Council is also very grateful to the organisers for allowing the tournament to touch so many parts of the country: it's a fine example of spreading the message of sport in general and cricket in particular."
The Northern Ireland Events Company is the main sponsor of the tournament in keeping with its strategic aim of attracting major international events. In the past it has supportered such events at the British Seniors' Open Golf Championship, the World Senior Amateur Boxing Championships and a series of open air concerts at Stormont, including one featuring the Italian tenor, Pavarotti.
The company's new chairman, Mervyn Elder, says: "The Northern Ireland Events Company is delighted to be associated with the championships and congratulates the Irish Cricket Union and all those involved for their vision and determination in securing the event for Northern Ireland. It is particularly pleasing that the matches will be played at a number of venues throughout the country, giving an opportunity for as many people as possible to enjoy international cricket. Good luck to all the organisers, our thanks to all the local authorities, individual clubs and volunteers who will be involved and, of course, a very warm welcome to our European visitors." Another official sponsor is the Belfast Telegraph, Northern Ireland's biggest selling local paper and now part of the Independent News and Media Group. Its editor, Edmund Curran, said the paper had a fine traditional of excellent sports coverage and was, therefore, delighted to put its weight behind the tournament.
One club hosting their first Irish international will be Lisburn, ten miles south of Belfast, which will entertain Scotland on the first day of competition. And there will be a sense of real civic pride when the Deputy Mayor officially Ôopens' the club's recently expanded ground. Club president, Cecil Kirkwood, explained: "The local council has been most generous in helping to expand the ground and we think it's fitting the Deputy Mayor should do the honours at our first international. It's been quite a year for the club: first we've had the expansion, then in May we hosted Channel 4's excellent Cricket Roadshow and now we have our first international. But it's been a much more significant year for the community as a whole: a few months ago it was awarded city status as part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations."