Genoa to host 2023 Para Dance Sport World Championships

Genoa, Italy will host the 2023 Para Dance Sport World Championships from 24 to 26 November, World Para Dance Sport announced on Monday (24 April).

Over 200 athletes from five continents are set to compete in the three-day event that will take place at the RDS Stadium Genova.

This will be the second time the World Championships is held in Italy following Rome 2015. The last edition of the Para Dance Sport Worlds took place in Bonn, Germany in 2019. 

Genoa is the capital of the Liguria region in northwest Italy and has been selected as European Capital of Sport 2024, receiving important investments to restructure sport facilities and resources to boost the sports tourism economy.

The city was supposed to host the 2020 European Championships, which ended up cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and held an international World Para Dance Sport event for the first time a year later, with the Genoa 2021 World Cup. 

“We could not be more excited to have the World Championships returning to Italy after eight years and coming to Genoa for the first time," Camila Rodrigues, World Para Dance Sport Manager, said. "This is a city with a great passion for Para dance and many athletes could experience it first hand when Genoa hosted the World Cup two years ago. I am looking forward to seeing athletes from all continents meeting again in November to celebrate our beautiful sport and amaze the world.”

 
On the announcement, Franca Tonelli, President of the Genoa 2023 Local Organising Committee (LOC), said:

“In the magnificent scenery of the city of Genoa, the next European Capital of Sport 2024, we have the honour and privilege of being able to organise the 2023 Para Dance Sport World Championship. A big thank you also to the institutional support of the Municipality of Genoa and the Liguria Region and the technical support of the Italian Dance Sport Federation and the Italian Paralympic Committee. We cannot wait to offer a truly exceptional competition to all the athletes from all over the world.”

Laura Lunetta, President of the Italian Dance Sport Federation (FIDS), also expressed her excitement about the return of the World Championships to her country:

“As President of the Italian Dance Sport Federation, I am proud and excited to organise the Para Dance Sport World Championship in Italy and in particular in the city of Genoa which, given its great commitment to sport, will be the next European Capital of Sport 2024. Already in 2015, FIDS had the honour of hosting this event of the highest international level in Rome. Today, as then, we look forward to welcoming all the athletes of the Para Dance world. I would like to thank World Para Dance Sport for trusting Italy to host this prestigious event for the second time.”

President of the National Paralympic Committee of Italy (NPC Italy), Luca Pancalli said:

“Every international Para sport event has the power to bring attention to our world, and that is why we look forward to hosting the Para Dance Sport World Championships in the beautiful City of Genova, which will be the European Capital of Sport next year. Beyond the technical aspects, what we hope mostly is the possibility to involve as many people as possible, with the certainty that our athletes’ performances, together with their artistic and expressive talents as well as sports skills, will be able to sprout the seed of passion towards Para dance”.