One of the largest multi sports events in the world is coming to Northern Ireland this August. The World Police and Fire Games is a biennial event commonly referred to as the ‘Olympics’ for serving and retired police, fire, prison and border security officers. Belfast won the right to host the Games following a competitive pitch led by Dame Mary Peters in 2007.
From 1st – 10th August thousands of athletes along with their friends and families from up to 70 countries across the world will compete in over 57 sports in 42 selected venues across Northern Ireland. As well as the traditional sports you would expect in an event of this size there are also a few more unusual sports such as Ultimate Fire Fighter, Stair Race and Toughest Competitive Alive which are unique to the Games.
Whilst the majority of the sports are being held in Belfast there are also another 13 official venues outside the City. For example canoeing will be in Castlewellan Lake; Beach Volleyball will be at East Strand, Portrush; Tollymore National Outdoor Centre will host orienteering and Bangor Aurora Aquatics and Leisure Centre will be home to swimming, netball, bench press and water polo.
All the events which are open to the public are free of charge for spectators.
