Eighteen European National Olympic Committees will send athletes to the third edition of the Mediterranean Beach Games taking place between 9th and 16th September.

Heraklion in Crete is hosting the Games, where 26 countries from the International Committee of Mediterranean Games will take part with more than 750 athletes competing.

Five different venues across three municipalities will host events with 13 sports to be played.

European countries will be hoping to dominate the medal table again, after Greece, who were also the hosts in 2019, topped the table four years ago, ahead of Italy in second and France in third.

The Games will also see a number of gold medallists from the European Games 2023 in Krakow-Malopolska looking to add to their collections.

Beach handball men’s gold medallists Spain are in action in Heraklion, as are their women’s silver medallists. Spain also won the women’s beach soccer gold medal in Krakow and will be among the favourites next week. Paola Garcia Lozania and Damian Quintero Capdevilla won the kata gold medals in Karate in Krakow and both the Spaniards are set to compete in the beach kata in Crete too.

All events will be streamed for free on medgames.tv, giving fans across Europe and the rest of the world the chance to watch all the competition in their favourite sports.

European Olympic Committees and Hellenic Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos looked forward to his country hosting the event and praised the opportunities it gives to athletes.

President Capralos said: “The Mediterranean Beach Games offer athletes from Europe, Africa and Asia the chance to represent their country in a multi-sport event and that is a fantastic thing to be able to do. Some of the sports played are not included in more established Games and we must always look for ways to provide opportunities to our athletes.

“I am delighted that Greece is hosting the Games for a second time and know that the beautiful city of Heraklion in Crete will provide a stunning setting. I look forward to attending the opening ceremony and watching some of the competitions over the course of the week.”

The Games will officially open with the opening ceremony, which will take place at the Karteros Beach Sports Centre on 9 September.