Tarragona (Spain), May 26, 2016 – Tarracus, the mascot inspired by a hazelnut was unveiled on May 18 in Tarragona in the presence of King Felipe VI of Spain. Its design is based on a drawing by schoolchild Aleix Girona, one of the ten finalists in the competition in which more than 10,000 children from 84 schools in the Tarragona region took part, and which designer Jean Jullien “tweaked” with a Roman helmet with the flag of the city.

EOC President Patrick Hickey, in Tarragona for an EOC Executive Committee meeting and the annual EOC Seminar, attended the unveiling of the mascot at the Teatre Tarragona, in a ceremony that brought together the President of the Spanish Olympic Committee Alejandro Blanco and the President of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games Amar Addadi, with the Mayor of Tarragona Josep Felix Ballesteros. Many government and sport authorities, the competition finalists and classmates also attended.

The event, which started with ‘Song of the Birds’ by Pablo Casals, the famous cellist and conductor from Catalonia, underlined the importance of the Mediterranean Games as a tool for peace and the coexistence of cultures in the Mediterranean.

The Tarragona XVIII Mediterranean Games will take place from 30 June to 9 July 2017.