Comienzan en Tarragona las concentraciones a favor y en contra del Rey Torra no plantará al Rey en la inauguración de los Juegos Mediterráneos de Tarragona pero rompe relaciones con la Corona Muchas banderas de España y pitada al president de la Generalitat en el arranque de los Juegos

Después de varios días jugando al despiste y rumiando las directrices emanadas desde Berlín por parte del general Puigdemont, el presidente de la Generalitat y el Rey de España se miraron por fin a la cara en el palco del estadio del Gimnàstic de Tarragona con la excusa del deporte y de los Juegos Mediterráneos como puente para una breve tregua. Finalmente se pudieron saludar en privado y, al menos en público de cara a la galería, separados en sus asientos por Pedro Sánchez, asumieron una coreografía de respeto al compromiso institucional; eso sí, sin un solo gesto de más, como si no les quedase más remedio que tolerarse mutuamente durante un par de horas.

Quim Torra también pudo cumplir con su anuncio en las redes sociales de regalar al Monarca el libro de Jordi Borràs Dies que duraran anys sobre el 1 de octubre. «Quiero que quede claro lo que pasó, porque nosotros no lo olvidaremos nunca», escribió. También le entregó los informes del Síndic de Greuges, el defensor del pueblo en Cataluña.

Unos minutos después de ese breve encuentro, la amenaza de una gran pitada al Monarca durante el acto se evaporó en cuanto se mencionó por megafonía su presencia en el recinto. Al contrario, decenas de banderas españolas ganaron por goleada a alguna estelada aislada. Los signos independentistas se limitaron a unas pocas pancartas sobre los presos que se desplegaron brevemente.

La pitada, de hecho, se la llevó Torra cuando su nombre fue citado por el alcalde de Tarragona, Josep Fèlix Ballesteros. También despertó inicialmente algún silbido el himno nacional, pero la ovación fue atronadora a su finalización. En el Nou Estadi, Tarragona mostró una vez más que no se siente cómoda con el monocultivo secesionista que había amenazado con boicotear el arranque oficial de sus Juegos.

Un par de horas antes de que diese comienzo la ceremonia, la marea del lazo amarillo, muy ruidosa como siempre con sus pitidos y sus consignas habituales, concentró unos cientos de simpatizantes en pleno meollo de la antigua Tarraco romana, junto al anfiteatro, pero quedó muy lejos en número de anteriores convocatorias y apenas significó una anécdota que despertaba la curiosidad de los numerosos visitantes internacionales que paseaban por el corazón turístico de la ciudad mediterránea.

Torra, quizá con el ánimo de compensar la marcha atrás en su anunciado desplante a Felipe VI, alteró la agenda prevista y se acercó a los representantes de la Asamblea Nacional Catalana y Òmnium Cultural, convocantes de la protesta, para evidenciar su apoyo a «una Tarragona que es de los tarraconenses». A cambio le regalaron los oídos con los clásicos «president, president» y «ni un pas enrere» (ni un paso atrás). Tras cantar Els Segadors todos a coro, Torra abandonó a sus fieles para adentrarse en territorio comanche junto a su guardia pretoriana.

En los alrededores del estadio, con un despliegue policial impresionante, el presidente de la Generalitat pudo contemplar con sus propios ojos cómo también existe esa otra Cataluña que luce sin complejos las banderas de España y se siente orgullosa de unos Juegos que son imagen de España a nivel internacional. Excepcionalmente, los Mossos d'Esquadra tuvieron que emplearse a fondo en algún cordón de seguridad para evitar que saltase alguna chispa entre los grupos más radicales.

Con respecto a la ceremonia en sí, se cumplió la sensación de apatía popular hacia unos Juegos que no han terminado de despertar el fervor esperado por el alcalde. Tarragona no se volcó a fondo y el campo del Nàstic, con capacidad para 14.000 espectadores, lució algo más de media entrada -mayoritariamente invitados- para contemplar la vuelta de honor de los más de 3.600 deportistas de 26 países que se han registrado en una inscripción récord. Las voces de Lucrecia y Antonio Orozco, entre los artistas más reconocibles, sonaron para acompañar una coreografía con claras reminiscencias ligadas a Roma y a la civilización mediterránea.</s>Approximately 4,000 athletes from 26 different nations will compete across 33 sports throughout the 2018 Mediterranean Games, which kick-off tomorrow in Tarragona, Spain. Olympic champion Mireia Belmonte was recently announced as flag bearer for the host nation and will represent just one of several high-profile swimmers set to compete at the quadrennial event. Of note, this year’s Mediterranean Games were originally set to be held in 2017, however, the International Committee of the competition announced postponement due to funding problems amidst Spanish political and economic instability.

Belmonte took away 2 silver medals at the 2009 edition of the Mediterranean Games before sitting out the 2013 version. Back at it in 2018, the 200m fly Olympic gold medalist is ready to take on the field across the 400m free, 800m free, 200m fly, 200m IM and 400m IM events, setting the Spaniard up for a possible 5-gold result. Challenging her in the IM events will be Turkey’s Viktoria Gunes, the reigning world junior record holder in the 200m breast. 20-year-old Gunes will contest the 100m breast and 200m breast, as well as the 100m fly in Tarragona.

Egypt’s first-ever World Championships medalist, Farida Osman, is slated to race in the women’s 50m free, 100m free and 100m fly. In the sprint free races she’ll meet two French athletes in the form of Lena Bousquin and Marie Wattel. Italians Linda Caponi and Simona Quadarella will also be in the mix across several individual events.

While most of the women’s events have enough entires to provide at least 2 prelims heats, the 200m back and 400m IM events only show 8 women entered, ensuring all make it to the final.

The men’s array of talent includes Egypt’s Ali Khalafalla, Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev, along with Italy’s Luca Dotto, setting up a potentially super quick men’s splash n’ dash final. Egypt’s Marwan El Kamash and Serbia’s Velimir Stjepanovic will duel in the men’s 200m free, while Fabio Scozzoli of Italy and PJ Stevens of Slovenia will battle in the men’s 100m breast sprint.

1500m freestyle Olympic gold medalist Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy is entered in his specialty event in Tarragona, marking the first time he’ll have swum the 1500m in over 10 months.</s>It was the only sour note in an Opening Ceremony here that had simplicity, originality and style.

Catalan activists had invited people to greet the Spanish Royal party by banging saucepans.

A group of around 300 gathered on the approaches to the stadium.

A smaller gathering of Royal supporters waved the Spanish national flag and sang "Y Viva Espana" for the television cameras.

Inside, as the King took his seat, the strains of the "Marcha Real", Spain's national anthem, were heard and around the stadium hundreds of Spanish flags were waved.

Catalan President Qim Torra had taken his place alongside the King in the Royal Box but there were jeers from some of the crowd when his name was mentioned in the speeches of welcome by Organising Committee President Jose Felix Ballesteros and Mediterranean Games President Amar Addadi.

Torra handed the King a dossier on the events around the Catalan independence referendum when the pair met before the Ceremony.

As the King rose to make the short declaration of opening, there were some catcalls and for a moment he struggled to make himself heard but many throughout the crowd shouted "Viva el Rey".

It was an indication of the strength of feeling on both sides but it could not overshadow a magical Ceremony entitled "dreams of stone and water" which took its inspiration from the ancient world.

The show was directed by Hansel Serna who had worked with the renowned "Cirque de Soleil".

It began with the entry of nine lifesize representations of Tarracus, the mascot of these Games.

Each was decorated with distinctive colours to represent the spirit of the Mediterranean.

The mascot even had its own song, sung by Cuban born singer Lucrecia.

Then came a song specially composed for the Games, "Juguem per Viure", performed by a group of singers called Petacar and accompanied by a choir of schoolchildren.

Greece led the parade of nations, a tradition begun 90 years ago at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games.

Their flag was carried by archer Evangelia Psarra.

They were followed by Albania, in national colours of red and black.

Some of the team chose to display a giant Albanian flag.

After Andorra came Algeria, ''Argelia'' in Spanish.

Their flag was carried by boxer Reda Benabaziz.

In 2021, the Algerian city of Oran will be the next host.

Many of the team from Bosnia and Herzegovina wore their national flag around their uniforms as an improvised cape.

Their presence was a reminder of the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona at a time when Bosnia was embroiled in a bitter war in the Balkans.

They were allowed to compete under their own flag.

The entry of Kosovo was another reminder of that conflict.

The announcer introduced them as "Olympic Committee of Kosovo" - a special form of words which seemed to be deliberate.

The Spanish Government does not yet have diplomatic relations and it had taken fierce lobbying by Tarragona officials to make sure that the necessary visas were granted for their team of 40.

Many of the team waved their national flag as they entered behind flagbearer Herolind Nishevci from karate.

On what was still a very warm evening, most teams had opted for shorts and sports uniforms but some of the French wore red, white and blue to construct a giant human tricolour.

The Montenegrans chose to hold red and yellow scarves, which seemed to start a trend when followed by Portugal, parading in the Games for the first time.

They are not strictly a Mediterranean country but they will provide some great Iberian rivalry to their neighbours.

The arrival of the Spanish team produced the biggest roar of the night.

Their flagbearer was swimmer Mireia Belmonte, the Olympic 200 metres butterfly champion at Rio 2016 two years ago who is expected to add some stardust to these Games.

For King Felipe, it must have brought back memories of the 1992 Olympics when he carried the Spanish flag as they entered the Montjuich Stadium.

The ceremonial Mediterranean Games flag, three rings on white on a blue background, had arrived from the sky in spectacular fashion, brought in by parachutists of the "Patrulla Acrobatica".

The colour party included the Mayor of the Athletes' Village Jesus Angel Garcia Bragado, gymnast Bito Fuster, swimmers Santiago Esteva Alberto Duch and Silvia Fontana and handballer Carme Rams, a competitor at the 1979 Games in Split.

Before it was raised, the flag was passed over the heads of the athletes, which recalled the wonderful moment at the 1992 Games when a giant Olympic flag was lowered over the field where the competitors had drawn up.

The oath was taken by weightlifter Lidia Valentin, upgraded to Olympic champion for 2012 after doping violations, and official Jordi Ribeira.

A ceremony of water was an inspired moment which was a reminder of the 1955 Mediterranean Games.

Here, maidens poured water into the fountains around the centre stage as seven gymnasts formed the shape of a coral.

The stage was constructed around four columns.

These appeared to be in ruins but as the finale unfolded, the columns rose as the dancers returned in sequences which represented ''humanity'' and ''the natural world".

The performers returned to perform one last number and were joined by Tarracus as fireworks crackled overhead.

It was little wonder that Organising Committee boss Ballesteros, who also happens to be the mayor of Tarragona, seemed delighted as he left the stadium.

Yet the local paper Diari de Tarragona devoted no fewer than four pages to the political stand-off with the verdict "brilliant sports Opening Ceremony but politically tense''.

The big sporting paper Marca likened it to a bullfight and spoke of "whistles and applause for the King in a politicised ceremony''.</s>It will fall to King Felipe of Spain to officially open them on Friday (June 22), but his words will come against against a backdrop of political unrest in the wake of last October’s referendum on Catalan independence.

The growing crisis had a knock on effect which led to the postponement .

Feelings in the region continue to run high and many buildings are decorated with political symbols and yellow ribbons supporting leaders of the Catalan independence movement who have been imprisoned.

Organisers remain uncertain whether the leader of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Qim Torra I Pla, will carry out his threat to boycott the Opening Ceremony.

He vowed not to attend because the King and Spanish Government President Pedro Sanchez will both be there.

Torra called for the King to retract a speech in which he firmly backed the Madrid Government position.

The King was an Olympic sailor at Barcelona 1992 and was, for a long time, President of the Spanish Olympic Committee.

"Spain has always been a committed partner of the Olympic Movement and this will be proved once again in Catalonia, this time in Tarragona," he said.

"No effort has been spared."

A group of 26 nations are set to take part and a record 3.600 competitors have been arriving at the Athletes' Village in Port Aventura, 15km outside Tarragona.

Jesus Garcia Bragado is arguably the best qualified "Village Mayor" there has ever been.

A seven-time Olympic race walker, he won 50 kilometres gold at the 1993 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in Stuttgart and has taken part in more major events than anyone else.

"I’ve been to many [Athletes'] Villages during my career and this is one of the best organised I’ve ever seen," Bragado said.

"I am confident that it will work very well."

Many locals view this event as the biggest thing ever to come to Tarragona.

The headlines in the local newspaper Diari de Tarragona translates as "On your marks" and the old town, looking out over the gleaming Mediterranean, is already festooned with welcome banners, including the mascot Tarracus, a Roman centurion.

Tarracus is the result of a competition was held in schools throughout the region.

From some 10,000 entries, the winner was 13 year old Aleix Girona from the Abel Ferrater school in La Selva I Camp, 14km outside Tarragona .

His original drawing was adapted by French artist Jean Jullien to create the finished mascot.

Jullien had previously drawn the symbol for peace in the wake of the Paris terror attacks of 2015.

Tarracus wears a Roman helmet made of the water of the Mediterranean, with a plume in the colours of Tarragona.

He also wears a scarf of the type worn by Castellers, who celebrate festivals by climbing to form human towers or Castells.

Even the medals have been inspired by the look of Roman coins with irregular edges.

They are inscribed "Jocs Mediterranis" in Catalan, Spanish, Arabic, French and English.

They feature a charioteer and the legend Reditum al Arena - or return to the Arena - although competition here is not expected to be quite as fierce as the gladiatorial contests.

The ribbons hang from an arch which represents the "Aqueduct de les Ferrers", commonly known as the Pont del Diable, or Devil’s Bridge.</s>Team Italy came out with guns blazing in day 1 of the 2018 Mediterranean Games. All told, the Italians captured 7 individual titles across the men’s and women’s events, giving them a clear lead in the overall swimming medal table with 2 days to go.

Among the winners tonight was 19-year-old Simona Quadarella who handily won the women’s 800m freestyle in a time of 8:21.44. This freestyle ace has been making a name for herself as of late, having won bronze in this event at last year’s European Short Course Championships, as well as bronze in the 1500m distance at the 2017 World Championships.

This year, Quadarella notched a new Italian national record in the short course version of the 1500m, clocking 15:47.33 an a domestic meet in January.

Quadarella’s 8:21.44 outing tonight easily overtakes her previous season-best of 8:25.82 set in Riccione in April and boosts the teen up to 6th in the world rankings. Also of significance is the fact that Quadarella beat home nation favorite Mireia Belmonte in tonight’s race. Belmonte, Spain’s flag bearer at these Games, settled for silver in 8:26.55, while Slovenia’s Tjasa Oder rounded out the top 3 in 8:28.91.

Belmonte was back in the pool for the final individual event of the evening, the women’s 400m IM, where the Spaniard was shut out of the hardware completely. Taking the gold tonight somewhat surprisingly was her teammate Catalina Corro Lorente, the 23-year-old who cranked out a time just shy of her personal best to wow the home crowd.

Lorente notched a winning effort of 4:39.42, a mark just .22 over her career fastest of 4:39.20 back from 2014 and over a second ahead of runner-up Anja Crevar of Serbia. Crevar touched tonight in 4:40.62 for silver, while Italy’s Carlotta Toni finished in 4:41.43 for bronze.

As for Belmonte, her time of 4:43.98 left her in 7th place and well off her mark of 4:37.10 performed in April at the Spanish Championships. That time remains as the 5th fastest effort of the season worldwide.

Elena Di Liddo was another Italian winner on the night, proving too fast for the women’s 100m fly field. Clocking 57.59, Di Liddo represented the only swimmer to delve into sub-58 second territory, with a fiery opening split of 27.22. That was enough to keep the necessary distance ahead of Egypt’s Farida Osman, who touched in 58.51 for silver. Greek swimmer Anna Ntountounaki was also under the 59-second threshold, capturing bronze in 58.78.

Di Liddo has been as fast as 57.75 at her national championships earlier this year, but her time tonight elevates her up a spot in the world rankings ahead of teammate and national record holder Iliaria Bianchi.

Powerhouses Piero Codia and Matteo Rivolta battled in the men’s 100m butterfly race, just as they did at the Italian National Championships this Spring. In that competition, Rivolta touched out his teammate by just .01, clocking 51.89 to Codia’s 51.90.

The roles were reversed in Tarragona, however, as Codia struck gold in 52.25. Rivolta was just .11 behind in 52.34 to make it a 1-2 Italian punch in the race. Cleaning up 3rd was Turkey’s national record holder Umitcan Gures, who earned bronze in a time just .33 over his own national mark. He touched in 52.53 tonight to step onto the podium.
• Serbia’s Velimir Stjepanovic took the men’s 200m freestyle gold in 1:47.13, followed by Italy’s Filippo Megli (1:48.02) and Egypt’s Marwan el Kamash (1:48.12).
• Italy racked up another gold in the form of Erika Ferraioli‘s win in the women’s 100m free. 54.91 got the job done for Ferraioli, while Spain’s Lidon Munoz del Campo and Slovenia’s Neza Klancar finished with times of 55.28 and 55.40 for respective silver and bronze.
• Simone Sabbioni and Niccolo Bonacchi made it a 1-2 Italian finish in the men’s 50m backstroke sprint. Sabbioni touched in 25.11 to Bonacchi’s 25.21, while Greece’s Apostolos Crhistou was 3rd in 25.35.
• The women’s edition of the 50m back saw Italy’s Silvia Scalia beat the field in 28.33. Spanish swimmer Duane Da Rocha was 2nd in 28.57, with Greece’s Theodora Drakaou just .04 shy of silver in 28.61.
• The men’s 200m breaststroke was won by Italy’s Luca Pizzini, who scored a winning effort of 2:09.91, well over 3 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Joan Ballester of Spain was next in 2:13.48, while his teammate Alex Castejon took the bronze in 2:13.91.
• Jessica Val of Spain earned gold for her nation in the women’s 200m breast, winning in 2:25.22 ahead of teammate Marina Garcia. Garcia touched in 2:25.39 for silver, while Turkey’s reigning world junior record holder in this event, Vicktoria Gunes earned bronze in 2:26.92.
• Greece earned its first gold in the form of Andreas Vazaios, who won the men’s 200m IM. His time of 1:59.40 was well off his own national record of 1:57.98 set at last year’s World Championships, but he did represent the only swimmer tonight to dip into sub-2 minute territory. Behind him was Spanish talent Hugo Gonzalez, who competes for Virginia Tech now stateside, who earned runner-up in 2:00.53. Portugal’s Alexis Santos was next in line for bronze in 2:00.83.
• The Italians won the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay in a collective time of 3:14.98. The women’s 4x200m freestyle squad also raced its way to gold in 8:02.63.</s>"I will be there, these Games are in Tarragona, in Catalonia," he said.

"It is our home, they won't push the President of the country out of our home."

Torra had threatened to boycott the Ceremony and has asked for meetings to discuss the Catalan question with King Felipe, who will open the Games.

Torra was angry at the King for making a speech which was critical of Catalan independence activists after the referendum on the issue in October.

"I won't have a picture taken with the Spanish King," he said.

"We are not interested in having pictures with those who condone and promote repression."

Some 12 hours before the Ceremony, archers were the first in action at Camp Clar on a blistering morning.

Nineteen-year-old student Mete Garoz led the way in the men's recurve ranking round with a score of 683.

In the women's competition Yasemin Anegoz shot 661 to earn the top seeding spot for the knock-out phase.

Italy did not qualify for the FIFA World Cup but their under-18s were the first side in action in the football tournament.

They drew their Group B encounter 2-2 against Morocco.

Host nation Spain began their campaign in Group A with a convincing 4-1 victory over Algeria.

Two goals apiece from Barcelona duo Abel Ruiz and Sergio Martin Gomez set them racing into a four goal lead before a late goal from Standard Liege youngster Idir Boutrif pulled one back for the Algerians.

Turkey's women opened proceedings in volleyball with a 3-1 victory over Bosnia Herzegovina in Group B.

In Group D of the men's competition Tunisia won in straight sets against Albania.</s>He reaffirmed his call for King Felipe to apologise to the people of Catalunya for a critical speech made last October.

He has indicated that he will meet new Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez next month.

Former Catalan leader Carlos Puigdemont sent a video message from Berlin.

It seems no big Opening Ceremony these days seems to be immune from a political set to.

Many will remember the row at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast earlier this year when protocol did not allow Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to speak.

Here, the traditional welcome ceremonies for 26 competing teams are under way at the Athletes' Village.

These include the traditional raising of the flag and a greeting from Village Mayor Jesus Garcia Bragado.

They include Kosovo, who have no diplomatic relations with Spain.

After visa problems when officials tried to visit for preparation workshops, the necessary papers have now been granted for a team of 40 in 12 sports.

Rio 2016 judo champion Majlinda Kelmendi is one of the team coaches and received the Kosovan team flag from President Hashim Tacjin before they departed for Tarragona.

The host nation have confirmed that Olympic 200 metres butterfly champion Mireia Belmonte will carry the Spanish flag at the Opening Ceremony, even though she is set to compete less than 24 hours later.

She told Spanish media, "’I am very aware that having the home crowd is an added motivation.

Belmonte sees the Games as an important stepping stone towards the European Championships in Glasgow later this year.

The Spanish Olympic Committee have pulled out all the stops to make sure star names are included.

Their team features Rio 2016 gold winning kayaker Marcus Cooper, London 2012 windsurfing champion Marina Alabau and taekwondo player Eva Calvo, who only lost out to Britain's double Olympic champion Jade Jones at Rio 2016.

There are competions in some sports before the Opening Ceremony.

The archers will be the first to see competitive action in these Games with ranking rounds for both men and women on Friday morning.

In the men’s football, which is an under-18 tournament, Italy are due to begin their campaign against Morocco at Calafell at 10am.

The host nation Spain face Algeria at Reus and France meet Turkey at La Pobla de Mafument.

Both matches kick off at 1 pm .

There are also preliminary matches in volleyball.
The inauguration ceremony of the XVIIIth edition of the Mediterranean Games takes place in Tarragona, Spain.