ALGIERS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The 19th Mediterranean Games kicked off on Saturday night in the province of Oran, some 540km western of Algerian capital Algiers.
A two-hour-long opening ceremony was held at a crowded Oran Olympic Stadium, as athletes representing 26 Mediterranean nations walked into the stadium with their national colors. The athletes will compete in 24 disciplines.
This is the second time Algeria hosts the Mediterranean Games after 1975.
The first edition of the Mediterranean Games was organized in 1951 in Egypt's Alexandria, and since 1993 the Games have been held in the year that follows the summer Olympic Games. ■
