Sunny and Sporty: Marseille has it all in 2017

The year 2017 will be an exceptional one for the city of Marseille. This beautiful, city in the southern coast of France is not only the second largest – and the sunniest – city of the country, but in addition it has been chosen as the European Capital of Sport for 2017 (#MPSPORT2017). Therefore, if you are looking for a destination where you can sunbathe and assist or participate at sport events, look no further.

Another aspect making Marseille an awesome city is Marseille United – Sport pour Tous (MUST), one of the largest LGBTQIA-friendly sport clubs in France. MUST is only 4 years old but has grown exponentially since it was founded in a living room, where five friends met with the goal of creating a soccer club. The idea was to let people practice sports in a friendly environment where diversities are accepted and the sporting level is irrelevant. This idea worked so well that the club evolved and now counts more than 250 members and 12 sports; soccer, running, badminton, tennis table, volleyball, fitcross, pétanque, climbing, swimming, roller skating, tennis, and track and field. Multicultural (37 countries are represented in the club, from Canada to India, from Afghanistan to Mali, from Brazil to Turkey, from the UK to Kosovo) and diverse (about 20-25% of his members are heterosexuals and about 1/3 are women), MUST is a living laboratory always developing and yearning to become an example of integration.

In the context of #MPSPORT2017, MUST could not just let the opportunity slip by and be a spectator. Therefore, in partnership with the largest local track and field club the SCO Sainte Marguerite, who organizes the renowned race Marseille-Cassis, MUST organizes the 1st International Track and Field Meeting for All. The meeting will take place on Saturday July 8, 2017, at the Delort Stadium in Marseille, just a week before the French élite championships that will be held in the very same venue. With this meeting, MUST wants to promote equality, tolerance, and inclusiveness. The Meeting really is for all. It is open to amateurs and elite athletes, to  masters and not, to members of the LGBTQIA community and heterosexuals. And there is more. MUST will include the parasport and retrorunning communities as well. We are expecting a strong participation from numerous athletes, LGBTQIA and not, from all over the world, including two world champions. The countries already represented are Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Finland, USA, France, Greece, Switzerland… Thanks to this international participation, MUST will strive to create new partnerships and friendships that will contribute to promote and expose Marseille on an international level, making the city shine with a new light.

For more information on this one-day event, such as how getting there and the featured events, visit www.athlepourtous.com/en, and don’t miss any information: follow the hashtag #mapt2017 (Twitter and Facebook).