1991 Summer Universiade

Last updated
XVI Summer Universiade
Sheffield1991logo.png
Host city Sheffield, United Kingdom
MottoThe Future of Sport
Nations101
Athletes3,346
Events123 in 11 sports
Opening14 July 1991
Closing25 July 1991
Opened by Anne, Princess Royal
Torch lighter Helen Sharman
Main venue Don Valley Stadium

The 1991 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XVI Summer Universiade and generally referred to as the World Student Games, were held in Sheffield, England from 14 to 25 July 1991. The Games were the largest sporting event to be hosted in the United Kingdom since the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Contents

Sheffield City Council saw the event as a catalyst for urban renewal and regeneration after industrial decline. [1] [2] It set up a company, Universiade GB Ltd, to run the games. New facilities built for the event included the centrepiece Don Valley Stadium and other arenas, while the Lyceum Theatre was renovated for the associated cultural events. [1]

More than 3,300 athletes took part from 101 countries, including the first appearance of a unified German team at a Summer Universiade. [3]

Preparation and development

Sheffield was selected as the host for the 1991 Summer Universiade at an annual meeting of FISU's (Federation Internationale du Sport Universitaire) Executive Committee in the city in February 1987. [4] Despite initial excitement, lack of central government funding and sponsorship led to the organising company, Universiade GB, going into liquidation in the summer of 1990 with debts of more than £1 million. Sheffield City Council stepped in to run the games using taxpayer money.

Venues

The three major venues for the events were all built especially for the event, on land formerly occupied by various industrial works. Don Valley Stadium, the centrepiece for the Games, was completed in September 1990, at a cost of £29 million. It was the first entirely new outdoor sporting arena built in Great Britain since Wembley in 1923. With a capacity of 25,000, it was twice as large as the second-biggest athletics arena in the country, Crystal Palace.

Ponds Forge, named for the former steelworks demolished to make way for it, hosted the watersports events. Sheffield Arena opened in May 1991 as a multi-purpose venue and took on the role of the Gymnastics Hall for the Games.

Other venues included the Concord Sports Center in Shiregreen and Hillsborough Stadium. The football tournament was held across Yorkshire; at Huddersfield, Chesterfield, Wakefield, Bradford, Scunthorpe and Stocksbridge, with the final played at Hillsborough.

Accommodation

Hyde Park flats during the 1991 Summer Universiade Hyde park flats.jpg
Hyde Park flats during the 1991 Summer Universiade

Hyde Park flats near Sheffield City Centre were used for accommodation for the athletes during the games. Built in the 1960s, many had been demolished, with those left being specially refurbished for the Games.

Medals

The medals were forged by Thessco, a Sheffield-based mint, who charged no fee for their manufacture. The medals' designs were selected through a national student competition, and the final design bore the Yorkshire Rose. [5]

Broadcasting

The organisers struggled to find a live broadcast partner with any of the three terrestrial networks so a deal was signed with BSB (British Satellite Broadcasting) and Sky Sports provided extensive live coverage of the event. However, at the time only 1.5 million households had access to satellite television, thus reducing the potential audience. Highlights were shown on Yorkshire Television, with commentary from John Helm and Gary Bloom.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony included a performance honouring Sheffield's industrial heritage, with participants wearing flat caps and waistcoats and carrying hammers, choreographed by Judy Chabola, who had been involved with the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Sheffield native Helen Sharman, Britain's first astronaut, attracted publicity when she tripped and dropped the games torch, extinguishing it; the flames were lit by the ignitor in the flame bowl itself. [6]

The Games were then officially opened by Princess Anne.

Sports

Medal table

  *   Host nation (Great Britain)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States  (USA)29232779
2Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China  (CHN)21191151
3Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union  (URS)16141949
4Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea  (PRK)113519
5Flag of Italy.svg  Italy  (ITA)671023
6Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan  (JPN)515828
7Flag of Germany.svg  Germany  (GER)47617
8Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain  (GBR)*45514
9Flag of South Korea (1984-1997).svg  South Korea  (KOR)42410
10Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada  (CAN)351119
11Flag of Poland.svg  Poland  (POL)33511
12Flag of France.svg  France  (FRA)3249
13Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary  (HUN)3115
14Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland  (IRL)3104
15Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia  (AUS)2237
16Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands  (NED)2204
17Flag of Romania.svg  Romania  (ROM)1315
18Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria  (NGR)1203
19Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica  (JAM)1102
20Flag of Bermuda.svg  Bermuda  (BER)1001
Flag of Chinese Taipei for Universiade.svg  Chinese Taipei  (TPE)1001
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland  (FIN)1001
23Flag of Spain.svg  Spain  (ESP)0347
24Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba  (CUB)0112
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway  (NOR)0112
26Flag of Malaysia 23px.svg  Malaysia  (MAS)0101
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico  (MEX)0101
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone  (SLE)0101
Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia  (YUG)0101
30Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium  (BEL)0022
31Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia  (INA)0011
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya  (KEN)0011
Totals (32 entries)125126130381

Legacy

Despite the initial high hopes that the Games would foster regeneration in the city, heavy financial losses continue to burden the Games' legacy. Whilst the event cost a reported £10 million to host at the time, with building costs predicted to reach only £25 million, by the opening ceremony construction had already cost £174 million. Loans taken out to build the three main arenas - Don Valley Stadium, Ponds Forge International Sports Centre and Sheffield Arena - have been refinanced four times in the years since, with the final cost coming to £658 million when it is paid off in 2024. [7] [8]

The Don Valley Stadium was used in later years for a variety of events, including rugby league, American football and as Rotherham United's home ground during the construction of New York Stadium. It was demolished due to budget cuts in 2013. [9]

The Sheffield Arena constructed for the games became the home of the Sheffield Steelers Ice hockey team in 1991, in an attempt to find a long term use for the venue. Games continue to be played by the team. [10]

The 1991 Summer Universiade remains the only time that the Games have taken place in the United Kingdom.

References

  1. 1 2 "Troubled student games 'were almost scrapped'". Sheffield Telegraph . 3 April 2009. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  2. "World Student Games: Sheffield's forgotten sporting spectacle". BBC News . 18 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  3. "Spotlight: Remembering the Sheffield 1991 Summer Universiade". www.fisu.net. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  4. "Sources for the Study of the World Student Games, 1991" (PDF). www.sheffield.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  5. "ON THIS DAY: 1991: World Student Games get underway in Sheffield - PICTURES AND VIDEO". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  6. Levy, Glen (27 July 2012). "1991 World Student Games". Time. ISSN   0040-781X . Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  7. "Sheffield's World Student Games £658m debt 'disaster'". BBC News. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  8. "Sheffield is still counting the cost 20 years on". TaxPayers' Alliance. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  9. "Rotherham future remains unclear". 10 July 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  10. "Sheffield Arena". Sheffield Steelers. Retrieved 22 April 2023.