The 19th Mediterranean Games, Oran 2022 and ‘the New Algeria’

Abstract

From 25th June to 5th July 2022 the city of Oran located in the west of Algeria hosted the 19th Mediterranean Games. Algeria’s strategy to organize regional sport events reached its peak in the 1970s with the organization of the 7th Mediterranean Games in 1975 and the African Games in 1979. Algeria had to wait until 1990 to organize another major continental competition, which was the African Cup of Nations. Between the two Mediterranean Games a number of events outside sport occurred in the country (and around it). The aim of this paper is through the analysis of national and international media accounts to uncover these key transformations and examine local and geopolitical context surrounding the 19th Mediterranean Games, including the significance of Mediterranean culture in past and contemporary Algeria, symbolized by the host city, Oran.

Keywords:

• The Mediterranean Games
• Oran
• Mediterranean Sea
• Mediterranean culture
• the ‘New’ Algeria

A city nestled between the traditions of rich history and keeping pace with modernity […] Reached from the north, Fort Santa Cruz and the statue atop Notre Dame Chapel extend their arms to you as a welcoming sign. Andalusian Oran, Spanish Oran, Ottoman and European Oran. Finally, Algerian Oran, Algeria. Memory of a nation. All this to say that this city has a long history that makes up the authenticity of the Mediterranean.¹

The 19th Mediterranean Games held in Oran (Algeria) in 2022, with its adopted slogan ‘We are Waiting for you’ are intended to announce the return of Algeria into the international sporting arena as a host of major sports events. Algeria’s strategy of organising regional sports events reached its peak in the 1970s with the organization of the 7th Mediterranean Games in 1975 and the African Games in 1979. Algeria then had to wait until 1990 to organize another major continental event, the African Cup of Nations. Between the two Mediterranean Games, a number of events outside of the sporting context occurred in the country and its environs. The aim of this paper is therefore to highlight and examine these key transformations and the local and geopolitical context surrounding the 2022 Mediterranean Games together with the significance of Mediterranean culture in Algeria, the symbolism of Oran, as a Mediterranean city, and as a host of this event. In order to do this the analysis presented in this paper will focus on media accounts surrounding the 1975 and the 2022 editions of the Games, and the historical and power dynamics both within the country, and in the geopolitical context surrounding the Games. Identifying Oran, as a city, as the host of the 19th Mediterranean Games in the context of the Covid 19-Pandemic, brings forth a strong evocation of the image of the Nobel laureate, Albert Camus’s Novel La Peste (the Plague). Furthermore, we cannot examine the city of Oran without referring to its association with pop culture, and Rai music in particular.

The paper first introduces a brief history of the Mediterranean as experienced by populations living in Algeria. The second part describes the ideal of the Mediterranean of French-Algeria. The third part discusses the significance of the Mediterranean in post-colonial and post-conflict Algeria, as expressed around the 1975 and the 2022 Mediterranean Games held respectively in the capital, Algiers, and in Oran (the country’s second city).

Introduction: Algeria, the Mediterranean

Algeria is located in the southern Mediterranean, connected to the sea by a 1,200 kilometre coastline. The position of Algeria, like that of other countries in the Mediterranean, the so-called cradle of civilizations, has shaped its history, a history of encounters with different cultures, and of foreign conquests. The first inhabitants of Algeria and North African were the Berbers, the first external conquest came from the Phoenician Merchants in 900 BC with the establishment of ports and market towns for trade. This was followed by the resurgence of Berber Kingdoms across North Africa, in Numidia and Mauritania, and then subsequently by the Roman conquest, which controlled the area for several centuries, transforming military posts after the invasion into agriculture settlements, with cities and networks of roads built to serve the economy of the Roman Empire. Incorporating the urban agglomerations of Thamugadi, Hippo and Cirta in the east, and Caesarea in the west. However Berber tribes in the mountains of Aures and Kabylie remained undisturbed by, and hostile to, foreign invasions (White, 1944).² It was in Hippo where Bishop Saint Augustine, an important figure in the history of Christianity, died after the siege of the Vandals, tribes of Germanic origin, who crossed to Africa from Spain in 429. The presence of the Vandal dynasty was ended by the Byzantines in 533 re-establishing Roman rule over North African provinces. In 698 a Muslim Army under the Umayyad Dynasty ended the Roman and Christian rule in the North African coastal belt. In the conquest of the remaining territories of North Africa the Arab-Muslim army had to overcome fierce resistance from the Berber tribes. This defeat was followed by the massive conversion to Islam of Sanhaja Berber tribes. The Berbers subsequently integrated with the Arab-Muslim army to pacify the remaining territories of what is known today as the Maghreb (Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco), also joining forces for the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus). According to Mones ‘The history and civilization of Islamic Spain constitute a monumental edifice, the foundations of which were laid by Arabs and Berbers together’.³ Arab-Berber (also known as Moorish) presence in Iberian Peninsula and Sicily continued from 711 until the end of Nasrid Kingdom of Granada in 1492. Al-Andalus was ruled by a number of dynasties or caliphates including Ummayades, Abbassides, Almoravides, Almohads, and Mamamlik (small kingdoms). Al-Andalus achieved its highest level of prosperity, tolerance and advances in sciences, philosophy, arts, architecture, and music with the integration of different cultures and religions, and this period is thus recognized up to the present day as the golden era of the Mediterranean, an era recognized for its utopic model of co-existence of cultures celebrating Mediterranean cosmopolitanism.

This cosmopolitan culture was replaced during the Reconquista (the regaining, by Christian forces, of territories in the Iberian Peninsula under Muslim rule), and the Muslim and Jewish populations were forced to convert to Christianity or were expelled to seek refuge in southern Mediterranean countries in North Africa and in Turkey. The Reconquista was extended to territories in North Africa in Morocco to build military fortresses in order to stop Muslim Armies from re-occupying the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish influence in language, architecture, music and food, is an integral part of the cultural scene in Mediterranean cities of Morocco close to Ceuta and Melilla (which are still autonomous cities under Spanish rule), and in the west of Algeria, and Oran in particular.

The control of Oran by Spain ended in 1792 when the city fell into the hands of the Ottoman protectorate of Algiers. The Ottomans controlled the major port cities for Algeria for 300 years contributing to the Turkish influence in music, food, architecture and military-administrative elites, who (as argued in the subsequent section) contributed to the initiation of the Mediterranean Games. The notion of trans-Mediterranean identity and solidarity was revived by the French colonial project of Algeria and the annexation of its territory to cosmopolitan France, following years of warfare and counter insurgency characterized by ‘great deal of violence – death, social and cultural destruction’.⁴ This symbolized a form of extended entity of French nation or Greater France from Dunkirk located in the north of France, on the shores of the North Sea, to Tamanrasset in the extreme south of Algeria. The military occupation (named also the pacification and ‘civilizing mission’) of Algeria opened the door for the settlement of European population (Colons) from France, Spain, Italy, and Malta with access to privileges including citizenship which was denied to the majority indigenous Muslim population. The Crémieux Decree, which was promulgated on September 24, 1870, offered collectively to Jews of Algeria French citizenship hence accentuating further the divide in Algerian society between Europeans, Jews, and majority Muslim (Arab Berber) communities, making the myth of cosmopolitan Mediterranean society of mixed cultures and religions hard to realise. This was despite the efforts of some intellectual groups and individuals, such as the Nobel prize laureate Albert Camus, son of Spanish immigrants, who was born and raised in French Algeria., and who believed in the potential for a Hellenic Mediterranean cultural renascence:

Linking together both Western and Oriental sensibilities and traditions and simultaneously providing Europe with an alternative pathway beyond Fascism and Russian Collectivism […] An unreal political space in response both to the colonial situation in Algeria and to the dilemmas of French Algerian writers, whose cult of ‘algérianité’ (the building of French cultural identity in North Africa) has failed.⁵

The unfolding events that took place from 1945 in the east of Algeria, (the Setif and Guelma Massacres)⁶ were followed by the war of independence (1954–1962), insurgency and counter insurgency, urban warfare, and the scorched-earth policy of paramilitaries, the Secret Organization Army (OAS) and assassination of pro-independence activists. The heavy cost in terms of death and devastation, of the struggle for independence, the use of torture, kidnapping, the treatment of the Harki, native Algerians who fought for France in the war, the forced displacement of populations etc., put an end to the ideal of Mediterranean fraternity and co-existence between ethno-religious communities in French-Algeria.

The city of Oran symbolizes this heart-breaking cleavage between communities. The city had one of the highest concentrations of European inhabitants, and of Jewish populations, estimated in 1961 to be 400,000 inhabitants, of which 220,000 were Europeans and 180,000 Muslims. Most of the Europeans were descendants of Spanish emigrants. Following the ceasefire on March 19, 1962 a series of events that occurred in Algiers and in Oran, as reported by le Monde newspaper, precipitated the exodus of the European population

The bombing of the Arab quarter in Kasbah of Algiers by OAS which killed 24, followed by the same day shootings in Oran causing 10 dead and 16 injured. The end of April, during Ramadan, a car bomb exploded in a busy market. In May, 10 to 15 Algerians were killed on daily basis. June 7, 1962 was one of the high points of the scorched earth policy. The Delta commandos of the OAS set fire to the library in Algiers and delivered its sixty thousand volumes to the flames. In Oran, the town hall, the municipal library and four schools were destroyed by explosives. On June 25 and 26, in the city under cover of the smoke of the fires, commandos of the OAS attacked and robbed six banks. On July 1, 1962, the Algerian population voted massively for Algerian independence. The “yes” vote obtained 91.23% of the registered voters and 99.72% of the voters. On July 5, 1962, it is the drama [in Oran]. The crowd of the Muslim districts invades the European districts [Saint-Antoine, Plateau- Saint-Michel, Gambetta, Saint-Eugène], towards 11 o‘clock in the morning. The death toll on July 5 was high. According to the figures given by Dr. Mostefa Naït, director of the Oran hospital, 95 people, including 20 Europeans, were killed (13 with knives). On May 8, 1963, the Secretary of State for Algerian Affairs declared to the National Assembly that there were 3,080 people reported kidnapped or missing, of whom 18 were found, 868 released and 257 killed.⁷

The Mediterranean Games and Nation-State Formation: ‘We Are Mediterranean’

The Mediterranean Games, insofar as they are intended as a relevant international sporting event on the world scene, have belonged, since their inception in 1951, to a diffuse context. On the one hand, they are supposed to facilitate international understanding and cooperation; on the other, they must face a world of political ambitions, grievances and claims, regional conflict and social and economic differences within participating states.⁸

The idea of the Mediterranean Games was initiated by the president of the Egyptian National Olympic Committee, Mohamed Taher Pacha, with the support of the Greek Ioannis Ketseas, also a member of the IOC. The Turkish can also claim that they contributed to the initiation of the Mediterranean Games as Mohamed Taher Pacha born in İstanbul in 1897 was ‘the grandson of Arifi Pasha, one of the Grand viziers of the Ottomans, and the son of Mustafa Şekip Bey, Stockholm Ambassador of that period. His mother was Princess Emine Azizi, the daughter of Egypt Khedive İsmail Pasha whose mother was of Turkish origin.⁹’

The Games aimed at bringing together countries in the Mediterranean Basin from Asia, Europe, and Africa of different cultures, religions and languages with a shared Mediterranean identity and common history. The first Mediterranean Games were held in Alexandria, Egypt, in honour of the initiator of the Games, Mohamed Taher Pacha. The Opening Ceremony took place in October 5, 1951, with the presence of 10 countries, participating in 13 sports.¹⁰ Another Arab personality who contributed in consolidating the Mediterranean Games is the president of Lebanese National Olympic Committee and member of the International Olympic Committee, Gabriel Gemayel. In 1961, he was behind the foundation of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games (ICMG) (in French, Comité international des Jeux méditerranéens, CIJM). The headquarters of ICMG is in Athens. Gabriel Gemayel was appointed its first president. Stanton (2012) contends that under Gemayel’s leadership and with his IOC position, membership in the Olympic community helped Lebanon take a leading role in regional sports events, including the Mediterranean and the Pan Arab Games.¹¹

Starting from the early years of independence staging regional games such as the Mediterranean Games (1959 Beirut, 1967 Tunis, 1975 Algiers) and the Pan-African Games (1978 Algiers) were important to showcase the paths toward development and nation-state building. Tunisia’s strategy of hosting the Mediterranean Games, during the rule of Bourguiba and Ben-Ali, is a case in point of a top-down systematic strategy for using sport for political legitimacy as well as for economic goals; to promote Tunisia as Mediterranean and tolerant (secular) country, and thus open to western tourists. With a smaller population than Algeria and Morocco, and with no natural resources such as oil and natural gas, Tunisia had to count on tourism and agriculture as its main source of revenue. The 1976 Games in Tunisia witnessed the participation of women athletes, 38 athletes in total in 6 disciplines. This goes in line with Bourguiba’s push for the secularization of family law, which started in the 1950s implementing gender legislation and the Code of personal Status. Legislation that transformed according to Chrarrad (2007) the legal construction of gender roles within the family.¹² For some, this move by Bourguiba is considered as radical departure from Sharia Law. For others it is one the most progressive forms of family law in majority Arab countries, and the vanguard of women-friendly legislation in the Arab world (Booly, 2019).¹³ It is worth noting that Egypt and Syria did not participate in the 1967 Games in Tunis, as a consequence of the Six-Day War in the same year against Israel, the outcome of which changed the Middle East. Arab–Israeli conflict is also mirrored in the Mediterranean Games, as explained by Adami (2004):

The multiple conflicts in the Middle East involving Israel and its neighbors have had a strong impact on this region and the entire Mediterranean basin. Under these conditions, the integration of Israel in this emblematic competition for the region would be very contentious. The question of the participation of the Hebrew State arises from the creation of the Mediterranean Games. The recognition of the Israeli NOC was granted by the IOC in 1952, which allowed postponement of consideration of the problem to the next edition. According to the rules of the Mediterranean Games, the organizers of Barcelona in 1955 who invited the new NOC of Israel to participate in the competition. The Arab countries refused categorically to accept the presence of Israel in the Games and forced Spain to reconsider, with the improvised excuse that that the Hebrew State had not been one of the founding members. Despite the Israeli protests, the IOC chose not to get involved in this matter. The same problem occurred four years later for the Beirut edition of the Games. However, the election of Lord Killanin to the presidency of the IOC significantly modified the position of the IOC which decided to withdraw its support for the 1975 Games (to be re-attributed for 1979) in response to the refusal of Algiers to invite the Israeli NOC. This situation did not change until the signature of the Oslo peace agreement in 1993. The ICMG (International Committee of the Mediterranean Games) pronounced itself in support of the integration of both the Israeli and Palestinian NOCs on the occasion of the Games in Bari in 1997, but the blocking of the peace process finally interrupted these attempts to facilitate Israel’s participation.¹⁴

The 7th Mediterranean Games 1975 in Algiers, ‘Mecca of the Revolutionaries’

Sport, and football in particular, provided one of the founding pillars in the establishing of modern Algeria. Having understood the growing influence of sport and football in particular, the National Liberation Front (FLN), the movement leading Algeria’s political and armed struggle for independence, introduced in 1958, a few months before the FIFA World Cup in Sweden, the FLN national football team. The FLN ordered all Algerian professional players in Europe, amongst them Zittouni and Mekhloufi, who had been selected as members of the French national football squad for the 1958 World Cup, to give up their professional career (and privileges) to join the Algerian team in exile, in Tunis. This was a significant act of sport diplomacy intended to internationalize the debate on the question of Algerian independence, and to establish alliances for Algeria in the post-independence period (cemented by ideologies such as Third Worldism, socialism and the non-Aligned movement).

In 1975, Algiers hosted the 7th edition of the Mediterranean Games, the first international regional games in its history. It was an occasion to show to the rest of the world that Algeria as a young independent nation–state, had begun to stand on its own feet, after 7 years of a brutal war, followed by internal political rivalry for political leadership. For the FLN Party-state, and Colonel Houari Boumedienne, who led in June 19, 1965 the overthrow of the first president of Algeria, the Games were an occasion to showcase the fruit of the ‘revolutionary readjustment’ that this represented. The term is used here in reference to ‘deviation’ from the principle of collective revolution (from the people to the people), and ‘the temptation’ of Ahmed Ben-Bella, inspired by Jamel Abdelnaser, to build the state’s institutions and the party around the cult of his own personality (as Zaim or father of the nation). President Ahmed Ben-Bella as former player of L’Olympique de Marseille had shown keen interest after the gaining of independence in deploying football as a key element of Algeria’s national branding, and of his own ambition as the new leader (Zaim) of Algeria. Interestingly he was overthrown just one day after President Ahmed Ben-Bella had visited Oran (the host of the 2022 Mediterranean Games) attending an international friendly match between Algeria led by the stars of the FLN national team such as Rachid Mekhloufi, Ahmed Ouajani, Dahmane Defnoun and others, and a team of international stars from Brazil. The visiting side was led by Pelé and Garrincha. The match ended 3–0 for Brazil. A rematch was planned in Algiers in June 20, which never happened as President Ben-Bella was taken into custody in June 19.¹⁵ Pelé returned yet again to Oran this time with his club team Santos, winner of the Copa Libertadores, to play a friendly game against the national football team. The match finished 1–1.

A series of articles in El-Moudjahid newspaper (the official press organ of the party-state), which appeared between 23 August and September 10, 1975, reinforces the role of the Mediterranean Games and state legitimisation around sport, as well as Algeria’s revolutionary effort to combat under-development, and decreasing dependency from France (including in sport).

The revolutionary regime in Algeria has always accorded major importance to the youth of this country. The proof is in the building of sports facilities in wilayates [departments]. This approach is symbolized by the Olympic complex of 19 June [the day of the 1965 military coup in Algeria], where the Mediterranean Games of Algiers will take place […] Those projects were promoted for a precise objective, the building of a large-scale infrastructure aimed at facilitating the promotion of sports participation for all young Algerians” […] All invited delegations, the majority of whom had come to Algeria for the first time, declared admiration for the achievement of our country. Emerging from the people, the revolutionary regime works for the people. It is within this vision that the Algerian Sport University and the Olympic City of 19 June were constructed […] The balance sheet is now informative after two and a half years of unremitting work, and a considerable financial effort deployed by the revolutionary power. This is nothing, however, in view of the results obtained. Algeria, which had suffered so much from underdevelopment, especially at the level of the elite, has now passed on a monument to its youth. Tomorrow, when the lights of the Mediterranean games will be extinguished, when the clamor will be silenced, the city will be open to the children of the country. They will no longer have to go to the INSEP in Paris or to other European schools to perfect their sporting knowledge.¹⁶

Even the French press expressed its appreciation of the Algerian authorities’ preparations for the event, describing the 1975 Mediterranean Games as a key moment in the development of a national sport system. The famous French magazine L’equipe entitled its article ‘Algiers: all is ready for the Games…The take off of Algerian sport’:

Until now the word impossible, it was not French, and from now on, it is Algerian. The achievement of the Olympic City on the heights of Algiers, to be named henceforth “the Olympic complex of June 19^th” since its official opening on 15^th August 1975 by president Boumedienne, is a new confirmation [of maturing nationhood] despite those who were sceptical that this task would be accomplished due to the number challenges which had to be confronted. And yet, thanks to the hundreds of technicians, thousands of workers, and constant support of the authorities, and the extraordinary motivation observed at all levels [there was success] All this and other things happened so that the impossible bet could be won. And how was this achieved? To realize how, you just needed to be there. Frankly we can only be amazed at the architecture. It is a masterpiece. Everything was conceived for the spectators, for the journalists, and of course for the athletes.¹⁷

The number of participants in the 1975 edition reached 2,095 men and 349 women from 15 Mediterranean countries, competing in 19 sports.¹⁸ The opening ceremony was held on 5th July (to the thirteenth anniversary of Algeria’s independence on July 5th 1962, after 130 years of French occupation). The stadium, and other sport facilities surrounding it, were built with the help and technical support of another Mediterranean country, Yugoslavia. Ruled by Josip Broz Tito, it was considered to be a friend of Algeria’s liberation movement, and one of the leaders of the non-aligned movement (Afro-Asianism and Third Worldism). According to Tot (2021) ‘in pursuit of its political and economic interests in the Global South, the Yugoslav state encouraged and promoted the mobility of highly skilled experts in Algeria to foster cooperation’.¹⁹ The relationship in sport between the two countries goes back to before Algeria’s independence with the tour of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) football team in Yugoslavia. The team, then not recognized by FIFA, played five matches in Yugoslavia. As illustrated by Tot and Grgić explained:

The Yugoslav authorities organized the tour of the FLN team not only to express diplomatic support and foster political relations but also to mobilize the support of the domestic public and justify the material and diplomatic assistance provided to the Algerian independence movement.²⁰

Ranked 8th in the general medal table, Algeria managed to collect 20 medals in total (4 Gold, 7 Silver, and 9 Bronze). The Games were dominated by Italy (127 medals), France (79 medals), and the Republic of Yugoslavia (64 medals). Egypt led Arab countries with a total of 33 medals. However, the most memorable trophy for Algeria was the gold medal in Football won by the Algerian national team, managed by Rachid Mekhloufi, against France (the former colonial master). The victory against France was celebrated as a ‘second independence’ for Algeria. Coincidentally, the organizing Committee of the Games, chose the ‘fennec’, a little animal of the desert and mascot of the Algerian team (who were nicknamed also the greens), as the mascot of the Mediterranean Games²¹

The 19th Mediterranean Games in Oran 2022, and the ‘New Algeria’

The 1990 African Cup of Nations, in which the Algerian national team won the title, was the last major sport event to be hosted in Algeria, before the country embarked on one of its bloodiest eras. Algerians name the era as the black or red decade, characterized by armed violence, massacres and the exodus of population.

Oran was partially an exception during this time of extreme violence. The city already described above as one of the most European during the French era, with a dominant Spanish influence, the birthplace of Yves Saint Laurent who lived there until the age of 18, is known for its music and pop culture. The American military which had seized Mers El Kebir Harbor in Oran in 1942, which had been under the administration of French Vichy, brought with it Jazz and Soul rhythms, which influenced the modernization of local popular Music, Raï (which literally means ‘opinion’). It is a mix of urban sounds (Wahrani), rural Bedouin poetry and music (Melhoun). It was largely sung and adopted as a music style by Madahat (group of female singers) led by Maalma or the montor. In the 1980s with the integration of modern instruments such as synthesizers, drums, accordion and saxophone, Raï music became more youth-oriented rebelling against taboos in society (e.g. love, sex and alcohol). In addition, the availability of portable cassette players boosted the dissemination of ‘Raï Music’²² which spread outside Algeria, integrating into the World Music scene. The popularity of Raï music among the youth attracted the attention of Algerian authorities. Considered first subversive an unofficial ban was imposed against it in broadcast media. However, after years of censorship, quasi-clandestine and underground ‘resistance’ (in bars and nightclubs), the authorities decided to allow it in mainstream media, to counter the conservative wing of Algerian society and the rising Islamist movements, labelling Raï music as vulgar and immoral. In 1993 in the midst of violence the Algerian authorities decided to organize a concert in July 5th stadium to celebrate the day of independence. The star of the concert was Cheb Hasni (Hasni Chakroun), named also ‘The King of Sentimental Music’. He chose to remain in Algeria, as many other singers and artists fled to seek refuge in Europe and the Middle East for fear of being targeted by armed groups. The concert was aimed at both a national and international audience, to send a message that Algerian youth in general are more attracted to Raï music and entertainment then ‘political Islam and extremism’. Despite the daily assassinations and bombs it was possible to organize a mega concert which attracted thousands of spectators (estimated at 150,000) from different parts of Algeria. Due to the curfew and state of emergency, spectators had to remain inside the stadium until the end of the concert. Cheb Hasni was scheduled to end the concert in early hours of the morning. A year after, in September 29, 1994, he was assassinated close to his home in Oran. This occurred a few months before another iconic cultural figure, the playwright Abdelkader Alloula, was killed in Oran. These events shocked the inhabitants of Oran and turned the city as Dr Bernard Rieux would describe it in Camus’s novel, La Peste into ‘a banal place, that turns its back to the Mediterranean Sea’.

Treeless, glamourless, soulless, the town of Oran ends by seeming restful and after a while, you go complacently to sleep there. It is only fair to add that Oran is grafted on to a unique landscape, in the center of a bare plateau, ringed with luminous hills and above a perfectly shaped bay. All we may regret is the town’s being so disposed that it turns its back on the bay, with the result that it’s impossible to see the sea, you always have to go to look for it.²³

The election of President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika in 1999 was followed by a referendum over the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which granted amnesty to those who were not involved in mass murder, cancelling thus all legal proceedings against members of armed groups who voluntarily surrendered. The favourable economic environment with the steady rise of oil prices in the market (the main source of revenue for the country) paved the way for paying the country’s debts to the IMF and World Bank. These conditions also allowed the launch of ambitious modernization projects (estimated at nearly 400 billion US Dollars) for roads, transportation, housing and other economic sectors, affected by decades of violence and insecurity. The program incorporated the modernization and the building of new football stadia, including the new stadium of Oran with a capacity of 40,000 seats. In April 2009, capitalizing on Algerian’s passion for sport, and football in particular, and from his experience as the youngest Minister of Youth and Sport in the first years of Algeria’s independence, President Boutaflika in front of sports personalities supporting his re-election campaign famously stated:

we seem puzzled when it comes to sport . The means are there. The institutions are there. The facilities for sport are there, from the east to the west and from the north to the south [of Algeria]. May be you do not know but your country has the capability to host two World Cups.²⁴

Among the mega projects for economic recovery controlled by the new emerging oligarchy, growing and expanding thanks to ‘its clientelist relationship with the state’,²⁵ is the modernization of Oran. Oran was promoted as the new ‘Dubai of North Africa’, with new high end hotels (e.g. Sheraton and Méridien) facing the sea, a new business quarter, the tramway, and the expansion of the Oran seaport, among other projects.

The bidding to host the Mediterranean Games in Oran, the second biggest city of Algeria, was part of this mega urban project.

The choice of Oran, to host the 19th edition of the Mediterranean Games of 2021, marks a new era for Algeria post-terrorism. Mustapha Berraf, president of the Olympic Committee […] assures us that Algeria has all the financial and material means to succeed in staging the event. “In terms of infrastructure, we will build an Olympic complex of a new generation in Oran which will be equipped with an Olympic stadium of 40,000 seats and a covered sports hall with a capacity of 6,000 seats,” he said. The Algerian authorities promised a big media campaign around the Mediterranean Games, the creation of a museum for the games and the application of a rich program in terms of animations of the city.²⁶

Since winning the bid in 2015 the country was shaken by other political events forcing President Abdelazizi Boutaflika in April 2, 2009, to resign after 20 years in office, the longest period in office of any Algerian president. This followed a popular uprising and mass protests throughout the country (named Al-Hirak, literally the mass movement), opposing his fifth re-election, which was being supported and funded by the oligarchy controlling state resources and privileges. The Army, led by General Major Gaid Sallah, which is traditionally more comfortable acting behind the scenes, intervened to stop the campaign for the presidential election. This was followed by a purge of the system of businesspersons and politicians close to President Bouteflika’s clan (described in the official discourse as ‘Al-Essaba’, literally the gang). New presidential and parliamentary elections were organized –witnessing a low turnout – to re-establish the balance of power against the mass protests in the street and to renew the elite within the establishment, who are not in favor of a drastic political change in the ruling system. Interestingly sport, and football in particular, offered a new venue for the Algerian regime to promote the narrative of the ‘New (post-Boutaflika) Algeria’ with the victory of the national football team in the 2019 African Cup of Nations, which was hosted in Egypt, after their first title 29 years previously. With the logistical support of the army, the new Algerian leadership organized the airlifting of Algerian supporters from different regions of Algeria into Egypt, even offering them free tickets once in Cairo. In that regard, the Algerian daily newspaper L’Expression explained:

Giving the opportunity to young supporters to cheer for their national team during the African Cup finals is a contribution to “bringing more joy and happiness to the hearts of Algerians (…)”. There, it is also a new occasion for the National Armed Forces to “reiterate their commitment to support this grand and brave people, loyal and patriotic, while making sure to satisfy the youth’s valued desire to support its national team through the organization of the necessary material and human means, allowing costs to be fully covered during this historical event”.²⁷

Within this domestic political context, as well as the geopolitical environment, particularly the rising tension with neighbouring Morocco over the ongoing Western Sahara question, in which Algeria supports the region’s auto-determination, either to remain under Morocco’s authority or to become independent. Adding to this the signing, in December 2020, of the normalization agreement between Morocco and Israel, which followed on from the normalization agreement between Israel, Bahrain and the UAE, and the establishing of a security collaboration with Israel in October 2020, which Algeria sees as a threat to its national security. Algeria has been one of the countries resisting the integration of Israel into the Mediterranean Games, and more recently in 2021 Algeria opposed the decision of the African Union to grant Israel the status of an Observing member. As a consequence Algeria decided in August 24, 2021 to cut diplomatic ties with Morocco, ‘for the incessant hostile acts carried out by Morocco against Algeria’,²⁸ and also closed the air border, having closed the land border between the two countries in1994. The recent political tension between the neighbouring countries is already having an impact on their sporting relations. Algeria recently withdrew from the African Men’s Handball Championship, which was originally scheduled to take place in Morocco in 2022 (including matches in Laayoun in Western Sahara), and with Morocco deciding not to participate in the 2024 edition, which was supposed to be held in Algeria. The Council of the African Handball Federation subsequently decided to move both tournaments to Egypt.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has added another geopolitical implication. Algeria, one of the main suppliers of natural gas to Europe through its two Mediterranean pipelines, one through Morocco and Spain, and the other through Italy, is under pressure by the US and countries of the European Union, led by France and Germany, to increase its production and exportation of natural gas. The aim is to decrease the dependency of Europe on Russian supply, including Germany, which imports 40% of its energy needs from Russia. Russia is Algeria’s leading military ally and one of the main suppliers of its military equipment, and increasing its export to Europe would impact economically on Russia. However, not responding to Europe’s needs would also impact negatively on its political relations with Europe. Algeria’s economy obtains 90% of its income from oil and natural gas exports, and not positioning itself in the market and benefiting from its strategic geographic position, would have financial consequences, pushing Europe to search for other suppliers outside of the Mediterranean. The interruption of Algeria’s diplomatic ties with Morocco has been followed by the interruption of its supply of natural gas via the pipeline that goes through Moroccan territory to Spain (and Portugal). The other alternative route for Algerian natural gas exports to Europe is the remaining pipeline crossing through Tunisia to Italy. Algeria as host of the Mediterranean Games has to play its geo-political roles cleverly to balance between its national interest, meeting the needs of EU and its Member States and other Mediterranean neighbours while maintain positive relations with Russia. In relation to the Games, Spain and France have already decided not to send their horses for the equestrian competition for reasons to do with ‘the absence of an adequate logistical and sanitary arrangements’. Algerian authorities offered to secure transport for the displacement of equestrian teams and their equipment from the nearest port, but this had not altered the decision of the two equestrian federations.²⁹ The Commissioner of the Games, Mr Aziz Derouaz, former coach of the Hand Ball national team, and former Minister of Youth and Sport, declared in a press conference that the rationale put forward by the two federations was simply ‘erroneous and a lie’ as other federations had expressed their satisfactions with the health and safety conditions

There are parties inside and outside the country who want to tarnish the event to be held in the city of Oran. All the conditions for its success are present as acknowledged by International Sport organizations.³⁰

The organizing committee of the Mediterranean Games in Oran had to face another challenge, which was the Covid 19 Pandemic which had a clear, negative impact on the international sport system, in particular the decision of the IOC and other International Sport Federations to postpone the Tokyo Olympics and other major international Competitions. The association of the Covid- 19 pandemic with the city of Oran raises again the memory of Albert Camus’s novel, La Peste:

Far from creating a barrier separating fiction from reality, this reading allowed us to establish several links with our current situation. Recognizing that context and solutions vary widely between the two scenarios, core matters concerning epidemics seemed to remain the same. The important role of data and statistics, the leadership acquired by health authorities, the separations of relatives or the negative effects on trade and business, are some issues which took place in Oran in Camus’ novel, and have been characteristics in the contemporary context. In addition, epidemics also affect humans at an individual level, and we can identify certain thoughts and feelings in La Peste’s main characters with our own fears and desires.³¹

The new dates for the Games were decided in concertation with the local Organizing Committee to be June 25 to July 5th. The closing ceremony coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Algeria’s independence. The new dates, declared the International Committee for the Mediterranean Games (CIJM), is argued to ensure that:

The best possible preparation of the Athletes, the participation of the top Athletes of the Mediterranean basin and the highest interest of the Games, in a period when no other major international sports event are planned.³²

26 nations confirmed their participation in the 2022 Mediterranean Games in Oran, including the Moroccan delegation. According to the Moroccan press the Moroccan National Olympic Committee was said to have received firm instructions for a positive participation, disregarding any non-sporting considerations, whilst recognizing the ‘special logistical conditions for travel to Algeria because of the closure of land and air borders with Algeria’.³³

Conclusion

A few months before the Mediterranean Games the local authorities of Oran, the host city, decided to build a wall covering several kilometers of the coastline to restrict access to the beaches to tackle clandestine immigration, by North African groups (referred to as Haraga). This expression comes from the Arabic ‘Haraka’ or ‘to burn’, to describe the act of crossing the borders and burning original documents to make the procedure harder for deportation to the country of origin. It is also a ‘burning of bridges’ as many of the youth attempting to cross the border could not make it to the other side. Building the wall symbolizes in a way the history of the Mediterranean, between an approach of openness (and tolerance) and one of suspicion and fear. Narrating Algeria’s, and the city of Oran’s contemporary history through the Mediterranean Games offers an opportunity to deconstruct the concept of the Mediterranean as a space of civilizations and cultural mixing, as well as a space to conquer and to control. A space for trade, political and economic cooperation as well as movement of imports (dominated by China) and exports (mainly of oil and natural gas). It is however rather less a space of the free circulation of population. The Mediterranean, particularly its northern shore, is becoming a fortress; a place to secure from illegal immigrants coming from its southern shore. It is becoming an open cemetery for thousands of immigrants who finish their journey in the sea. For many crossing the Mediterranean Sea is the last resort, fleeing poverty and wars which are the product of the economic and political order imposed by Northern Mediterranean countries.

For the Arab and Berber population of the Mediterranean, the Games symbolizes their active participation in the promotion of the international sport movement and of Mediterranean culture, while also constituting a vehicle for promoting their political causes. For Algerians the Games represented, in 1975, an opportunity to consolidate the forming of the Algerian nation state, around the ideologies of Third-worldism and the non-aligned movement. The 2022 edition provided the opportunity to promote the ‘New’ Algeria, and the ‘New’ Oran (Post- Covid 19), in contrast to the Oran described by Albert Camus in his novel. The Algeria of the Post-Boutaflika era, has to navigate a volatile situation of internal demand for reforms and democratization, instability in the region (Libya, Syria, and Sub-Saharan Africa), and the recent Russia-Ukraine war with its political, military and economic consequences for the Mediterranean Basin. Considering the number of participants, countries and athletes, the Mediterranean Games remain an important regional competition and a space of tolerance, at least in the domain of sport. This is reflected in the participation of France, with its colonial history in Algeria, and of the city of Oran in particular, with its dominantly European population, and in the decision of Morocco to participate in the 19th edition of the Games despite the political strife between Morocco and Algeria. These are significant examples of the ways in which sport can provide a privileged tool for dialogue and reconciliation, and, in the case of the Mediterranean Games, a vehicle for the promotion, of a shared Mediterranean culture.

Acknowledgements

Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mahfoud Amara

Mahfoud AMARA is Associate Professor in Sport Social Sciences and Management, Physical Education Department, College of Education, Qatar University. He has a number of scholarly publications that explore the intersection of sport, business, culture, politics, and society in the Arab region. In 2012, he authored a book titled ‘Sport Politics and Society in the Arab World’, which was published by Palgrave and Macmillan. Additionally, he has edited ‘The Olympic Movement and the Middle East and North Africa Region’ (Routledge, 2020) and co-edited two book, namely ‘Sport in Islam and in Muslim Communities’ (co-edited with Alberto Testa, Routledge, 2015), and ‘Sport in the African World’ (with John Nauright, Routledge, 2018).

Notes

1 Discover Oran, the official webpage of the 19th edition of the Mediterranean Games. https://www.oran2022.dz/ (accessed March 15, 2022)

2 A. N. Sherwin-White, ‘Geographical Factors in Roman Algeria Source’, The Journal of Roman Studies 34, Parts 1 and 2 (1944): 1–10.

3 H. Monès, ‘The Conquest of North Africa and Berber resistance’, General history of Africa, III: Africa from the seventh to the eleventh century 3 (1988): 224–45. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000077961 (accessed April 15, 2022)

4 Marie-Cecile Thoral, ‘French Colonial Counter-Insurgency: General Bugeaud and the Conquest of Algeria, 1840-47’, British Journal of Military History, 1, no. 2 (2015): 8–27.

5 Ray Davison, ‘Mythologizing the Mediterranean - The Case of Albert Camus’, Journal of Mediterranean Studies, 10, no. 1/2 (2000): 77–92.

6 Crystal Chabert, ‘Massacres de Sétif : retour sur un 8 mai 1945 entaché de sang’, (France Info, 5 May, 2015). https://www.francetvinfo.fr/culture/patrimoine/histoire/massacres-de-setif-retour-sur-un-8-mai-1945-entache-de-sang_3348341.html (accessed May 20, 2022)

7 Le Monde, ‘Les fins d'empires 33. Oran, été 1962 Fin juin 1962, à Oran, la ville d'apocalypse’, Dans les flammes, les exactions et les sangs mêlés s'achève l'aventure impériale de la France outre-mer, August 27, 1992. https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1992/08/27/les-fins-d-empires-33-oran-ete-1962_3893117_1819218.html (accessed May 1, 2022). Translated from French by the author.

8 Selami Özsoy, ‘The First Mediterranean Games and Turkey with Its Reflections on the Newspapers’, Journal of Social Sciences, Sayı, No. 3(April 2013): 71–80, p.72.

9 Ibid., 74.

10 70 years Mediterranean Games, The History of the Mediterranean Games. https://www.70yearsmg.com/the-history-of-the-mediterranean-games (accessed April 27, 2022).

11 Andrea L. Stanton, ‘Pioneer of Olympism in the Middle East’: Gabriel Gemayel and Lebanese Sport’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 29, no. 15(2012): 2115–30.

12 Mounira Cherrad, ‘Tunisia at the Forefront of the Arab World: Two Waves of Gender Legislation’, The Washington and Lee Law Review, 2007. https://law2.wlu.edu/deptimages/Law%20Review/64-4Charrad.pdf (accessed April 10, 2022).

13 Ashraf Booley, ‘Progressive Realisation of Muslim Family Law: The Case of Tunisia’, Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal 22(2019): 1–28.

14 Adami Sylvain, ‘Les Jeux Méditerranéens un reflet de la situation géopolitique de l’espace méditerranéen’, Confluences Méditerranée, no. 50 (2004): 21–30

15 Youcef Bouandel and Mahfoud Amara, ‘Moments and Memories: Football and State Narratives in Algeria’, Soccer & Society 20, no. 7–8 (2019): 1084–1094. See also Benhammadi, Said. Le 17 Juin 1965: il y a 55 ans, l’Algérie de Mekhloufi et Oudjani recevait le Brésil de Pelé, La Gazette du Fennec (June 18, 2020). https://lagazettedufennec.com/le-17-juin-1965-il-y-a-55-ans-lalgerie-de-mekhloufi-et-oudjani-recevait-le-bresil-de-pele/ (accessed June 30, 2020).

16 El Moudjahid newspaper, (September 8–10, 1975), Algeria. https://www.agguerabi.com/archives/Extrait-Journal-el-moudjahed-2-1975.jpg (accessed September 10, 2010). Translated from the French by the author.

17 Mokhtar Boudrar, ‘Alger - Tout est prêt pour le Jeux, L’équipe, August 22, 1975. https://www.agguerabi.com/archives/Extrait-Journal-el-moudjahed-2-1975.jpg (accessed September 10, 2010). Translated from French by the author.

18 70 years Mediterranean Games, ibid.

19 Dora Tot, ‘Migration for Cooperation: Mobility of Highly Skilled Yugoslav Labor in Algeria’, History Influx 3(2021): 159–73.

20 Dora Tot and Stipica Grgić, ‘The FLN 1961 Football Tour of Yugoslavia: Mobilizing Public Support for the Algerian Cause’, Soccer & Society, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2022.2064452 (accessed April 13, 2022).

21 The Seventh Mediterranean Games of Algiers in 1975, Mediterranean Memory. http://www.medmem.eu/en/notice/EPT00110

22 Hana Noor Al-Deen, ‘The Evolution of Rai Music’, Journal of Black Studies 35, no. 5 (2005): 597–611. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934704273906 (accessed May 15, 2022), p. 604.

23 Camus Albert, La Peste (Paris: Gallimard), 1947, p.7.

24 Youtube. Bouteflika, ‘L'Algérie peut accueillir deux coupes du monde’ (Avril 2009). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFbRE0d8wkM , inM. Amara, ‘Football Subculture and Youth Politics in Algeria’, Mediterranean Politics 17, no. 1 (2012): 41–58.

25 Hacene Hami, ‘Transformations of the Welfare State in Algeria’, AlMuntaqa 4, no. 2 (December 2021/January 2022): 27–41.

26 Meziane Abane: Les Jeux méditerranéens de 2021, une victoire politique pour l’Algérie (Septembre 4, 2015). https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2015/09/04/les-jeux-mediterraneens-de-2021-une-victoire-politique-pour-l-algerie_4745841_3212.html ­(accessed October 15, 2016). The city has also built an athlete’s village. The new district in Oran, which covers 36 hectares – the equivalent of 55 football pitches – can accommodate nearly 4,300 athletes and team officials. Euronews: Oran 2022 Mediterranean Games: Algeria’s second city ready to welcome the world (May 23, 2022). https://www.euronews.com/2022/05/23/oran-2022-mediterranean-games-algeria-s-second-city-ready-to-welcome-the-world (accessed June 1st, 2022).

27 Brun, Estelle. Football, Diplomacy and Identity Politics in the Middle East and North Africa, Geostrategic Sports Observatory interview with Mahfoud Amara, IRIS (June 2020). https://www.iris-france.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Obs-sport-Itw-Amara-juin-2020.pdf (Retrieved June 20, 2020)

28 Aljazeera: Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with Morocco over ‘hostile actions’ (August 24, 2021). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/24/algeria-cuts-diplomatic-ties-with-morocco (accessed August 24, 2021).

29 Jeux méditerranéens 2022: quand l’Algérie, pays hôte, mélange sport et politique. https://sport.le360.ma/autres/jeux-mediterraneens-2022-quand-lalgerie-pays-hote-degaine-contre-la-france-et-lespagne-95039

30 Eldjoumhouria newspaper (Arabic), Derouaz denounces the false justifications of France and Spain to justify their non-participation in the Mediterranean Games (translated from Arabic). https://www.eldjoumhouria.dz/article/2906/ (accessed May 22, 2022)

31 Romero Pérez, ‘A Mirror in Fiction: Drawing Parallelisms between Camus’s La Peste and COVID-19’, Medical Humanities 3, no 47 (2021): 47:e4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34253585/ (accessed May 25, 2022).

32 Philip Baker, ‘New dates for Mediterranean Games in 2022 announced’, insidethegames.biz (April 14, 2020). https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1093173/mediterranean-games-2022-dates (accessed March 15, 2022).

33 Algerian Press Service, ‘Jeux Méditerranéens Oran-2022: 500 participants à un stage de préparation de la cérémonie d'ouverture’ (May 29, 2022). https://www.aps.dz/sport/140368-jeux-mediterraneens-oran-2022-500-participants-a-un-stage-de-preparation-de-la-ceremonie-d-ouverture (accessed May 29, 2022).