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

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.