TheCroatian World Games (Croatian:Hrvatske svjetske igre,Spanish:Juegos Croatas Mundiales, Juegos Mundiales Croatas[1]) are anOlympics-style amateur multi-sport competition pitting autochthonousCroat communities inCroatia and neighbouring nations against each other andCroatian diaspora communities, representing countries they live in.[2] The event is organized by theCroatian Olympic Committee and theCroatian World Congress.[3] It is also known under the unofficial nameCrolympics (Croatian:Crolimpijada), with themotto "Olympic games with Croatian sign".[3]
The goal of the Games is connecting young Croats from all over the world through sports and cultural gatherings, and to encourage them to cultivate their Croatian identity.[2][4]
The first and the second Games were held inZadar in 2006 and 2010,[5] and the third Games were held inZagreb in 2014.[6] For 2014 edition, interest for hosting was shown bySplit,Šibenik andMeđugorje.[5]
First Games were opened at Zadar's Forum, afterHoly Mass inCathedral of St. Anastasia, by the honorary president of theCroatian Olympic CommitteeAntun Vrdoljak and participants were greeted byŠimun Šito Čorić(hr).[7]
Second Games were hosted byZadar County andZadar Archdiocese. Before the opening ceremony,Holy Mass was served in theCathedral of St. Anastasia byGospić-Senj bishopMile Bogović.[8] Games were opened by Canadian minister ofCroatian descentLynne Yelich andCroatian minister of foreign affairsGordan Jandroković.[9][10]
Third Games were first time hosted by Zagreb and held under auspices of thePresident of Croatia,Sabor, Central State office for Croats Abroad, City of Zagreb andCroatian Heritage Foundation. Games were opened by theSpeaker of the Croatian ParliamentJosip Leko.[11]
4th Games were held under the auspices of thePresident of the Republic of CroatiaKolinda Grabar-Kitarović.[12] They were opened at theBan Jelačić Square byCroatian prime ministerAndrej Plenković.[13]
Originally, 5th Games should have been held from 26 to 30 July 2022, but due toCOVID-19 pandemic Croatian World Congress postponed them to the last week of July 2023 at the Executive Board level on 6 November 2021.[14]
5th Games were held under the auspices of theCroatian Government, Central State office for Croats Abroad, City of Zagreb,Croatian Heritage Foundation,Croatian Chamber of Economy,Croatian Olympic Committee andCroatian Radiotelevision.[15][16] They were opened byCroatian minister of foreign affairsGordan Grlić Radman.[17] Before the opening ceremony,Holy Mass was served in theparish church of Our Lady of Freedom byVinko Puljić.[17] Opening ceremony was accompanied byconcert ofZaprešić Boys(hr), Folklore ensemble "Ivan Goran Kovačić" from Zagreb(hr), KUD Preporod fromDugo Selo and Klapa Stine from Zagreb.[17]
| Edition | Time | Host | Motto | Participants | Countries | Sports/Events | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 15 – 21 July 2006 | Zadar | "Dobro došli kući!" (Welcome home!) | 2,500 | 25 | 12 | [5][18] |
| 2nd | 18 – 23 July 2010 | Zadar | "Jedno srce" (One heart) | 750 | 24 | [19] | |
| 3rd | 21 – 26 July 2014 | Zagreb | "Jedno je srce" (One heart) | 800 | 37 | 16 | [20][21] |
| 4th | 18 – 22 July 2017 | Zagreb | "Jedno je srce, jedna je Hrvatska" (One heart, One Croatia) | 1050 | 31 | 17 | [12][22] |
| 5th | 24 – 29 July 2023 | Zagreb | "Jedno srce, jedna Hrvatska" (One heart, One Croatia) | 950 | 26 | 21 | [1] |
Note: Sports withasterisk (*) were introduced at the 2014 Games.[23]
Research from 2019[24] indicates that, among CWG's participants, greatest number of them didvolleyball,association football,futsal,karate andbasketball. 60% participants in thesurvey stated that they trained at least one sport more than ten years,[25] and around 20% of them participated in the Games two times, while 70% participated first time.[25]
According to research from 2019,[24] greatest number of participants came fromBosnia and Herzegovina,Germany,Austria,Switzerland,Romania,Canada,Australia andMontenegro.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Croatia | 21 | 20 | 28 | 69 |
| 2 |  United States | 14 | 9 | 1 | 24 |
| 3 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4 | 9 | 3 | 16 |
| 4 | Croatian World Games Team | 4 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| 5 |  France | 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 6 |  Australia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
 Canada | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
 Ecuador | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
 South Africa | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
 Venezuela | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 11 |  Serbia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Spain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 13 |  Switzerland | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 14 |  Romania | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 |  Italy | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (17 entries) | 51 | 52 | 49 | 152 | |
Source:[26]
