The European Union (EU) Delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives held its first Team Europe “BIOthlon” on 24-25th June in Kalpitiya. The event was organised to highlight Kalpitiya as a top destination for sports tourism while celebrating it as one of Sri Lanka’s biodiversity hubs. The two-day event brought in over 35 participants including renowned Sri Lankan sports personalities, diplomats, youth from the local communities and tourists. Participants were given the opportunity to engage in five sports: running, swimming, cycling, kayaking and kitesurfing. The event was funded by the European Union and organized by G360 and Kitesurfing Lanka.

The five sports activities were located in biodiversity hotspots around Kalpitya and included volunteers, participants and spectators from the local community. “The Team Europe BIOthlon is the EU’s way of celebrating Sri Lanka’s rich biodiversity and also encouraging local and foreign tourists to visit Kalpitya to experience its beauty, hospitality and unique activities like kitesurfing,” said Denis Chaibi, EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, who also participated in the sports activities.

Nine renowned Lankan athletes and Olympians participated in the event, including Sriyani Kulawansa, Sugath Thilakaratne, Nimmi de Zoysa, Julian Bolling, Haris Omar, Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, Praneeth Udumalagala, Jehan Mubarak and Dilsiri Welikala. “This experience has been very unique and enlightening”, said former Olympic Swimmer Julian Bolling. “Not only did we enjoy participating in the sports in a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere, we also saw the potential of sports tourism in Sri Lanka.”

Kalpitiya is also one of the sites supported by the EU-funded ‘Community Livelihood & Biodiversity Recovery’ (COLIBRI) project, which aimed to preserve and restore biodiversity clusters in Sri Lanka while supporting the livelihoods of surrounding communities. The project was implemented by ACTED Sri Lanka.In-between activities, participants were also given the opportunity to see the Wilpattu National Park and the impact of the GIZ’s support in that area.

Convened under the spirit of “Team Europe”, the “BIOthlon” was an important part of the EU’s ongoing efforts to promote regenerative, sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka and bring visibility to rich biodiversity and tourism hotspots in the country.