Birmingham Among 3 Cities Seeking 2021 World Games

Birmingham is among three cities that have submitted bids to host an international sporting event in 2021.

Birmingham along with Lima, Peru, and Ufa, Russia, are in the running to be the site of the World Games seven years from now.

The host city will be announced by the International World Games Association in early 2015.

The games have been held every four years since 1981. While not as well-known as the Olympics, organizers say they involve about 4,500 athletes from 100 countries.

Events include Olympic-style sports like weightlifting and archery. But the World Games also feature more unusual competitions in 180 areas including water skiing, billiards, sumo wrestling and tug-of-war.

The next World Games will be held in 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland.

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