It was more than a stone of relief that fell from the souls of the Canarian festival organisers after the complicated times of the pandemic restrictions, "although we had more than wished for it in our secret dreams" ... summed up the chief organiser of the 60th BLUME Festival Gran Canaria, Jesus TELO RODRIGUEZ, relieved:
"Because indeed, for our 60th Festival anniversary, the significant number of about 400 gymnastics friends from 9 nations travelled to Gran Canaria! Who would have thought that at the beginning of the year ...? It was with a big heart that we wanted to regain our traditional normality, meet our gymnastics friends and enjoy the diversity of our sport.
And yet the small, picturesque mountain village of Santa Brigida on Gran Canaria is only one of the centres in which the BLUME festival idea lives throughout the year. But in order to create and experience the festive gala as a highlight, permanent work and structures are necessary on site, from which living enthusiasm can grow. This happens exemplarily in the "Club Deportivo "ELEGANCE" Villa Santa Brigida, where there is hardly a girl who is not inspired by aesthetic rhythmic gymnastics at pre-school age or at least during her school years...:
♦ ♦ Festive GALA for the opening of BLUME
The first gala evening in the Yumbo Centre of the Canary Islands tourist metropolis Maspalomas started in a traditional folkloristic way:
First with Canarian sounds and typical local tranquillity.But then the bear was on the move: After the sporty start of the British Scarborough Gym Club, which has been a regular guest of this festival for years and heated up the mood among the guests with acrobatic fire and temperament, who had come to this opening despite the simultaneous soccer World Cup group match between Spain and Germany, there was already another emotional high: The "Lost Boys" from Finland whirled across the stage, a unique male troupe whose wild, ecstatic act was absolutely infectious ...
→ And on Wednesday, 30 November, the "GALA Jesus TELO NUÑEZ" is dedicated to the founder of this 60-year festival tradition and can be followed via → livestream (here, below, from 9 pm CET) ...
... some also say "the salt of the festival soup", prepared from decades of experience of the BLUME tradition and supervised by experts from several nations, some of whom are teachers with doctorates, who bring their experience from their countries to pass on to the movement-hungry festival participants.
The palette ranges from greeting the sun in the morning on the beach of Playa del Ingles with Qi Gong or Tai Chi Chuan under the motto "Fit in the morning" to movement-intensive dance courses under the motto "Dance - laugh - breathe", "Latino Dance" or Flamenco" and many, many more thematic movement courses or social games such as Petanca or Boule on the beach or hikes in the beautiful nature of the volcanic island of Gran Canaria ...
It is now the VIII. International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament within the framework of the BLUME Festival, in a country where the soul of rhythmic gymnastics seems to be beating, which can be felt more in the enthusiasm of the participants and in the stands than anywhere else!
And it was the youngest, an eight-year-old from war-torn Kiev, who managed to leave the strongest sporting and emotional impression on her first ever trip abroad!
<< Maria KHARTCHENKO, was quite impressed after a long journey, had climbed out of a plane quite tired for the first time in her young life, and immediately conquered the hearts of everyone in the sports hall "Jesus TELO" of the island's capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with her performance ...:.
Actually, it is a grand European record that only an extraordinary pandemic could interrupt for two years:
Where else is there a broad sporting event of this international character, which has now opened for over six decades on the "Island of Eternal Spring", on Gran Canarao - with a press conference led by chief organiser Jesus TELO RODRIGUEZ, son of the family of the festival's founder, Jesus TELO NUÑEZ, who died a few years ago. He created this festival of hearts in memory of the 4-time European gymnastics champion Joaquin BLUME, who died in a plane crash in the 1950's.
Since the last BLUME Festival Gran Canaria, the Covid 19 pandemic had forced a break, which we had bridged with a small interlude in 2021.
Now, however, the 60th Fesival BLUME Gran Canaria 2022 is to take place from 25 November to 01 December, dedicated to the memory of Joaquin BLUME, the four-time Spanish European gymnastics champion with German roots who died in a plane crash six decades ago..
BLUME chief organiser Jesus TELO RODRIGUEZ is delighted about the unexpected reception after complicated pandemic times, as more than 22 foreign delegations and more than 350 gymnasts from 9 countries are expected on the legendary "island of eternal spring".
This more than exceeds the expectations of the Canarian organisers and shows the unbroken attraction of this unique festival for the many loyal visitors and the young newcomers worldwide.