Netherlands
The Netherlands is a country located in Northwestern Europe. The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve separate provinces that border Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium and the United Kingdom. Together with three island territories in the Caribbean Sea—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba— it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the official language is Dutch, but a secondary official language in the province of Friesland is West Frisian. The six largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Tilburg. Amsterdam is the country's capital, while The Hague holds the seat of the States General and Supreme Court; the Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, the largest in any country outside Asia. The country is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union.
It hosts several intergovernmental organisations and international courts, many of which are centered in The Hague, dubbed'the world's legal capital'. Netherlands means'lower countries' in reference to its low elevation and flat topography, with only about 50% of its land exceeding 1 metre above sea level, nearly 17% falling below sea level. Most of the areas below sea level, known as polders, are the result of land reclamation that began in the 16th century. With a population of 17.30 million people, all living within a total area of 41,500 square kilometres —of which the land area is 33,700 square kilometres —the Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. It is the world's second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products, owing to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive agriculture; the Netherlands was the third country in the world to have representative government, it has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848.
The country has a tradition of pillarisation and a long record of social tolerance, having legalised abortion and human euthanasia, along with maintaining a progressive drug policy. The Netherlands abolished the death penalty in 1870, allowed women's suffrage in 1917, became the world's first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001, its mixed-market advanced economy had the thirteenth-highest per capita income globally. The Netherlands ranks among the highest in international indexes of press freedom, economic freedom, human development, quality of life, as well as happiness; the Netherlands' turbulent history and shifts of power resulted in exceptionally many and varying names in different languages. There is diversity within languages; this holds for English, where Dutch is the adjective form and the misnomer Holland a synonym for the country "Netherlands". Dutch comes from Theodiscus and in the past centuries, the hub of Dutch culture is found in its most populous region, home to the capital city of Amsterdam.
Referring to the Netherlands as Holland in the English language is similar to calling the United Kingdom "Britain" by people outside the UK. The term is so pervasive among potential investors and tourists, that the Dutch government's international websites for tourism and trade are "holland.com" and "hollandtradeandinvest.com". The region of Holland consists of North and South Holland, two of the nation's twelve provinces a single province, earlier still, the County of Holland, a remnant of the dissolved Frisian Kingdom. Following the decline of the Duchy of Brabant and the County of Flanders, Holland became the most economically and politically important county in the Low Countries region; the emphasis on Holland during the formation of the Dutch Republic, the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 16th, 17th and 18th century, made Holland serve as a pars pro toto for the entire country, now considered either incorrect, informal, or, depending on context, opprobrious. Nonetheless, Holland is used in reference to the Netherlands national football team.
The region called the Low Countries and the Country of the Netherlands. Place names with Neder, Nieder and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in places all over Europe, they are sometimes used in a deictic relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Oben, Superior or Haut. In the case of the Low Countries / Netherlands the geographical location of the lower region has been more or less downstream and near the sea; the geographical location of the upper region, changed tremendously over time, depending on the location of the economic and military power governing the Low Countries area. The Romans made a distinction between the Roman provinces of downstream Germania Inferior and upstream Germania Superior; the designation'Low' to refer to the region returns again in the 10th century Duchy of Lower Lorraine, that covered much of the Low Countries. But this time the corresponding Upper region is Upper Lorraine, in nowadays Northern France; the Dukes of Burgundy, who ruled the Low Countries in the 15th century, used the term les pays de par deçà for the Low Countries as opposed to les pays de par delà for their original
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the South American continent's southeastern coast. "Buenos Aires" can be translated as "fair winds" or "good airs", but the former was the meaning intended by the founders in the 16th century, by the use of the original name "Real de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre". The Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, which includes several Buenos Aires Province districts, constitutes the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas, with a population of around 15.6 million. The city of Buenos Aires is the Province's capital. In 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province; the city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Flores. The 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name: Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, its citizens first elected a chief of government in 1996.
Buenos Aires is considered an'alpha city' by the study GaWC5. Buenos Aires' quality of life was ranked 91st in the world, being one of the best in Latin America in 2018, it is the most visited city in South America, the second-most visited city of Latin America. Buenos Aires is a top tourist destination, is known for its preserved Eclectic European architecture and rich cultural life. Buenos Aires held the 1st Pan American Games in 1951 as well as hosting two venues in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Buenos Aires hosted the 2018 the 2018 G20 summit. Buenos Aires is a multicultural city, being home to multiple religious groups. Several languages are spoken in the city in addition to Spanish, contributing to its culture and the dialect spoken in the city and in some other parts of the country; this is because in the last 150 years the city, the country in general, has been a major recipient of millions of immigrants from all over the world, making it a melting pot where several ethnic groups live together and being considered one of the most diverse cities of the Americas.
It is recorded under the archives of Aragonese that Catalan missionaries and Jesuits arriving in Cagliari under the Crown of Aragon, after its capture from the Pisans in 1324 established their headquarters on top of a hill that overlooked the city. The hill was known to them as Bonaira, as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city, adjacent to swampland. During the siege of Cagliari, the Catalans built a sanctuary to the Virgin Mary on top of the hill. In 1335, King Alfonso the Gentle donated the church to the Mercedarians, who built an abbey that stands to this day. In the years after that, a story circulated, claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary was retrieved from the sea after it miraculously helped to calm a storm in the Mediterranean Sea; the statue was placed in the abbey. Spanish sailors Andalusians, venerated this image and invoked the "Fair Winds" to aid them in their navigation and prevent shipwrecks. A sanctuary to the Virgin of Buen Ayre would be erected in Seville.
In the first foundation of Buenos Aires, Spanish sailors arrived thankfully in the Río de la Plata by the blessings of the "Santa Maria de los Buenos Aires", the "Holy Virgin Mary of the Good Winds", said to have given them the good winds to reach the coast of what is today the modern city of Buenos Aires. Pedro de Mendoza called the city "Holy Mary of the Fair Winds", a name suggested by the chaplain of Mendoza's expedition – a devotee of the Virgin of Buen Ayre – after the Sardinian Madonna de Bonaria. Mendoza's settlement soon came under attack by indigenous people, was abandoned in 1541. For many years, the name was attributed to a Sancho del Campo, said to have exclaimed: How fair are the winds of this land!, as he arrived. But Eduardo Madero, in 1882 after conducting extensive research in Spanish archives concluded that the name was indeed linked with the devotion of the sailors to Our Lady of Buen Ayre. A second settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción.
Garay preserved the name chosen by Mendoza, calling the city Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire. The short form "Buenos Aires" became the common usage during the 17th century; the usual abbreviation for Buenos Aires in Spanish is Bs. As, it is common as well to refer to it as "B. A." or "BA". While "BA" is used more by expats residing in the city, the locals more use the abbreviation "Baires", in one word. Seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata in 1516, his expedition was cut short when he was killed during an attack by the native Charrúa tribe in what is now Uruguay. The city of Buenos Aires was first established as Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre after Our Lady of Bonaria on 2 February 1536 by a Spanish expedition led by Pedro de Mendoza; the settlement founded by Mendoza was located in what is today the San Telmo district of Buenos Aires, south of the city centre. More attacks by the indigenous
Field hockey at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament
The men's field hockey tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics was the 20th edition of the field hockey event for men at the Summer Olympic Games. It was held over a thirteen-day period beginning on 15 August, culminating with the medal finals on 27 August. All games were played at the hockey centre within the Hellinikon Olympic Complex in Greece. Australia won the gold medal for the first time after defeating defending champions the Netherlands 2–1 in the final. Germany won the bronze medal by defeating Spain 4–3; each of the continental champions from five federations received an automatic berth. Alongside the seven teams qualifying through the Olympic Qualification Tournament, twelve teams competed in this tournament. Although the host nation would have qualified automatically as well, the International Hockey Federation and the International Olympic Committee refused to give them an automatic berth due to the standard hockey in Greece. Greece appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, however it was turned down.
Greece's first option to gain a place at the Olympics was by qualifying for the EuroHockey Nations Championship held in 2003. As they did not qualify for this tournament their last option was to beat Canada, the last ranked team of the Olympic Qualification Tournament in a best of three play-off competition. Canada would have kept its place in the Qualifier regardless of whether it won or lost against Greece. There would, have been six places at stake at the tournament if Greece had qualified, rather than the seven available. Greece lost the first two matches against Canada. All times are Eastern European Time Advanced to semifinals Advanced to semifinals Official FIH website
Barry Dancer
Barry John Dancer is a former Australian field hockey player and coach of Australian men's national field hockey team. As a player he competed in 48 international matches for Australia between 1973 and 1979, he was a member of the men's hockey team. Dancer coached the English men's hockey team from 1997 to 1999 and the Great Britain team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where the team came sixth. Dancer took up the position of Head Coach of the Australian men's national field hockey team in 2001 and retired the position after 2008 Summer Olympics. Coaching results for the Australian team at major competitions: 2001: 2nd - Champions Trophy 2002: 2nd - World Cup. Dancer was Head Coach of the Australian Institute of Sport men's hockey program from 2001 to 2008, his son Brent Dancer has represented Australia in hockey. "Profile on Hockey Australia". Archived from the original on 17 December 2005. Retrieved 2006-02-12. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown
Barcelona
Barcelona is a city in Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within city limits, its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the Province of Barcelona and is home to around 4.8 million people, making it the sixth most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, Madrid, the Ruhr area and Milan. It is one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea, located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range, the tallest peak of, 512 metres high. Founded as a Roman city, in the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona continued to be an important city in the Crown of Aragon as an economic and administrative centre of this Crown and the capital of the Principality of Catalonia.
Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean are located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and many international sport tournaments. Barcelona is one of the world's leading tourist, trade fair and cultural centres, its influence in commerce, entertainment, fashion and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities, it is a major cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe, 24th in the world and a financial centre. In 2008 it was the fourth most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world with GDP amounting to €177 billion. In 2012 Barcelona had a GDP of $170 billion. In 2009 the city was ranked one of the world's most successful as a city brand.
In the same year the city was ranked Europe's fourth best city for business and fastest improving European city, with growth improved by 17% per year, the city has been experiencing strong and renewed growth for the past three years. Since 2011 Barcelona has been a leading smart city in Europe. Barcelona is a transport hub, with the Port of Barcelona being one of Europe's principal seaports and busiest European passenger port, an international airport, Barcelona–El Prat Airport, which handles over 50 million passengers per year, an extensive motorway network, a high-speed rail line with a link to France and the rest of Europe; the name Barcelona comes from the ancient Iberian Barkeno, attested in an ancient coin inscription found on the right side of the coin in Iberian script as, in ancient Greek sources as Βαρκινών, Barkinṓn. Some older sources suggest that the city may have been named after the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, supposed to have founded the city in the 3rd century BC, but there is no evidence that Barcelona was a Carthaginian settlement, or that its name in antiquity, had any connection with the Barcid family of Hamilcar.
During the Middle Ages, the city was variously known as Barchinona, Barçalona and Barchenona. Internationally, Barcelona's name is wrongly abbreviated to'Barça'. However, this name refers only to the football club; the common abbreviated form used by locals is Barna. Another common abbreviation is'BCN', the IATA airport code of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport; the city is referred to as the Ciutat Comtal in Catalan, Ciudad Condal in Spanish, owing to its past as the seat of the Count of Barcelona. The origin of the earliest settlement at the site of present-day Barcelona is unclear; the ruins of an early settlement have been found, including different tombs and dwellings dating to earlier than 5000 BC. The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends; the first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules. The second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city Barcino after his family in the 3rd century BC, but there is no historical or linguistic evidence that this is true.
In about 15 BC, the Romans redrew the town as a castrum centred on the "Mons Taber", a little hill near the contemporary city hall. Under the Romans, it was a colony with the surname of Faventia, or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino. Pomponius Mela mentions it among the small towns of the district as it was eclipsed by its neighbour Tarraco, but it may be gathered from writers that it grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour, it enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens. The city minted its own coins. Important Roman vestiges are displayed in Plaça del Rei underground, as a part of the Barcelona City History Museum; some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have been incorporated into the cathedral. The cathedral known as the Basilica La Seu, is said to have been founded in 343; the city
Hockey World Cup
The Men's Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation. The tournament was started in 1971, it is held every four years. There is a Women's Hockey World Cup, held since 1974 and was organised by the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations until 1981, when the governing bodies merged into the current International Hockey Federation in 1982. Pakistan is the most successful team; the Netherlands and Australia have each won three titles, Germany has won two titles. Belgium and India have both won the tournament once; the 2018 tournament was held in India from 28 November to 16 December. Belgium defeated Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out 3–2 after the match ended in a 0–0 tie to win their first World Cup title; the World Cup expanded to 16 teams in 2018, FIH will evaluate the possibility of increasing it to 24 in 2022. The Hockey World Cup was first conceived by Pakistan's Air Marshal Nur Khan, he proposed his idea to the FIH through the first editor of World Hockey magazine.
Their idea was approved on 26 October 1969, adopted by the FIH Council at a meeting in Brussels on 12 April 1970. The FIH decided that the inaugural World Cup would be held in Pakistan. However, political issues would prevent that first competition from being played in Pakistan; the FIH had inadvertently scheduled the first World Cup to be played in Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Furthermore and India had been at war with each other only six years earlier; when Pakistan invited India to compete in the tournament, a crisis arose. Pakistanis, led by cricketer Abdul Hafeez Kardar, protested against India's participation in the Hockey World Cup. Given the intense political climate between Pakistan and India, the FIH decided to move the tournament elsewhere. In March 1971, coincidentally in the same month Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan, the FIH decided to move the first Hockey World Cup to the Real Club de Polo grounds in Barcelona, considered a neutral and peaceful European site.
The FIH has set no limitations on the size of the competition. The 1971 Cup included the smallest World Cup to date; the 1978 Cup featured fourteen nations. The 2002 Cup featured the largest World Cup to date; the remaining 9 World Cups have featured 12 nations. The first three tournaments were held every two years; the 1978 cup was the only tournament held three years from the previous one. It has continued that way. In other words, the tournament has been held every four years since; the Hockey World Cup trophy was created by the Pakistani Army. On 27 March 1971, in Brussels, the trophy was formally handed to FIH President Rene Frank by Mr H. E Masood, the Pakistani Ambassador to Belgium; the trophy consists of a silver cup with an intricate floral design, surmounted by a globe of the world in silver and gold, placed on a high blade base inlaid with ivory. At its peak is a model hockey stick and ball. Without its base, the trophy stands 120.85 mm high. Including the base, the trophy stands 650 mm, it weighs 11,560 g, including 6,815 g of silver, 350 g of ivory and 3,500 g of teak.
The Hockey World Cup consists of a final tournament stage. The format for each stage is the same; the qualification stage has been a part of the Hockey World Cup since 1977. All participating teams play in the qualification round; the teams compete for a berth in the final tournament. The top two teams are automatically qualified and the rest of the berths are decided in playoffs; the final tournament features other qualified teams. Sometimes it features the winners of the Summer Olympics' hockey competition or the continental runners-up; the teams play a round robin tournament. The composition of the pools is determined using the current world rankings; the top two teams in each pool play in the semifinals for a place in the final. The bottom two teams in the semifinals have a third place playoff; the rest of the teams have playoffs to determine their final positions. If they are third or fourth in their pool, they play for fifth place. Twenty four teams have qualified for a Hockey World Cup. Of these, eleven teams have made it to the semifinals.
Seven teams have made it through to the finals. To date the most successful teams are Pakistan, with four titles from six final appearances, the Netherlands, with three titles from seven final appearances, Australia with three titles from five final appearances. Germany won in 2002 and 2006, while India and Belgium won their lone titles in 1975 and 2018, respectively. Below is a list of teams that have finished in the top four positions in the tournament: * = host nation ^ = includes results representing West Germany between 1971 and 1990 # = states that have since split into two or more independent nations Nine nations have hosted the Hockey World Cup. Only the Netherlands and Germany have won the tournament as hosts. Spain and Pakistan emerged as host runners-up in the 1971, 1986 and 1990 tournaments. Australia placed third. To date, the finals of the Hockey World Cup have been contested by Asian and Oceania continental teams. European teams have won the most with six titles, followed by Asia
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad, first held in 1896, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years. The most recent Olympics were held in Rio de Brazil; the International Olympic Committee oversees the host city's preparations. In each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, bronze medals are awarded for third place; the Winter Olympic Games were created due to the success of the Summer Olympics. The Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations in 1896, to 306 events with 11,238 competitors from 206 nations in 2016; the Summer Olympics has been hosted on five continents by a total of nineteen countries. The Games have been held four times in the United States; the IOC has selected Tokyo, Japan, to host the Summer Olympics for a second time in 2020. The 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in Paris, for a third time one hundred years after the city's last Summer Olympics in 1924.
The IOC has selected Los Angeles, California, to host its third Summer Games in 2028. To date, only five countries have participated in every Summer Olympic Games – Australia, Great Britain and Switzerland; the United States leads the all-time medal table for the Summer Olympics. The United States has hosted the Summer Olympic Games four times: the 1904 Games were held in St. Louis, Missouri; the 2028 Games in Los Angeles will mark the fifth occasion on which the Summer Games have been hosted by the U. S. In 2012, the United Kingdom hosted its third Summer Olympic Games in the capital city, which became the first city to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games three times; the cities of Los Angeles and Athens have each hosted two Summer Olympic Games. In 2024, France will host its third Summer Olympic Games in its capital, making Paris the second city to have hosted three Summer Olympics. In 2028, Los Angeles will become the third city to have hosted the Games three times. Australia, France and Greece have all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice.
The IOC has selected Tokyo, Japan, to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, when it will become the first city outside the Western world to have hosted the Summer Olympics more than once, having hosted the Games in 1964. The other countries that have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium, China, Finland, Mexico, South Korea, Soviet Union, Sweden. Asia has hosted the Summer Olympics three times, in Tokyo, Seoul, South Korea, Beijing, China; the Summer Olympics has been held predominantly in English-speaking countries and European nations. Tokyo will be the first city outside these regions to have hosted the Summer Olympics twice; the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, were the first Summer Olympics to be held in South America and the first that were held during the local winter season. The only two countries in the Southern Hemisphere to have hosted the Summer Olympics have been Australia and Brazil. Africa has yet to host a Summer Olympics. Stockholm, has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having been sole host of the 1912 Games, hosting the equestrian events at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
Amsterdam, has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having been sole host of the 1928 Games and hosting two of the sailing races at the 1920 Summer Olympics. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Hong Kong provided the venues for the equestrian events, which took place in Sha Tin and Kwu Tung; the modern Olympic Games were founded in 1894 when Pierre de Coubertin sought to promote international understanding through sporting competition. He based his Olympics on the Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games, contested in Much Wenlock since 1850; the first edition of de Coubertin's games, held in Athens in 1896, attracted just 245 competitors, of whom more than 200 were Greek, only 14 countries were represented. No international events of this magnitude had been organised before. Female athletes were not allowed to compete, though one woman, Stamata Revithi, ran the marathon course on her own, saying "If the committee doesn't let me compete I will go after them regardless"; the 1896 Summer Olympics known as the Games of the Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event, celebrated in Athens, from 6 to 15 April 1896.
It was the first Olympic Games held in the Modern era. About 100,000 people attended for the opening of the games; the athletes came with most coming from Greece. Although Greece had the most athletes, the U. S. finished with the most champions. 11 Americans placed first in their events vs. the 10 from Greece
(8 September 2019)[1]
YMCA
India; May 17, 2019
Japan; August 7, 2019
Belgium; June 30, 2019
Netherlands; June 22, 2019
Argentina; May 4, 2019
New Zealand; March 17, 2019
3'
Germany
Great Britain
Spain
