By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
DJ Mackovets, CEO of the Birmingham Host Committee for the 2025 World Police and Fire Games, June 27 through July 6, said the Games are not just important for visitors around the globe but the city as well.
“Birmingham is a city that a lot of people haven’t had a chance to visit. Certainly [not] internationals. I think they will be very surprised with the welcoming nature of the community,” Mackovets said. “One of the many reasons why we were selected to host these games was the quality of good venues, the variety of good hotels, great restaurants, an easy airport for people to get in and out of, and the experience of doing these kinds of events. This community is very sports- and events-oriented.”
The games are expected to bring an estimated $65 million in economic impact to the Birmingham area.
Mackovets, who has lived in Alabama for the last seven years, would know. He has been involved with a variety of major events across the country during past decades including CEO of the Local Organizing Committee for The World Games 2022 in Birmingham.
“I was involved in the bidding process from the very beginning, which started in the summer of 2018 up until now,” said Mackovets about BHM 2025 WPFG, adding the thing he looks forward to the most coming out of the games is continuing to work on building the relationships between first responders in our community.
“They serve us every day. It’s a challenging role for a lot of reasons. We really have pushed hard to see first responders from Alabama participate in their own games here,” he said. “In 2023 when the games were in Winnipeg, Canada, there was one Alabama athlete registered, and now we’re at almost 570 first responders from the state of Alabama.”
BHM 2025 WPFG will host more than 8,500 first responders from nearly 80 countries in 1,600 medal events who are current and retired public agency personnel. The opening ceremony is 6 p.m. on June 27 in Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The closing ceremony is at 4:30 p.m. on July 6 at the Athletes’ Village at City Walk.
In between, competition will span central Alabama. From swimming, toughest competitor alive and indoor volleyball at Birmingham CrossPlex, to jiu jitsu, judo, karate, taekwondo, wrestling at Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium, to boxing at Alabama Theater to cycling criterium at Talladega Superspeedway and 31 more sports.
The Games of Heroes, as they’re sometimes called, features more than 60 sports across more than 30 venues around Birmingham and central Alabama.
Kathy Boswell, a Birmingham native, who currently serves as SVP, Community & People Engagement, for the Fire and Police Games said the games are a chance to celebrate the city as well.
“We need to celebrate the fact that people are coming here,” said Boswell, who served as a volunteer for the 2022 World Games. “This is something that represents all of us. It is not a pass or fail just on Birmingham. It is a reflection of us as a community I don’t know how many times we are going to keep getting things to prove this.
“When we come together collectively, and really put all those divides, aside Alabama does some darn good things.”
She pointed to the fan response from the [2022] World Games which “helped put us on a national stage to be recognized as one of the greatest cities to be able to visit,” she said. “The Magic City Hospitality is real. It is good. It is like any other city. Everything is not perfect, but it is a lot to be proud of.”
One of the biggest differences between The World Games and WPFG is people can simply play in a sport, she said.
“They don’t have to qualify. Like, with the World Games, those athletes qualified. This is a non-sanctioned type of sporting event, so you don’t have to qualify to participate. Anybody that is considered eligible individual based on the criteria of the World Police and Fire Games Federation can participate.”
BHM 2025 WPFG will host more than 8,500 first responders from nearly 80 countries in 1,600 medal events. Competitors are current and retired public agency personnel from across the globe. The opening ceremony is 6 p.m. on June 27 in Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The closing ceremony is at 4:30 p.m. on July 6 at the Athletes’ Village at City Walk.
