If you love sport, Rethymno is just the place for you. From April 2026 through to 20 October, “the city of letters” can just as easily be called “the city of sports”, as it will host a wide range of competitions and events organised by the Department of Sports of the Municipality of Rethymno.

The curtain on this unprecedented sporting programme in the municipality’s history will rise on 25 and 26 April 2026, with two parallel events. At the indoor arena “Melina Mercouri”, the Crete Jiu Jitsu Cup will take place, with 16 clubs and more than 1,200 athletes expected to participate. At the same time, at the “House of Artistic Gymnastics” in the university facilities at Gallos, the 4th Regional Games of Crete and the Islands in Artistic Gymnastics will be held.

The baton passes to the weekend of 2 and 3 May, when the indoor court at the university facilities will host the final phase of the Workers’ Basketball Championships (A1 and A2), held in memory of Dimitris Anyfantakis.

A week later, on Sunday 10 May, the indoor arena “Melina Mercouri” will host the Pancretan Taekwondo Championship.

On Sunday 17 May, locals will take to the streets to join the much-loved and well-established City Run.

The following day (Monday 18 May), the “House of Artistic Gymnastics” will host a yoga event, organised in collaboration with OPAP.

The finale of this endless spring sporting festival will be written on 20 May, with the Inter-University Basketball and Volleyball Championships at the Gallos indoor arena.

Of course, this wave of sporting activity in Rethymno does not end with these six events. On Sunday 26 April, free yoga classes return to the Municipal Garden, followed by Zumba sessions on a rotating basis.

This will be followed by the Sports Camp, running for two months. After attracting more than 500 children last year, it returns this year in an upgraded format.

On 4 and 5 July, Unknown Soldier Square will pulse with the energy of the 3x3 Basketball Cretan Series, held in Rethymno for the third consecutive year.

Sporting action will peak from 15 to 20 October with the TUI SOCCA Champions League and the SOCCA Aegean Cup—two events that bring the elite of mini football to Rethymno, leaving a strong and lasting imprint on the city.