News DeskDUBAI, UAE – The fifth edition of the Gov Games took a thrilling turn this year with the introduction of a new bonus round. Teams from around the globe competed in a race up the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai.
The contest, held a day ahead of the main Gov Games event (29 February – 3 March), saw teams from Kutná Hora, Czech Republic; Oviedo, Spain; and Copenhagen, Denmark, achieve 16 bonus points. They recorded times of 27:39.51 minutes, 27:39.90 minutes, and 28:18.85 minutes, respectively.
The event, designed to push the limits of human endurance, strategic thinking, and teamwork, formed part of the ‘Battle of the Cities’ category. The introduction of the Burj Khalifa Climb to the roster offered global competitors the unique opportunity to earn pre-event bonus points, ensuring an electrifying start to this year’s Gov Games.
The Burj Khalifa challenge featured international teams, each consisting of five athletes tethered together by a single rope, as they climbed the 160 floors of the 828-metre tall megastructure. The competing teams, which have qualified for the Gov Games Finals, represented cities across four continents, including London, Brisbane, Colorado, and Copenhagen.
Marwan bin Essa, Director of Gov Games, said, “The Burj Challenge takes our competition beyond a physical challenge. It stands as a symbol for how competitors can push their boundaries and break new barriers when they work together with a shared bond and drive that can take them to the top.”
Bin Essa also expressed his gratitude to Emaar for supporting the first Burj Challenge for teams, emphasizing that their efforts contributed to giving the event additional momentum.
For the bonus Gov Games event, The Burj Challenge, a time limit has not been set. Instead, the organizers are focusing on fostering teamwork, encouraging strategy, and encouraging the ultimate goal of making it to the top as one team.
Teams were scored based on the time of the last arriving team member, ensuring that every step taken is a collective effort. Any points awarded during the Burj climb will be added to the team’s scores in the ‘Battle of the Cities’ category of the Games.
In its fifth edition, Gov Games is hosting international teams to participate in the Battle of the Cities category, representing countries including the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, Uzbekistan, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Slovakia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, France, and Portugal.
