Greece will host next year’s World School Games — a small-scale Olympiad, Education Minister Marietta Giannakou said yesterday.

The International School Sport Federation’s “Gymnasiade,” which has been staged every four years since 1970, is next year expected to bring together some 5,000 secondary school pupils and support staff between June 26 and July 3.

The athletes, representing some 80 countries, will compete in the disciplines of swimming and gymnastics in Athens, and in track events to be hosted in Thessaloniki.

“The Gymnasiade can help in the context of bringing about much-needed changes and establishing principles in the area of school sports,” Giannakou said.

“Our basic aim is to bring as many children as possible into competitive sport,” Deputy Culture Minister Giorgos Orfanos, who is responsible for sports, added.