Organizers recorded a surge of enrollments for the first leg of the Gelato World Tour, the Gelato Olympics organized by Carpigiani Gelato University and SIGEP – Rimini Fiera, which will be held in Rome on May 3-5 2013. Sixteen gelato artisans will be selected by experts and trade associations. They will compete in Rome, each making one flavor, the best they have to offer. The final standings will be based on the total votes of the public and the professional jury. The top four will have the chance to represent Italy in the Grand Finale of the world’s most delicious Olympics, in September 2014 at Rimini where the top contenders from five continents chosen by the public and experts will battle for the title of World’s Best Gelato Artisan. “We wanted Italy’s capital, Rome, to be the first of the eight gelato world capitals,” says Andrea Cocchi, General Manager of the Carpigiani Group. “Gelato is delicious, genuine, nutritious, and produced in hundreds of different flavors. The competition will travel to the cities of Chicago, Valencia, Dubai, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, and Sydney. In each city, thousands of people will gather in the city squares to appreciate the artisan realities of local products.”