Second European Games in Belarus

MINSK, 10 July (BelTA) – We will pay heed to the opinion of the chefs de mission of the teams as we are preparing to host the 2nd European Games, Director of the Minsk European Games Organizing Committee (MEGOC) Georgy Katulin told the media on the sidelines of the Chefs de Mission seminar in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

Less than a year before the start of the European Games, Minsk is hosting leading European experts on the Olympic Games and other major international tournaments. “The main task for our guests is to get accurate information about all sports facilities, residences and accommodation for delegations, accreditation and logistics. We talked about it this morning at a meeting in the National Olympic Committee of Belarus. The Belarusian side, as an organizer, has presented progress reports at the seminar. The feedback from the chefs de mission was positive. All the reports were approved. Peer review and assessment are important to us. Their practical advice and opinions will help us prepare for the upcoming tournament in the best possible way,” Georgy Katulin said.

During the three-day visit representatives of 49 teams that will take part in the European Games MINSK 2019 are scheduled to visit a number of facilities, to attend the presentations on the accreditation of official participants of the games, on the sports program, system of qualifications, bidding campaign, accommodation in the Student Village, transport system, information technology and other areas.

The consultations will be offered by experts of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), including European Games Executive Director Simon Clegg, EOC Sports Consultant Makis Asimakopoulos, EOC Senior Consultant Pierce O’Callaghan.

EOC representatives are actively involved in the preparations for the upcoming competitions in Minsk, the MEGOC said. In June this year Minsk hosted members of the EOC Coordination Commission led by Spiros Kapralos. A seminar for representatives of the federations and managers of the sports facilities to be used in the upcoming games was held in May. Technical delegates of the international sports federations regularly inspect the arenas for future competitions.

A seminar for NOC spokespersons and leading European mass media outlets will begin this week, 11 July.

The 2nd European Games are scheduled to take place at 12 sport venues in Minsk on 21-30 June 2019. Over 4,000 athletes from 50 countries will compete for 201 sets of awards in 15 sports. The competitions in 10 sports will offer qualification opportunities for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.