Second European Games in Belarus

MINSK, 22 March (BelTA) – The Directorate of the Second European Games 2019 and the Minsktrans state transport enterprise signed a contract to provide transportation services during the Second European Games, BelTA has learned.

During the sports forum Minsk will use more than 180 buses to transport athletes, coaches, support staff, judges, officials of the International Olympic Committee, international and European sports federations, the European Olympic Committees, WADA, accredited media representatives, volunteers.

“Minsktrans has a great experience in helping organize major events in the capital of Belarus. Among them were the 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey World Championship, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly summer session in 2017,” said Minsktrans deputy director general Viktor Tozik. “We were commended for the smooth transport service during the IIHF World Championship. The European Games is a more representative forum in terms of the number of participants. Therefore we take the preparations for the event very seriously,” he said.

“Ensuring smooth transport during the European Games is one of the main challenges. Minsktrans is expected to carry about 15,000 client groups every day. The transport infrastructure of the city will be a kind of circulatory system of the European Games,” director of the Directorate of the Second European Games 2019 George Katulin said.

Special routes will be developed to take into account the logistical features of the sports venues, cultural and other sites that will be used during the sports forum.

“Minsktrans, the Transport Ministry and other stakeholders have already developed a transport plan that provides for the vehicle stock, the main routes of transport services. Now we are working on the operational plan. The main principles are security, smoothness, schedule compliance. We need to meet the stringent criteria of the EOC. Transport service is critically important during the times of arrival and departure of participants. I think that after the European Games our transport system will operate at an entirely new European level. The EOC preliminary assessments of the Minsk urban infrastructure are quite high. Representatives of the EOC were surprised to see almost no traffic jams in the 2-million city.

According to Viktor Tozik, MAZ buses will be used to carry participants of the Second European Games in Minsk. “Minsk will receive 300 new buses in H2 2018 and Q1 2019. After the European Games they will be used on urban routes. According to the European commissioners, the journey to any sports venue should take not more than 30 minutes. Solutions may include designated road loans, adjusted traffic lights, limited entry or police escort,” said Viktor Tozik.

Minsk will host the Second European Games on 21-30 June 2019. The Games will feature 15 sports, ten of which will be qualifiers for the 2020 Olympic Games. The sports forum will gather more than 4,000 athletes from 50 countries.