MINSK, 21 January (BelTA) – The program of the Second European Games is supposed to be available next week, BelTA learned from Anatoly Kotov, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus and secretary of the committee in charge of organizing the 2019 European Games in Belarus, on 21 January.
Anatoly Kotov noted: “The program of the European Games is still in development. A session of the Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees will take place in Lausanne on 26 January. The session participants will consider the first report on Belarus' readiness for hosting the games. The Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees is the agency that will have to adopt the program of the event.” In his words, the decision of the Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees will take into account Belarus' preferences regarding the kinds of sport and the facilities to be used.
The program may include from 14 to 17 kinds of sport. “We will learn the final figure on 26 January. To be exact, we will know 95% of it then. Signing the contract with the European Olympic Committees will be the final point. We should be close to signing the document before March,” explained Anatoly Kotov.
There are plans to arrange four sport clusters in Minsk in order to minimize travel time for athletes and fans. Minsk Arena, Chizhovka Arena, the Sports Palace, and the sport complex Olimpiysky are the probable venues. Apart from that, some shooting kinds of sport and some solo performance sports will be held in Minsk's Uruchye. “The European Olympic Committees also suggested considering extending the duration of the games by one or two days in order to host specific kinds of sport at the same venue,” said Anatoly Kotov.
Speaking about the budget of the Second European Game, the secretary of the organizing committee noted that it is too early to talk about specific sums but the budget will not be large. “However, it doesn't mean we are going to do without the official opening and closing ceremonies. We are going to compensate for our costs as much as possible by selling tickets, rights to television broadcasting, and the marketing program. The European Olympic Committees agrees with the approach since we split most of the costs 50/50,” stated Anatoly Kotov.
Two weeks ago representatives of the European Olympic Committees inspected the facilities in Minsk that will be used during the Second European Games. “All of them received the highest scores. The sport facilities we demonstrated were met with sincere delight and admiration,” he stated.
Belarus was elected to host the Second European Games in 2019 after a vote at the 45th General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees in Minsk in October 2016. The First European Games were held in Azerbaijan on 12-28 June 2015. Belarus placed 7th with a total of 43 medals (10 gold, 11 silver and 22 bronze ones).
