EG2023 presented in Krakow: “The biggest European event since London 2012”

With the press conference at the ICE in Krakow, during which the EG2023 mascots Krakusek and Sandra were unveiled, the third edition of the European Games 2023, scheduled from 21 June to 2 July in Poland, officially opens. Around 7.000 athletes from 48 countries will be competing in 29 sports, among which Padel will make its official ‘five-ring’ debut with medals up for grabs in the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed specialities. Our sport will have the honour of opening the EG2023 a few hours before the official ceremony scheduled for Wednesday 21 June at 8.30 p.m.. A crucial event on the road to the Games with direct qualification for a large number of disciplines and the awarding of points for the Olympic ranking.

“It is the biggest sporting event to take place in Europe since London 2012 – said Hasan Arat, President of the European Olympic Committee Commission, during the press conference presenting the third edition of the European Games -. Many competitions enable qualification for the next Olympics. The top European athletes are here and that makes us proud. Eleven cities are helping to host competitions and athletes, the strategic choice was to have sustainable games: no money should be spent unnecessarily and the facilities should remain available to the people. We have created big screens that will remain in the city. It will be the victory of sport, organisation and the ideals that sport brings”.

Spyros Capralos, President of the European Olympic Committee, said that “the facilities and the village are great. The athletes will enjoy not only the competitions but also the venues. In these difficult times, Poland has kept its promise, with a positive approach without ever saying that the feat was impossible. Polish citizens should be proud of their country”. Capralos added that the European Games will be an opportunity to “test some disciplines in view of a possible entry into Olympic sports: we will evaluate what reaction the fans have, what interest from TV and other elements. For those sports it is an opportunity, as has happened with other disciplines, then the Olympic Committee will decide”.

The President of the Organising Committee, Marcin Nowak, thanked Poland for agreeing to join such an “ambitious project. It is impossible to thank everyone who helped us to be here. We didn’t want to build new facilities but to use the ones that were already there. The owners of the facilities benefited from the renovation, which allowed us to meet international standards. It was a challenge, the balance in the choices made it possible for us to stay within a slightly larger budget than we had planned. We also paid attention to the environment: the food for the athletes, for example, was measured. As far as energy is concerned, the stadium of the opening ceremony has been thermally insulated and will consume much less in the future”.

The Polish Minister of Sport, Kamil Bortniczuk, said he was certain that the Games will achieve an “extraordinary result from an organisational point of view. We have visited with members of the Olympic Committee the athletes’ village, I can say that everything is ready. I hope that many fans will enjoy the competitions live, or through TV. I thank the European Olympic Committee and the sponsors, without whom this would not have been possible. It’s a privilege to host the Games here in Krakow and throughout the region. We welcomed migrants from Ukraine in a dramatic ‘wave’ because of the war. It seemed that we had to choose between accepting these people or dedicating ourselves to the organisation of the European Games 2023: well, we managed to accomplish both missions. It was an immense amount of work, you will see it all over the city. The conditions were really complicated, as well as the really short time available”.