(ATR) Around the Rings is told the Netherlands will submit a joint-city bid to host the 2019 European Games.
"We will try for the Games," Dutch National Olympic Committee president Andre Bolhuis told ATR on Monday.
"We are doing some research," he said, adding that the Netherlands’ bid would be "at least two cities."
Bolhuis said the Dutch sports movement was exploring the feasibility of a joint bid from Amsterdam and Rotterdam, perhaps with another city – either The Hague or Utrecht. Utrecht hosted the 2013 European Youth Olympic Festival.
He said the Dutch NOC would submit a bid to the European Olympic Committees in the next two months.
Dutch NOC leaders held "exploratory talks" with EOC president Patrick Hickey and secretary general Rafaelle Pagnozzi in Amsterdam on Dec. 17 and 18. The EOC board "responded enthusiastically" to the approach presented by the NOC, the Olympic committee reported.
The Dutch NOC’s approach aims to make use of existing sports facilities and accommodation for athletes and officials under efforts to reduce costs.
Gerard Dielessen, CEO of the Dutch NOC, estimates that it may be possible to stage the 2019 European Games with an organizing committee budget of around $122 million.
This is significantly less than the energy-rich country of Azerbaijan is spending on hosting the inaugural European Games in Baku next summer.
The Netherlands bid will highlight the country’s track record of successfully hosting world championships and the 2013 EYOF in Utrecht, saying they have laid a strong foundation for a major multi-sport event such as the European Games.
Dutch IOC member Camiel Eurlings told ATR earlier in December that a Dutch Olympic bid may be revived in the wake of president Thomas Bach’s Agenda 2020 reforms.
Russian and Turkish cities are thought to be among the other five bidders for the 2019 European Games. ATR has previously reported that Istanbul and Mersin in Turkey along with Kazan and Sochi in Russia have expressed interest in staging the EOC flagship competition.
ATR understands that a Polish city is no longer being considered by the EOC.
An update on the bidders for the 2019 European Games is expected on the agenda of the EOC executive committee meeting in Lausanne on Jan. 20.
The EOC has already outlined the 2019 bidding process. The Executive Committee will select its preferred candidate in the next few months.
Representatives of the proposed host city will work with the 2019 European Games working group to develop a unique concept. The 20-sports program of next year’s inaugural Games in Baku will not be repeated. Instead, the look and feel of the Games will be tailor-made to the host city’s "needs, capabilities and priorities."
The EOC task force will support the host city in defining the technical, operational, marketing and legacy requirements for the 2019 edition, covering the sports program, transport and venues, and the allocation of licensing rights.
That European Games concept will be presented to the EOC membership for approval at an Extraordinary General Assembly in Belek, Turkey, in May.
Reported by Mark Bisson.
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