New Year Message by EOC acting President Janez Kocijani

New Year Message by EOC acting President Janez Kocijančič

Rome; 01 January 2017: There are many reasons to feel optimistic about the year ahead in 2017 for the European Olympic Committees.

At the end of 2016 the dominant feeling was one of relief that our friend Patrick Hickey had returned home and had been reunited with his family in Ireland. Now he can receive the important medical attention he requires.

Patrick is enjoying being amongst his family and friends once more and any decision about what’s next for him within the Olympic Movement is up to him and depends on the development of his legal case.

As an organisation, the EOC took some important steps forward in 2016.

We secured the future of the European Games by awarding the hosting rights to Minsk and we can now look forward to, and prepare for, the second edition in 2019. It’s no secret that Minsk 2019 will look quite different to Baku 2015. In line with Olympic Agenda 2020, the European Games concept can be adapted to suit the infrastructure and conditions of the host country and city. This is the European Games blueprint. We want our Games to be flexible enough to align with the host nation’s wider sports strategy. This guarantees that each edition is a sustainable event for the host whilst ensuring the event’s own distinct identity.

Another important step towards 2019 came in December with a basic agreement between the EOC and the European Athletic Association about a high-level presence for athletics at Minsk 2019.

I am very confident that Minsk and Belarus will deliver an excellent second edition of the European Games.

2016 saw the EOC change its own identity as we adopted a blue and azure mosaic made of 50 pieces as our central logo. Our new identity however is more than a logo, it is a narrative in its own right. The mosaic design is quintessentially European and the 50 pieces are representative of the EOC’s 50 European members. We’re very excited about using this design across all our touchpoints and marketing materials to create consistency between our sports properties.

As we can now look ahead to better times in 2017, our focus switches to the winter edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) taking place in Erzurum, Turkey, in February. For many of the athletes competing it will be the first time they have participated in a multi-sport event under the Olympic banner.

Erzurum 2017 will provide them with an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best young athletes in Europe.

But just as importantly they will experience – many for the first time – the special feeling of competing at a sports event conducted in the Olympic spirit.

Then in July, the summer EYOF will take place in Györ, Hungary. Here too, many young athletes will be competing in an EYOF for the first time and we want this experience to stay with them for their whole lives, inspiring them in their future careers in sport, or in other industries.

The EYOF is one of the EOC’s key sports properties and has a proud history of developing the sporting talent and character of young Europeans. This history was appropriately celebrated at our 2016 General Assembly as we marked the EYOF’s 25th anniversary by recalling the 25 summer and winter editions that have taken place since 1991.

On the surface, 2017 may seem like a transitional year for the Olympic Movement, with no summer or winter Games in the calendar. But for the EOC it will be another busy year with plenty of reasons to think positively and be successful.

I wish you all a prosperous and a happy New Year!

-Ends-

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