EOC President: 2019 European Games on Track

(ATR) European Olympic Committees president JanezKocijančič says there are no major delays with infrastructure preparations for the Games in Minsk.

"We are satisfied with what we've seen. The atmosphere here is very friendly. One can say it is atmosphere of cooperation," he was quoted by Belarusian news agency BelTA.

His comments came after meetings with Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko and prime minister Andrei Kobyakov, which were part of a three-day EOC visit to examine all aspects of the Minsk 2019 project.

With less than 500 days until the 2019 European Games open, Kobyakov acknowledged the scale of the task still ahead: "We still have time. But those who understand what large-scale tasks we are facing, say that we don't have that much time."

There was no mention of any concerns surrounding the Minsk 2019 project in a brief official EOC release about the inspection visit.

Also in the EOC delegation visiting the Belarusian capital were 2019 European Games coordination commission chair Spyros Capralos, vice chair Zlatko Mateša, EOC vice president Niels Nygaard and the committees secretary general Raffaele Pagnozzi.

Minsk 2019 organizers gave updates across the EOC’s flagship event, including venues, transport, accommodation, broadcast and media plans.

"The European Olympic Committees is fully satisfied with the preparations that have been made so far, and we are looking forward to the future with optimism and confidence," said Kocijančič in an EOC statement.

"The Minsk 2019 European Games Organising Committee has highly-qualified, well-trained, professional staff working hard to deliver an excellent second edition of the Games."

Praising the country’s sporting infrastructure and event organization, he said "because of this, we are very confident that the European Games will be a resounding success".

During the EOC’s visit, Minsk 2019 organizers said they want to extend the global reach of the Games, with plans to sell the broadcast rights to 160 countries. The inaugural 2015 European Games in Baku were broadcast in about 140 nations.

Last month, Ticketpro was announced as the ticket operator of the Games. Tickets are due to go on sale in the next few months, one year out from the multisports event.

The Minsk 2019 mascot is expected to be unveiled later this month, according to Belarusian reports.

The second edition of the European Games, featuring some 4,000 athletes from 50 countries competing in 15 sports, takes place June 21-30 next year.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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