#ICYMI -- Minsk Ready to Impress; Egypt Targets 2032 Olympic Bid; Torch Relay to Start in Fukushima

Minsk European Games organizing committee (MEGOC) chief executive officer George Katulin says that the Belarusian capital will impress athletes and visitors as a friendly and hospitable host city for the second European Games.

"Everyone will have their personal impression, but the common thing they will see visiting our capital is the friendly, human environment," Katulin said responding to a question from Around the Rings.

Katulin addressed European National Olympic Committee press officers and journalists following a two-day meeting with Minsk 2019 organizers covering a wide range of topics.

"The friendly people outside, the green wild space, a well organized city, a lot of sport facilities and lot of youngsters on the street," said Katulin, mentioning the positive attributes that European athletes, officials and visitors will witness in Minsk from July 21-30, 2019.

Katulin, who is also the secretary general of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee and chairman of the national karate federation, said the city’s youth will benefit from, and play an integral part in, successfully delivering the Games.

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Egypt Eyes Olympics, World Cup Hosting

The North African country is considering bids for the 2030 FIFA tournament and 2032 Summer Games.

New sports minister Ashraf Sobhi announced Egypt’s ambitions at a press conference on Tuesday.

"Our goal is to host the 2030 World Cup in Egypt and we will work on that in the upcoming period," Sobhi was quoted in Egyptian media reports. "We also want to win the hosting rights for the 2032 Olympic Games."

His comments come just a month after Morocco was beaten to 2026 World Cup hosting rights by a joint bid from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The Egyptian football federation voted for the Morocco bid at the FIFA Congress in Moscow on June 13.

Africa has never hosted an Olympics – and after a new-look Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028, it may be some time before the continent can deliver the IOC’s showpiece to a similar international standard.

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On the Scene: Olympic Torch Relay Start in Fukushima

One of the areas heavily affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami will be the start of the 2020 Olympic Torch Relay.

Organizers announced today that Fukushima prefecture will be the start of the Olympic Torch Relay. The torch will spend three days in Fukushima, and then will return to Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, which were also affected, later in the relay.

Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori told reporters that an idea was proposed to have the relay start in all three prefectures affected by the relay. That idea was shot down, but Mori emphasized the relay to showcase the "willingness of people to recover from the devastation".

"Thorough the torch relay, we would like to express our appreciation to all those across the world who have contributed to the reconstruction of the Tohoku region," Mori said. "I believe these Olympic Games will help lift the spirits of all of the people in Japan, and provide a particular boost to the feelings of people in the affected areas."

Fukushima was chosen as the starting point as part of the relay’s theme "Hope Lights Our Way". Organizers have repeatedly cited using the Tokyo Olympics to help bring attention to recovery efforts in northeast Japan. Opening matches for baseball and softball at the 2020 Olympics will also take place in Fukushima.

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