Minsk 2019 Organizers Mark Year-to-Go Milestone

(ATR) Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko promises a strong legacy from the second European Games in Minsk, as EOC officials express satisfaction with the pace of preparations.

Opening the revamped Dinamo Stadium, Lukashenko said it was a new era for the country’s storied venue, which hosted some football matches of the 1980 Olympics. "By using cutting-edge technologies, they've preserved the historical foundation while making the stadium up-to-date and high-tech," he was quoted by Belarusian news agency BelTA.

"Now we can proudly invite famous athletes from all over the world to come here. I am convinced that the stadium will definitely become home to active leisure fans. From now on the Dinamo Stadium will always host the largest and most interesting events."

Dinamo Stadium will stage the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics competitions at next year’s European Games. There are 15 sports on the program.

Leaders from the European Olympic Committees held meetings with Games organizers earlier this week and attended celebrations on Thursday to mark the year-to-go milestone.

Organizing committee chair George Katulin said a report on the progress with preparations was positively received. "Our EOC colleagues were pleased to find out that the MEGOC staff has grown significantly, in particular in leadership positions. Our next step is to set up operating teams at each venue", Katulin said.

EOC officials praised Minsk's readiness.

EOC coordination commission chairman Spyros Capralos said: "A number of sports venues have recently been refurbished and will soon be put into operation. The Chef de Mission seminar, taking place from 9-12 July, will bring together in Minsk representatives from 49 of the 50 NOCs participating in the European Games, who will receive all the necessary information to best prepare for next year’s event."

European Games executive director Simon Clegg said it was clear that organizers' work was "going in the right direction".

"I worked at 12 Olympic Games and no edition isthe same as the previous one. There is no need to compare events at this level and scale, but I am sure that the European Games in Minsk will be memorable because Belarus will bring its own twist to it which will make them special," Clegg said.

As part of Thursday’s celebrations, a Minsk 2019 countdown clock was unveiled.

The day began with a 10 kilometer charity run from Dinamo Stadium to the headquarters of the Belarus National Olympic Committee. The re-opening of Dinamo Stadium was commemorated with a music concert, athletics relay, football match and fireworks display.

Renovation of the multi-purpose venue started long before Minsk was awarded the European Games and took six years to complete.

Katulin described the stadium reopening as an exciting moment: "The renovations mean that the most important stadium in Belarus can continue to make history and will be a great continuation linking the Olympic Games of 1980 with the European Games of 2019."

IAAF president Sebastian Coe and Belarusian Olympic sprint champion Yulia Nesterenko were on hand to start a 4x100 meter mixed-relay race featuring local youngsters and to present medals to the winners.

Today, the stadium will hold a track and field event which will serve as a test event for Minsk 2019 and feature teams from Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic and Balkan countries.

In total, 4,082 athletes from all 50 European Olympic Committees will compete at next year’s Games. The sports are: 3x3 basketball, archery, athletics, badminton, beach soccer, beach volleyball, boxing, canoe sprint, cycling, judo, karate, sambo, shooting, table tennis and wrestling.

Ten of the 15 sports serve as qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics, with the 2019 edition also counting as the official European championships for four sports. There will be 91 men’s events, 89 women’s events and 21 mixed events in total, with 115 universality spots available. All 12 sporting venues, of which 11 are existing facilities, are located a maximum 30 minutes’ drive from the Athletes’ Village.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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