With exactly 100 days to go until the Gala Opening Ceremony of the world-class multi-sport event with a global footprint, celebrating Europe’s finest athletes in a crucial staging post on the road to the Olympic Games, Minsk European Games Organising Committee CEO George Katulin said:
«We are only 100 days away from the opening of the 2nd European Games MINSK 2019, one of the most ambitious sports competitions to take place this year. They are a landmark event that impacts the whole country. The scale of the Games makes them the first such event to be held in modern Belarus.
15 sports and 199 medal sets will be featured at MINSK 2019. Competitions will span for 10 days and will be contested by more than 4,000 athletes from 50 European nations. A grand total of over 1,000 accredited journalists and 200 TV cameras will cover the Games for the international audience. General broadcasting time is estimated to go beyond 500 hours. The Games will be supported by more than 8,000 volunteers from all over the world. They were selected from 24,000 applicants who were willing to make a difference. Our country is proud to welcome and accommodate thousands of guests who will come to Belarus, whether for the first time or not, to enjoy the sporting and the cultural sides of the Games.
What is even of greater importance is that MINSK 2019 give all Belarusian citizens a unique opportunity to be a part of a large-scale event and feel its grandeur. The Games are an opportunity to spread the word about Belarus in Europe and many other countries, as millions of fans will be following as the stakes rise in Minsk in June 2019.
Today we begin a new stage of preparations for the Games. Our team that brings together hundreds of experts in different areas have already accomplished a lot in the run-up to the Games. What is more, MINSK 2019 will leave significant legacy, both in material and non-material form: city transport network has been modernised; new buses, trams and trains run in the city, and we now have better sports facilities and urban infrastructure; we have improved emergency medical care, discovered new talents among our staff and established cooperation among public bodies at different levels that will be beneficial for other major projects. We want to draw public attention to the importance of a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities, growth of volunteer movement in Belarus, environmental issues and promotion of sports and healthy lifestyle. It is in our power to make this time truly bright not only for the many athletes who will be our guests, but also for each citizen of Belarus».
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