The waiting is over for 1300 of Europe’s best young athletes as Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia region prepares to host the 16^th Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) over the next week.

A stunning Opening Ceremony tomorrow night will be followed by seven days of high-octane action as the European Olympic Committees (EOC) brings together the stars of tomorrow for the only major youth multisport event for winter sports on the continent.

It is the second time the EYOF has returned to Italy since Aosta hosted the inaugural edition 30 years ago and Lignano Sabbiadoro, still in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, organised the summer EYOF in 2005. This edition comes only three years before the Olympic Winter Games Milano-Cortina 2026, where many of the EYOF athletes will hopefully compete and win medals!

Back in 1993 when the event was in its infancy, 708 competitors from 33 nations competed across five different sports. The 2023 edition will see 14 different sports take place with the athletes, aged 14-18, coming from 47 different European countries.

In a fantastic show of unity, Italy is sharing hosting duties with neighbours Slovenia and Austria. The ski jumping and Nordic combined events will be held in the Slovenian city of Planica, while Spittal in Austria plays host to the girl’s ice hockey competition.

Ahead of the EYOF, EOC president Spyros Capralos said: “For many of the athletes taking part, this is their first experience of an international multisport event and I am sure they will make memories to last a lifetime both in and out of competition. European Youth Olympic Festivals, whether winter or summer, continue to provide the best youngsters from across the continent with vital experience and to host our second winter one in the past 12 months is important following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I want to thank the Friuli Venezia Giulia organising committee, as well as the Italian, Slovenian and Austrian National Olympic Committees, for all their hard work and help in making sure the next week will live in the memories of all involved for a long time.”

There will be a new addition to the schedule with ski mountaineering taking place for the first time after it was added as a new sport for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in 2021. The 14 sports will be played across 11 venues and 1200 volunteers will help make the EYOF run smoothly for all the young athletes.

The sports are: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing (slopestyle & big air), ski cross, ice hockey, short track speed skating, ski jumping, ski mountaineering, snowboard alpine and cross, snowboard freestyle (slopestyle & big air), and Nordic combined.

Vuokatti in Finland hosted the previous edition in March 2022, delayed from the previous year, and the hosts topped the medal table with six gold medals (14 medals in total), ahead of Italy (five golds, 20 medals) and Austria (five golds, 10 medals).

As well as the athletes competing, the European Youth Olympics Ambassador (EYOA) programme will run for the sixth time with 26 countries represented. Conceived by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Culture and Education Commission, the chosen ambassadors will help spread messages of Olympism and Olympic values among athletes through different initiatives across the EYOF.