Gyor – The European Olympic Committees (EOC) Acting President, Janez Kocijančič, hailed last night’s exciting, youth-focused European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Opening Ceremony in Győr, Hungary as “spectacular”.

The sold out event at the ETO Park Stadium demonstrated Győr is “ready to shine” at Hungary’s first ever multi-sport Olympic event. With a particular focus on engaging a youthful audience, the high-energy two hour-long event celebrated Hungarian culture through a series of artistic displays from over 300 dancers and musicians, including world-famous DJ Steve Aoki.

The Ceremony also saw the arrival of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) torch, which has been on a nationwide tour in Hungary since it was lit during the “Shine in the name of Peace” ceremony at the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome, in May. Legendary five-time Olympic gold medal winning Hungarian swimmer Krisztina Egerszegi lit the flame, which will now burn in the ETO Park Stadium throughout the festival, before returning to the EOC headquarters in Rome.

Earlier in the day, the final press conference before the action begins took place at the Győr City Hall. Media heard from Győr Mayor and Head of the Organising Committee Zsolt Borkai, European Olympic Committees (EOC) Acting President Janez Kocijančič, EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi, Hungarian NOC President Krisztián Kulcsár and the Head of the EYOF Coordination Commission Joseph Cassar.  Mayor Borkai and Janez Kocijančič both spoke at the Opening Ceremony, alongside Dr Miklós Seszták, Hungarian Minister of National Development.

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Győr Mayor Zsolt Borkai said:

“It is an honour for the city of Győr to host Hungary’s first-ever multi-sport Olympic event, and this wonderful Opening Ceremony is the start of a very exciting week. We are sure that we will have a big impact on the lives of the incredibly talented young athletes here this week, and that some of them will be the idols of tomorrow.

“I would like to thank the EOC for trusting us to host this prestigious event. I would also like to thank the Hungarian National Olympic Committee for their conscientious preparation. In order to provide the young athletes with the amazing facilities we have here we needed lots of support, so I would also like to thank everyone who has contributed to our effort. Finally, I would like to thank the people of Győr for their amazing enthusiasm!”

EOC Acting President Janez Kocijančič said:

“On behalf of the EOC, I would like to congratulate and thank our friends from the Hungarian National Olympic Committee and the EYOF Organising Committee for a spectacular Opening Ceremony. The organisation here is outstanding and without them this week’s event would not have been possible. It is a great pleasure to be here in Hungary to celebrate the EOC’s oldest European Olympic event.

“I am very pleased that all athletes competing here in Győr will do so on equal terms. The most important message of the European Youth Olympic Festival is to use the power of sport to bring the youth of Europe together in friendship, and the Opening Ceremony was the perfect representation of what this amazing event is about. Starting at the “Shine in the name of peace” Ceremony in Rome, it has been wonderful to see a sporting event combine two wonderful things – peace and youth. Through sport, the Olympic Movement achieves unity and I hope this year’s athletes can make lasting friendships with their fellow competitors.”

Competition action begins today, with over 2,500 athletes taking part in 10 sports -athletics, basketball, cycling, gymnastics, handball, judo, kayak-canoe, swimming, tennis and volleyball. The event runs from 23 – 29 July, with the Closing Ceremony taking place on Saturday 29 July after six full days of action.