The XVI Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Banská Bystrica 2021 will be rescheduled to a new date as a result of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 being postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Summer EYOF was originally scheduled to take place in the Slovakian city from 25 to 31 July 2021, dates that conflict with the new Olympic Games dates of 23 July to 8 August.

“We already know that it will not be possible to organise the EYOF 2021 in the same original dates,” said Peter Korčok, Executive Director of the EYOF 2021 Banská Bystrica Organising Committee. “We have already started negotiations with the European Olympic Committees regarding the postponement, and various options are being considered. Moving the EYOF to 2022 seems to be the most advantageous solution.”

The EOC and the Organising Committee agreed, however, that it is still too early to make a definitive decision on the new dates as the entire sport calendar needs to be rearranged in the coming months.

“The EOC is consulting the European Federations (EFs) involved to find the best possible new dates for the EYOF,” said EOC Sports Director Peter Brüll. “We are having very constructive dialogue with the EFs and I strongly believe we will be able to organise an excellent event in Slovakia in 2022.”