Just before Easter, a statue of the Györ mascot Hugo was positioned opposite the town hall to celebrate 100 days to the start of the 2017 summer European Youth Olympic Festival.

Győr mayor Zsolt Borkai, who is also president of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, said: “In 2011, when we decided to host the 2017 summer EYOF, the event seemed a long way off. Since then six years have passed, and now here we are, a hundred days before the event, almost ready to start.

“When I think back over the past six years, a lot has happened in our city. European-level facilities have been built, such as the Audi Győr Arena or Aqua Sports Center. Radnóti street will serve many sports centres, Széchenyi István University is enriched by a new college, which will be the Athletes village, 200 flats built on the site of a former oil factory. In addition, we have significantly improved our infrastructure, with new transport links and new roads, and a number of renovations “.

He stressed that the Hungarian state sponsored investments of more than twenty billion forints and that the government of Győr provided comparable funds. He added that, in addition to improvements, preparation for the EYOF required tremendous collaboration with athletes and professionals, thousands of Gyor, Hungary and foreign volunteers, and cultural institutions.

“This collaboration shows that the first Olympic multi-sport event in our country is well promoted by our famous athletes, including Olympic, world and European champions”, he noted.

Currently, organisers are preparing for the Chefs Mission Seminar to be held on 23 April, to which all fifty European countries’ team leaders have been invited.

One month later, on 23 May, exactly two month before the opening, a 2017 Gyor EYOF kick-off ceremony is scheduled in Rome under the motto “Ready to Shine”.

The Györ Summer EYOF will take place from 23 to 29 July, with around 3,600 participants, young people aged 14-18, and sports professionals. A total of 760 medals will be at stake in seven individual and three team sports. The organizers expect nearly five hundred VIP guests, a fact that indicates the popularity of this event, which is supported by 2700 volunteers.