Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,
I hope you all returned safely to your countries after spending two special weeks together in Poland.
I would like to send my sincere thanks and congratulations to everyone involved in staging the wonderful Games in the Krakow Malopolska region of Poland, and in preparing the athletes. It took many of us working in partnership to put on an event of the magnitude of the European Games. I believe we can all be very pleased with the result, especially in light of the challenges faced by the EOC and our Polish hosts.
From the Polish President Andrzej Duda, Minister of Sport Kamil Bortniczuk, Marshal of Malopolska Witold Kozłowski, Mayor of Krakow Jacek Majchrowski, Organising Committee President Marcin Nowak and his staff, to the thousands of welcoming volunteers, each and every one of you played a significant role. Many obstacles were overcome and Poland has demonstrated its capability to exceed expectations in creating extraordinary results from limited resources in terms of time and finance.
The sport programme was innovative and offered extensive opportunities. The new sports proved very popular, echoing the approach we will see in Paris of city-centre competitions. And the European Esports Championships added a distinctive new element in line with the direction taken by the IOC.
The qualification opportunities for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 whether indirect or “golden tickets” were greater than ever, and a strong foundation for future success. These Games brought more Olympic Games qualifying opportunities than any of the previous editions, with 118 quota places being awarded. Top quality performances were spread across the competitions, with 41 NOCs winning medals.
Performances were made even more special due to the deal with the European Broadcast Union enabling the action to be broadcast in over 50 countries. The groundbreaking rights agreement saw athletes, National Olympic Committees and the member federations able to download highlights and post them directly to social media, reinforcing the Games status as a driver of innovation. With hundreds of millions of video views for these highlight clips, we have fully embraced the digital present and future.
Innovation didn’t stop there. The EOC is also very proud of the Games model showing modern thinking with the responsible, sustainable Games plan, based on the use of existing infrastructure and city-centre temporary venues. To sum up the Games in three words I would say they were joyful, respectful and innovative.
Our attention now quickly turns, with great focus, to the European Youth Olympic Festival Maribor 2023 and I look forward to seeing you in a few short days in Slovenia.
With EurOlympic regards,
Spyros Capralos
EOC President
