It’s now just over 21 days to go to the European Youth Winter Olympic Festival (EYOF), which will take place from 11 to 18 February in Erzurum, Turkey.

Preparations are in full swing and the Organising Committee is working very hard to welcome all participants at the Festival with perfect conditions. Erzurum is an important winter sports resort that has hosted other international events in the past, and snow conditions are fantastic with a lot of natural snow and real winter temperatures often below zero.

All venues are ready and undergoing test events, and venues decoration is currently being completed. The Athletes´ Village is also ready and waiting for its first guests.

The involvement and support of national and local authorities is very strong. The Ministry of

Youth and Sport of the Republic of Turkey, which is the organization responsible for the 2017 Winter EYOF, is fully behind the project and the officials responsible are visiting Erzurum regularly. The Turkish NOC, and Governorship and Municipality of Erzurum are also involved on a daily basis. The OC has invested 15 million Euros in the organization.

Due to the concerns of some NOCs, security measures have also been boosted. There will be 3000 security staff in total, including police, Special Forces, gendarmerie and private security guards, all for the EYOF operations only, plus 1900 police staff responsible for security and safety in the city.

The OC has moved the Opening Ceremony from the city centre square to the Kazim Karabekir football stadium that is located close to the Athletes´ Village. The logistics and all measures taken will make everyone feels very safe also during this event.

The Closing Ceremony as well as the Medal Ceremonies will be held in the Athletes´ Village, which is very convenient.

The total figure for participating NOC Teams now stands at over 1300 between athletes and team staff.

For more information on Erzurum and the 2017 EYOF visit “eyof2017erzurum.org”, the official website of the games, and also www.eyof.org.

You can also follow Erzurum 2017 on social media. “@Eyof2017erzurum” is the festival’s official account on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

And don’t forget, Erzurum 2017 will be broadcasting online.

Erzurum can’t wait to host the continent’s most talented young athletes.

See you soon in Erzurum!