Krakow, Poland – Krakow and the surrounding Malopolska region have been selected to host the third edition of the European Games in 2023.
Gathered in Minsk, Belarus, where the second edition of the European Games kicked off on Friday, the European Olympics Committees Extraordinary General Assembly chose Poland’s former capital by a unanimous vote.
Krakow, which replaced the initial bid of Katowice as Poland‘s host candidate for the European Games 2023, was the only remaining bidder after the fallout of the candidacy of the Russian city of Kazan.
“For me, it is a fantastic moment and I am very happy that we are able to promote Krakow and the region of Malopolska, generally Poland, where sport is fantastic”, Andrzej Kraśnicki, head of the Polish National Olympic Committee, commented following the vote.
According to Janez Kocijančič, the Slovenian president of the European Olympic Committee (EOC), “Poland is the right choice for the time being, not only because they are the only candidate, we spoke with several cities, but because they are in the heart of Europe” and has “a very rich sports tradition”.
The opening ceremony of the 2nd European Games in Minsk, Belarus, on June 22
The EOC also highlighted that Krakow already had some important sports infrastructure ready for the games, even though some of them will have to be upgraded and modernized ahead of the 2023 competition.
The first installment of the European Games, that are somewhat similar to the Olympic Games but only open to 50 European nations, was set in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2015.
Kafkadesk 
Krakow, Poland – Krakow and the surrounding Malopolska region have been selected to host the third edition of the European Games in 2023.
Gathered in Minsk, Belarus, where the second edition of the European Games kicked off on Friday, the European Olympics Committees Extraordinary General Assembly chose Poland’s former capital by a unanimous vote.
Krakow, which replaced the initial bid of Katowice as Poland‘s host candidate for the European Games 2023, was the only remaining bidder after the fallout of the candidacy of the Russian city of Kazan.
“For me, it is a fantastic moment and I am very happy that we are able to promote Krakow and the region of Malopolska, generally Poland, where sport is fantastic”, Andrzej Kraśnicki, head of the Polish National Olympic Committee, commented following the vote.
According to Janez Kocijančič, the Slovenian president of the European Olympic Committee (EOC), “Poland is the right choice for the time being, not only because they are the only candidate, we spoke with several cities, but because they are in the heart of Europe” and has “a very rich sports tradition”.
The EOC also highlighted that Krakow already had some important sports infrastructure ready for the games, even though some of them will have to be upgraded and modernized ahead of the 2023 competition.
The first installment of the European Games, that are somewhat similar to the Olympic Games but only open to 50 European nations, was set in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2015.