201 8 EOC Head Office | Villino Giulio Onesti | Via della Pallacanestro, 19 00135 Rome, Italy | Tel. +39 06 36857828 | Instagram | Twitter | [email protected] www.eurolympic.org OCTOBER N.186 MESSAGE FROM EOC PRESIDENT JANEZ KOCIJANČIČ Dear colleagues, It is with a heavy heart that I start this newsletter looking back at what was an otherwise excellent Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games from 6-18 October. On the one hand, your young athletes once again did our continent proud, winning the lion’s share of the medals and sending a clear message that Europe’s future on the Olympic stage is in good hands. But on the other, the untimely passing of our dear friend and colleague Patrick Baumann was a terrible shock and the hole it has left in the Olympic Movement will be a difficult one to fill. On behalf of all of us at the EOC, and the Olympic Movement throughout Europe, I offer my sincere condolences to everyone affected, in particular his wife and children. He will be profoundly missed. It is difficult to transition into a more lighthearted topic after that, but I am sure Patrick would have wanted us all to continue promoting sport and the Olympic values with the same amount of passion or possibly even more now that he is gone. So with that, I would like to congratulate all the ENOCs and their athletes for their hard work, dedication and success in Argentina. In the end, the Russian Federation topped the standings with 59 medals, led by swimmers Kliment Kolesnikov and Andrei Minakov, who each won six golds and one silver. Italy (34), France (27), Hungary (24) and the Ukraine (18) also had top 10 finishes. At the other end of the table, Kosovo, appearing in its first YOG, took home a well-deserved bronze in judo. Notably, some 80 athletes who medalled at previous European Youth Olympic Festivals took part in the YOG. Their participation at the EYOF can only be seen as great advantage, as they were already familiar with how Olympic events operate and were comfortable in their surroundings despite being so far from home. With EYOF and YOG experience now under their belts, we can be more than hopeful of their chances at the European Games Minsk 2019 and Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond. But as Pierre de Coubertin famously said, it's not the winning but the taking part that counts most, especially with this age group. And I am pleased to tell you from witnessing it firsthand: our athletes, win or lose, comported themselves admirably in Buenos Aires and were excellent ambassadors for your countries and Europe as a whole. Let’s keep the momentum going next year at the winter and summer editions of the EYOF in Sarajevo & East Sarajevo from 9-16 February and Baku from 21-27 July, respectively. We will mark three months to go to Sarajevo on 9 November, the same day as our General Assembly in Marbella. We ask that you help us spread the word about the EYOF on that day and of course leading up to both editions next year. Progress reports from the organisers of Sarajevo and Baku will be delivered in Marbella, and we are looking forward to the Chef de Mission Seminar in Sarajevo from 13-16 November. Nos vemos en Andalusia. Best regards, Janez Kocijančič EOC President 2018 OCTOBER EOC Newsletter EOC The European Olympic Committees (EOC) is in full swing gearing up for its biggest institutional event of the year: the 47th EOC General Assembly. The event will take place in Marbella, Spain on 9-10 November and is due to welcome over 250 participants. In addition to representatives from all 50 National Olympic Committees of Europe, delegates from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), International Federations (IFs), Olympic Games Organising Committees (PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, Paris 2024) are expected to converge in Andalusia. EOC President Janez Kocijančič and EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi represented the Olympic Movement in Europe in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when they attended the IOC Session and ANOC Executive Board meeting ahead of the Youth Olympic Games this October. Upon his return from the Argentine capital, Kocijančič addressed the 15th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport in Tbilisi on 16 October. In his speech, the EOC President highlighted the activities of the organisation and the importance of the European sport model. As the first spokesperson of the Olympic Movement in Europe, Kocijančič reiterated that human rights are universal values, and sport, which is inclusive and democratic by nature, has the power to open up societies. COMMISSIONS Three important meetings were held in October: the Medical & Anti-Doping Commission on 4-5 October, the European Union Commission on 24 October and the Olympic Academies Working Group on 26 October. The Medical & Anti-Doping Commission met at the EOC’s Head Office in Rome to discuss a series of sport medicine issues, with a particular focus on the European Games Minsk 2019. Chair Dr Klaus Steinbach reported on the latest activities of the group, as well as the outcomes of site visits in Minsk. The anti-doping lab for Minsk, the EG anti- doping guidelines, the test distribution plan, as well as the pre-Games assessment of athletes were discussed. A review of the EYOF Medical and Anti-Doping Guidelines was also on the agenda. The European Union Commission gathered at the EOC’s EU Office in Brussels to discuss sport-related matters in the framework of the EU. After a welcoming address by EOC Vice President Niels Nygaard (DEN), who serves as Liaison Member in the group, and introductions by Juri Tamm (EST), Chair of the EOC EU Commission and Folker Hellmund (GER), Director of the EOC EU office, the members were given an update on EU policies before planning their activities for the quadrennium 2018-2021. In the afternoon, the Commission met with Yves Le Lostecque (FRA), Head of the Sport Unit of the EU Commission, to get a more detailed idea of the activities being undertaken by the EU in the field of sport. 2 2018 OCTOBER EOC Newsletter The EOC Head Office hosted the small but efficient Olympic Academies Working Group in Rome on 26 October. The group - led by EOC Executive Committee Liaison Member Liney Rut Halldorsdottir (ISL) and Chair Gudrun Doll-Tepper (GER) - was established this year and will mainly advise the EOC on educational and cultural initiatives. The Commission’s Chair gave a report on the foundation of the European Olympic Academies (EOA), which took place in Ljubljana on 20 September 2018. Discussions also focused on the Commission’s working plan and cooperation with the EOC and EOA. The last Commission set to meet this year is the Environment and Sport for All Commission, which will gather on the eve of the EOC General Assembly in Marbella. All the Chairs of the EOC Commissions and Working Group will report on the activities carried out so far and their plans for the future. EUROPEAN GAMES LAUNCH OF EG BRANDED BUS – The MAZ Minsk automotive company unveiled the first of many buses specially branded with the look of next year’s European Games Minsk 2019. The buses are decorated with the slogan of the Games, “Bright Year, Bright You,” and pictograms of the 15 sports on the programme. The first bus was presented at Busworld, an international Russian bus show, held in Moscow from 23-24 October. PHOTO EXHIBITION – To celebrate the countdown to next June’s European Games, Minsk is holding a photo exhibition dedicated to showcasing the sporting infrastructure and achievements of Belarus. The exhibition opened during an international conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. On display are photographs of the sport facilities and arenas that will be used for the Games, as well as famous Belarusian athletes and young sports stars who have represented the country in the international arena. OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONIES – The Minsk European Games Organising Committee (MEGOC) has announced that a Russian company, Art City 5, will partner with a Belarus creative team to produce the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The performances will reveal the hospitality of the Belarusian people and the historical and cultural traditions of the country. Art City 5 Director Igor Krutoy, who is a musician and producer, met with the director general of the Belarusian State Philharmonic, Alexander Garbar, and signed a cooperation agreement for the preparations of the ceremonies. Art City 5 has organised large-scale events before, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2011 Asian Winter Games in Astana, the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan and the 2015 FINA World Championships in the same city. “Our main task is to create a team that will make a high-standard show,” said Krutoy. “After all, to create an atmosphere of a chamber hall at the stadium where each spectator should feel at the epicentre of what is happening is a task that can only be fulfilled by true professionals.” In other news, a jury has selected the theme song for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The winning song is called “Winners” (music by Leonid Shirin, lyrics by Aleksei Shirin) while “Bright Year, Bright You” (music by Evgeny Oleinik, lyrics by Svetlana Geraskova) finished second in the voting and “Champion” (music and lyrics by Dmitry Karyakin and Vladimir Karyakin of the Litesound Band) came in third. The jury was chaired by People’s Artist of Belarus Vasily Rainchik and included well-known Belarusian singers, composers, MEGOC representatives, the National Olympic Committee of Belarus, the Sport and Tourism Ministry, the Culture Ministry, and the National State TV and Radio Company of Belarus.