CEV President attends EOC General Assembly in Bucharest
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CEV President Aleksandar Boričić attended this past week the European Olympic Committees’ (EOC) 53rd General Assembly held in Bucharest, Romania. The General Assembly was joined at the Palace of Parliament by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, Presidents of Europe’s National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and leaders from many European and International Federations ahead of the Olympic Games’ return to Europe in less than 50 days’ time in Paris.
It was an opportunity to reflect on the recent successes and the great strength of the European Olympic Movement ahead of a pathway of events and activities set to keep the continent at the heart of global sport.
EOC President Spyros Capralos looked forward to Paris 2024 where European athletes are again expected to win more than 40% of the Olympic medals available.
IOC President Bach addressed the General Assembly on the first day, noting the strength of the relationship between the EOC and IOC, especially in the mission to use sport as a driver for social development and peacebuilding: “Relations between the EOC and IOC have reached new heights in the last couple of years, and we are more aligned than ever when it comes in particular to our mission to make the world a better place through sport,” President Bach said. He also underlined the importance of the key Olympic values and the unifying power of the Olympic Games in Paris.
During the General Assembly, Istanbul, Türkiye was approved by the members as hosts for the 4th edition of the European Games in 2027, where the leadership of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the city’s passion and expertise promises to build on the sporting and financial success of the 3rd European Games Kraków-Małopolska 2023.
President Capralos confirmed in Bucharest that following the 2023 European Games, a further €3 million will be distributed to NOCs to directly benefit athletes, while Deloitte’s economic impact report revealed it was the most cost-effective edition of the Games yet to further strength the standing of Europe’s premier multi-sport event. EOC President Capralos said: “We are delighted to have received support from the entire European Olympic family to stage the next European Games in Istanbul. With the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Turkish NOC, the EOC has found the perfect partners to deliver a European Games which captivates the host city, host country, Europe and indeed the world.”
The EOC did also provide recognition to athletes for their achievements with the inaugural Janez Kocijančič Award for the best male and female European Games Athletes won by Italy’s trap shooter Jessica Rossi and Georgia’s judoka Lasha Bekauri, and the awarding of the Winter Piotr Nurowski Prize to Minja Korhonen of Finland.
In addition to the athletes’ awards, EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi was presented the prestigious EOC Order of Merit Award for his long and distinguished service to sport in Italy and in Europe, while Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Tone Jagodic, Oleg Volkov and Mimi Vurdelja received EOC Olympic Laurel Awards.