Coordination Commission (CoCom) of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) positively assessed the preparation of Minsk to the 2nd European Games and highlighted the significant progress made by Minsk European Games Operations Committee (MEGOC). It was reported by MEGOC CEO George Katulin during the joint meeting of Coordination Commission’s members and MEGOC staff at the Belarus National Olympic Committee headquarter.

-Today’s MEGOC report on the preparation progress was positively assessed. European colleagues are pleased to find out that MEGOC staff has grown significantly and almost all functional areas have leadership. Our next step is set up operating teams at each venue – shared George Katulin.

Chairman of the EOC Coordination Commission Spyros Capralos confirmed the opinion of European experts on the significant changes taking place in Minsk, with the preparation of the 2nd European games, as well as in the work of the MEGOC.

–  A number of sports facilities is already reconstructed, and they will soon be put into operation – he highlighted. – The chefs de mission seminar will bring together the representatives of 50 NOCs of the countries that will participate in the Games. All representatives will receive necessary information.

The Executive Director of the European games Simon Clegg pointed out that the dialogue with MEGOC managers within CoCom will identify those areas that need to pay attention to in the near future.

-However, it is already clear that the work of MEGOC is going in the correct direction, and very active. I worked for 12 Olympic Games. Not every such event is the same as previous one. It is no need to compare the events of this level and scale, but I am sure that the European games in Minsk will be memorable because of something special, – shared by Simon Clegg.

The conclusion on the MEGOC progress was made based on the Mr. Katulin presentation. He highlighted a number of issues that were resolved since the last visit of the members of the Coordination Commission. For instance, he presented an updated information on the number of medal events (201), the number of participants in the competition (4082), the qualification system for the Games and the changes made to it in boxing, judo, sambo, wrestling, and archery. Also, the experts were informed about the seminar for federations and sports facilities representatives, the progress of the Dinamo stadium reconstruction and beach soccer arena construction, as well as he up-to-date delegates on some agreements,  made recently. It also was discussed such functional areas as accommodation, catering, TV broadcasting, merchandising, medals design, marketing, ticketing and etc.

The members of the EOC Coordination Commission will work in Minsk until 22 June. Within the framework of the visit, the experts will meet MEGOC leadership and managers.  On June 21 they will visit the grand opening ceremony of the Dinamo stadium – main venue of the 2nd European Games.

Mari Holloway, EOC Catering Advisor came to Minsk to witness the ongoing progress in catering program of the 2nd European Games and share her experience with the MEGOC catering team to ensure a full range of catering services.

– The expert focused on the catering service for the athletes and other client groups of the 2nd European Games at sports facilities as well as food safety during the multi-sport forum, – commented Yulia Kravchenko, MEGOC Head of Catering.

During her first visit to Belarus Mrs.Holloway managed to visit some catering facilities of the CUE Business Center Stolitsa. Her feedback and evaluation of the progress of catering arrangements will be directly submitted to the EOC.

Mari Holloway has expert knowledge in the field of the strategic and operational planning of catering at the major sports events. In particular, she was involved in the preparation of the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 2014 in Sochi, the inaugural European Games in Baku in 2015. Her experience is also in demand during the preparations for the XVIII Asian Games of 2018, which will be held in Indonesian Jakarta and Palembang.

The visit was finished by the meeting with MEGOC CEO George Katulin and deputy CEO Anatoli Kotov.

Lisa Worthmann, the General Director of the European Union of Gymnastics (UEG)  visited Minsk-Arena. During the 2nd European Games in 2019, this venue will host competitions in acrobatic, aerobic, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline. The main topic for discussion was the upcoming test competitions.

– Of course, the organization of test competitions is a great way to test your strengths and capabilities before the main start, – highlighted Lisa Worthmann. – After test events, you can improve not only the infrastructure but also work of the organizing team.

During the inspection visit, a detailed schedule of the competitions for the upcoming European Games was discussed. It is much easier to coordinate the schedule when everyone is at the same table, Liza Worthmann noted.

The UEG representative is waiting for a worthy performance at any gymnastics competitions. She believes that events at this level always attract a lot of spectators, as well as a huge media coverage with a positive effect on the development of sport later on.

– We discussed many important issues today. We still need to plan what we will work on in the near future, admitted Lisa Worthmann. – Of course, we will also meet again, but the main issues will be discussed 4 months prior the start. We have many different competitions at the European level, but we will try to pay special attention to the test event for the 2nd European Games in April. These and many other issues were discussed by the technical delegates of the UEG with the management of MEGOC and managers of the functional areas at the headquarter of the National Olympic Committee Belarus.