The National Olympic Committee’s headquarter hosts an inspection visit of the Coordination Commission of the European Olympic Committees, which includes the heads of the EOC and experts from various fields who are in charge of preparing Minsk for the 2^nd European Games of 2019.

Spyros Capralos, Minsk 2019 Coordination commission chair, admitted that he follows the successes of the Belarusian sport and shared his opinion on the importance of the multisport event for Belarus:

First of all, let me congratulate Belarus for your athletes in PyeongChang. I was very happy especially for the gold medals in the women’s biathlon relay. I am a big fan of Darya Domracheva. Therefore I was particular happier with the success.

On the way from the airport, we saw many billboards promoting the Games, which I think, is very good for the local population to realize that Games are coming.

There is still a lot of work ahead, but even the current state of affairs allows us to say that a large number of tasks have already been completed. On the one hand, the successful hosting of the Games will contribute to improving the image of these competitions as a competitive and high-profile event in the sports world. On the other hand, it will demonstrate once again that you are the fantastic organizer of major sports events. This is a multi-sport event that is even more difficult to organize and it is going to give your country great visibility to the outside world which will help to attract tourist flows and strengthen its ties in the international arena.

All the facilities and services of the 2^nd European Games should deliver as one tuned mechanism, CEO of the Fund of the 2^nd European games 2019 Directorate George Katulin told the media on 2 March. The NOC headquarters in Minsk is hosting a meeting between representatives of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) and the 2019 European Games Directorate. Pictured are EOC President Janez Kocijančič and CEO of the Fund of the 2^nd European games 2019 Directorate George Katulin.

According to Belta

I am looking forward towards the 2nd European Games, President of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Janez Kocijančič told the media after his meeting with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on 1 March. “The European Olympic Committees is fully satisfied with the preparations for the sports forum. We are looking to the future with the optimism and confidence, since highly-qualified and experienced professionals are engaged in the preparations for the Games here. I am looking forward to the moment I come for the opening ceremony of the European Games in Minsk next year,” Janez Kocijančič stressed. He also said that he congratulated Alexander Lukashenko on Team Belarus’ performance at the Olympic Games in PyeongChang. “I also congratulate the Belarusian nation on their team’s 15th place on the world’s ranking. This is a very good result. It reflects the level of Belarus’ sports competence, both in terms of sport and also the organization of a sports process. This gives us confidence in the successful preparations for the European Games,” he said. When asked about possible judge bias against some Belarusian Olympians in PyeongChang, Janez Kocijančič noted that this issue was not addressed directly at the meeting with Alexander Lukashenko. “But you know, I am from Slovenia, and we also have certain complaints of this kind. But the judge is the judge, sport is sport, and victory is achieved not at a green negotiating table but sports grounds,” the EOC head noted.

According to Belta.by