The European Games begin in Poland. A large Czech team will be present at the multisport event

Baku 2015 and Minsk 2019 will be followed by Krakow 2023. Seven thousand participants will compete in 29 sports from 21 June to 2 July in the third edition of the European Games, the continent’s equivalent of the Olympics. The event promises to be an attractive spectacle for Czech fans as well.

For domestic sports fans, the geographical proximity of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship is favourable. Moreover, they will have something to watch and someone to cheer for, as the record-breaking Czech team consists of 248 athletes.

“We are represented in all traditional sports, but also in new Olympic disciplines, non-Olympic sports and those that are appearing for the very first time at a major multi-sport event,” the head of the Czech Olympic Team, Martin Doktor, told the Czech Olympic Team website. The Czech colours are not represented only in beach handball and breaking.

The Czechs have been quite successful in the past at the still young sports festival. They brought seven medals from Baku, Azerbaijan, eight years ago, and thirteen medals from Minsk, Belarus, four years later.

In addition to the main centre of this year’s European Games, a number of disciplines will take place in other cities. For example, track and field athletes will compete at the modern stadium in Chořov, mountain bike riders in Krynica-Zdrój, shooters in Wrocław and sport climbers in Tarnów.

Some sports will be seen for the first time at such an event, including a summer variant of ski jumping in Zakopane or teqball with padel in Krakow’s historic square. Many disciplines will not be “just” about medals.

The Games will also include European championships, including the European Athletics Team Championships. A total of ten sports in Poland will qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris, including shooting, boxing and fencing.

The fact that the European Games are not a complete copy of the Olympic Games is demonstrated by the presence of non-Olympic sports. Among those not mentioned above, beach football, kickboxing and muaythai are examples. Outside of the official competition programme, the events include sumo, chess, esports competitions or even a football tournament for amputees.

The opening and closing ceremony will take place at the Wisla Kraków football stadium for over 33,000 spectators. Tickets for the ceremonies and individual sports disciplines can still be purchased here.

Source: European Games, Czech Olympic Team, CTK