by InTrieste
From January 21st to the 28th 2023, Friuli Venezia Giulia, will host the EUROPEAN YOUTH OLYMPIC FESTIVAL. The area boasts the Alps and Dolomites, thousand-year-old forests, winter sports facilities and long-standing tourist hospitality. The European Youth Olympic Festival aims to affirm the value of sport as an instrument of individual and collective growth without borders.
EYOF – European Youth Olympic Festival is one of the top sporting events that young and talented European athletes aspire and wish to participate in.
EYOF2023 FVG will officially be inaugurated in Trieste, in Piazza dell’Unità, on Saturday January 21st with the opening ceremony. The closing ceremony will be held in Udine, in the “Medal Plaza” on the 28th. The competitions will take place in 12 locations in FVG and another two in Austria and Slovenia. Tarvisio will host the alpine skiing competitions and the Nordic combined cross-country trials. All the ski jumping trials and competitions will be held in Planica in Slovenia.
This will be a record-breaking winter edition with almost 2300 participants expected in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
There will be around 1300 young athletes from 47 National Olympic Committees who will compete in 14 sports across 12 regional locations, Austria and Slovenia. There will be 1200 volunteers involved for this inclusive, cross-border and sustainable European Sports Festival.
Launched in 1990, the first high-level European multi-sport event, aimed at young athletes under the initiative of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) association. The event takes place every two years, each odd year, and includes a summer edition and a winter edition. The first winter edition of EYOF was held in Italy (in Aosta) in 1993; 30 years later the Olympic torch returns with the same goals, which have become our Mission, our Values and our Vision.
The entire territory of Friuli Venezia Giulia, with neighboring Austria (Spittal) and Slovenia (Planica), will join forces to organize this European event without borders.
There will be 14 winter sports involved: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing (slopestyle – big air), ski cross, ice hockey, short track, ski jumping, ski mountaineering, alpine snowboarding and cross, freestyle snowboarding (slopestyle – big air) and Nordic combined, spread across 12 competition venues.
This sixteenth winter edition of the games has already reached record attendance levels with almost 2300 participants from 47 National Olympic Committees.
The official mascot of EYOF2023 Friuli Venezia Giulia is a marmot. Designed by Paolo Venuti and made by TRUDI Spa, the brand from Tarcento known throughout the world for its charming high quality soft toys. It reflects many of the values of the European Youth Olympic Festival and of the Region that will host it from January 21st to the 28th 2023. The small rodent is one of the symbols of the mountain, it is said that it was the totem animal of a legendary and ancient people of the Dolomites, the Fanes. The EYOF2023 marmot will be called KUGY.
The mascot will accompany all the events related to the XVIth winter edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival including the “Road to EYOF2023” journey of the torch which began on November 4th from the Ara Pacis in Rome, where the official lighting ceremony of the flame took place. The Torch will arrive in Trieste on January 21st, the day of the inaugural ceremony, with messages of friendship, inclusion and sharing. Piazza Unità d’Italia will welcome the athletes and people of the 47 accredited nations including those of the Ukraine, guests of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
The mission of the event is to promote the values and ideals embodied in the Olympic spirit, educating and motivating young people to play sports and embrace healthy lifestyles. It’s also a fantastic opportunity for socialization.
In Pontebba, the Pala “Vuerich” will be the Arena for short track and figure skating. Freestyle snowboard enthusiasts will go to Sella Nevea (Municipality of Chiusaforte) for the slopestyle and big air competitions. In Carnia, on Monte Zoncolan (Municipalities of Ravascletto and Sutrio) the freestyle skiing competitions (slopestyle, big air and ski cross) will be held, and in Forni Avoltri those of biathlon. Forni di Sopra, immersed in the Friulian Dolomites, will host ski mountaineering (an absolute first at the games alongside freestyle skiing and ski cross).
In the Pordenone area, the two locations involved are Piancavallo (Municipality of Aviano) for alpine and snowboarding cross, and Claut whose ice rink “Alceo Della Valentina” will host the curling. Sappada will be the reference point for cross-country skiing. The hockey tournaments will be in Spittal (Austria) for the women’s (at the Eis-Sport-Arena) and in Udine for the men’s, set up inside at pavilion 6 of the Feira exhibition building.
The European Youth Winter Olympic Festival 2023, which will be an excellent prologue to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, it is supported by the Department for Sport and the Department for Youth Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Participating Countries: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Lichtenstein, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Principality of Monaco, Czech Republic, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Republic of San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden , Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary.
For more info, please visit: https://www.eyof2023.it
