In 2025, Georgia will host the European Youth Winter Olympic Festival
According to the decision made at the General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), Georgia has officially been granted the status of host of the 2025 European Youth Winter Olympic Festival.
Accordingly, the 17th European Youth Winter Olympic Festival will be held in Bakuriani in 2025, where young athletes from European countries will participate in 8 winter sports.
On November 28, a special briefing was held at the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, where Deputy Minister Shalva Gogoladze, Director of the Mountain Resorts Development Company Irakli Chirakadze, and Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee Mamuka Khabareli spoke about important issues related to the festival.
Shalva Gogoladze (Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia): “Hosting the Winter Olympic Games is a great honor and recognition for our country, but at the same time it is a major challenge in several areas. The country must host this grand sporting event with dignity, for which the Ministry, together with the National Olympic Committee and the Mountain Resorts Development Company, will work on a continuous basis. First of all, we must develop infrastructure of appropriate standards in Bakuriani, and provide maximum support to our young Olympians so that they can fully prepare and demonstrate their maximum potential at this sporting event. Georgia already has good experience in hosting high-level sporting events, including the 2015 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival, which received the highest praise from the international sports community and the European Olympic Committees. In 2025, our country will once again be marked on the world sports map. I congratulate Georgia on this great recognition.”
Mamuka Khabareli (Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee): “The main motivation and goal for both the National Olympic Committee and our Government is not only to hold the festival at the highest level, but also to develop winter sports in our country and involve as many young people as possible in this direction. This project will also give us the opportunity to develop sports tourism as well as tourism in general in our country; during the Olympic Festival, the attention of all of Europe will be focused on Georgia, which is a crucial factor.
In terms of alpine skiing, the slopes of Bakuriani fully meet international standards. Rehabilitation of the famous Bakuriani ski jump is planned, which will become a visiting card of Georgia, and a project for the construction of a biathlon track has also been developed. The Olympic Festival requires two ice rinks, and accordingly, a decision has been made that one rink will be built in Bakuriani and the other in Tbilisi.”
Irakli Chirakadze (Director of the Mountain Resorts Development Company): “Recently, major infrastructure projects have been implemented, and the process is ongoing at this stage as well. As is known, Georgia is the host country of the World Championships in skiing in 2023, and preparations in this direction have also begun.
Despite the pandemic, 3 new ropeways were completed in record time, and various preparatory works are also underway. It is also important that this infrastructure will ultimately remain with the country. Mountain resorts are being formed to host international competitions of any level and rank, and the infrastructure will subsequently be used for the development of winter resorts.”
It is noteworthy that the Georgian National Olympic Committee made the decision to nominate Bakuriani at an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee held on July 30, 2019. Following the visit of the members of the EOC Evaluation Commission and official meetings in Georgia in February 2020, the committee leadership submitted the package of documents stipulated by the protocol to the European Olympic Committees within the pre-established deadlines.
As a result of working with the Government of Georgia, relevant ministries, the relevant EOC service, winter sports federations, and local experts, through joint efforts, the main goal has been achieved at this stage - Georgia is the host of the large-scale sports event of 2025.
It is worth noting that in 2015 Georgia successfully hosted the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival, where more than 3,500 athletes from 50 countries participated in 9 sports.
For the organization of the Olympic Festival, important infrastructure projects were implemented in Tbilisi, new sports halls were built, and numerous existing facilities were renovated, while Georgia gained exceptional experience and earned the best evaluation from the European Olympic Committees.
This time, for the high-level organization of the Youth Olympic Festival, it is necessary to create the infrastructure required for winter sports in Bakuriani, develop large-scale modern ski slopes, and also prepare young athletes for high sporting goals in winter disciplines.
