 Logo | |
| Host city | Kraków andMałopolska,Poland |
|---|---|
| Motto | We are unity (Polish:Jesteśmy jednością) |
| Nations | 48 |
| Athletes | 6,857 |
| Events | 254 in 29 sports[1] |
| Opening | 21 June 2023[2][3] |
| Closing | 2 July 2023[2] |
| Opened by | President Andrzej Duda |
| Torch lighter | Anita Włodarczyk Marcin Oleksy andJanusz Pyciak-Peciak |
| Main venue | Henryk Reyman Stadium |
| Website | 2023 European Games |
The3rd European Games (Polish:III Igrzyska Europejskie, Igrzyska Europejskie 2023), also known as the2023 European Games orKraków-Małopolska 2023, was an internationalmulti-sport event held from 21 June to 2 July 2023 inKraków andMałopolska, Poland.[4] It was the first time that Poland hosted the European Games. All Olympic sports held at the European Games provided qualification opportunities for the2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.[5]
At the time of the2015 European Games, the city ofManchester,United Kingdom expressed its wish to host the 2023 Games.[6][7] No further interest was expressed since after the2018 European Championships were awarded toGlasgow,Scotland and the2022 Commonwealth Games were awarded toBirmingham,England.
In May 2018, theEuropean Olympic Committees (EOC) asserted that the bidding process for the 2023 Games would be open to joint bids from multiple countries.[8]
The EOC launched the bid process on 20 September 2018 after a meeting of the constituentNational Olympic Committees inStockholm.[9] Following the approval of the Bid Document, it was sent to the 50 NOCs in Europe alongside a letter from EOC PresidentJanez Kocijančič inviting applications.[10] The application stage was set to close on 28 February 2019.[11]
In January 2019,Marcin Krupa, the mayor ofKatowice, Poland, announced the city's interest hosting the Games, becoming the first candidate city.[12][13] Soon after,Kazan, the capital ofTatarstan,Russia expressed its interest in hosting the 2023 Games and its intention to submit an application to the EOC.[14][15] Its bid would be made attractive by the fact the city built much sporting infrastructure when hosting the2013 Summer Universiade and the2015 FINA World Aquatics Championships and that a Russian bid has been supported by premierVladimir Putin.[16][17]
In February 2019, the application deadline was extended by two months, until 30 April, due to "strong interest from across the continent".[18][19] In May 2019, after the extended deadline had passed, the EOC again postponed the deadline, this time until the 31 May.[20] No reason was given for the second extension.[20]
In May 2019, thePolish Olympic Committee announced thatKraków would replace Katowice as the Polish bid for the Games following the withdrawal of its bid for the2022 Winter Olympics and the waning interest in Katowice.[21] The same month, EOC President Janez Kocijančič reiterated his expectation that the host for the 2023 Games would be chosen before the start of the2019 European Games inMinsk on the 21 June 2019.[22]
After the deadline for bid submission passed on the 31 May 2019, the European Olympic Committees confirmed that only one formal bid had been completed, that ofKraków in collaboration with the provinceMałopolska.[23][24][25] The mayor of Kraków,Jacek Majchrowski, had previously said that the city might decline to run the Games without support from regional and national government.[26]
The official election of the European Games 2023 host took place at an EOC General Assembly in Minsk on 22 June 2019 where it was unanimously decided thatKraków and the surroundingLesser Poland region would hold the Games.[27][28][29] The vote was by ashow of hands.[30] The contract with the host city was signed on 17 May 2022.[31]
| City | Nation | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Kraków,Małopolska |  Poland | Unanimous |
On 28 June 2019, six days after Kraków was awarded the Games, the EOC confirmed it had signed aletter of intent with theEuropean Union of Gymnastics to include gymnastics in the upcoming Games.[32] In July 2019,Hasan Arat, the vice-president of theTurkish Olympic Committee, was named chair of theEOC's Co-ordination Commission for the 2023 Games.[33] He said he was "honoured and humbled by the decision".[33]
In October the same year, both the city of Kraków and theMałopolska region signed aletter of intent confirming their joint commitment to the hosting of the Games.[34] In March 2020, Kraków's mayorJacek Majchrowski warned of cuts to the city budget and impacts on the tourism industry due tocoronavirus which could impact the success of the Games.[35]
In February 2021, the Games faced a funding deadlock when the city of Kraków said it needed financial guarantees from thePolish government in order to proceed with the signing of the host city contract. A spokesperson of the office of themayor of Kraków,Jacek Majchrowski, said that the city had agreed to host the Games "only on condition that the government subsidised the necessary infrastructure". Government organisers blamed the city's leadership, withJacek Sasin saying that "Kraków is the organiser of the Games" and that the government is "ready" to support it.[36] Sasin said that the government would commit to sharing funding, but only after Kraków signed the host city contract.[37] However, Majchrowski said that he would not sign the agreement until the government has introduced legislation supporting the event's organisation, leading to suggestions thatKatowice, the original bid city, and theSilesia region could end up hosting the Games.[37][38] In a statement, the EOC said they were "working closely with the organisers" and remained "confident" that Kraków would sign the host city contract.[39]
In early March 2021, the EOC entered into talks withSilesian officials to explore the possibility of the region co-hosting the event.[40] Kraków and the Polish government were reported to have come to an agreement over funding by the end of March 2021.[3]
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The opening ceremony was held atHenryk Reyman Municipal Stadium and ran from 20:30 to 23:45CEST.
The following competitions took place:
| 2023 European Games |
|---|
|
In addition, the following sports as 'side events' (demonstration sports)[49] were included on the official program:
| Side Events at the 2023 European Games |
|---|
|
Traditional Martial Arts:[59]
An Esports European Games inKatowice, recognised by the EOC, was also held alongside the Games, but did not form part of the Kraków 2023 program.
| OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Event finals | CC | Closing ceremony |
| June/July | 20th Tue | 21st Wed | 22nd Thu | 23rd Fri | 24th Sat | 25th Sun | 26th Mon | 27th Tue | 28th Wed | 29th Thu | 30th Fri | 1st Sat | 2nd Sun | Total events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceremonies | OC | CC | |||||||||||||
| Aquatics |  Artistic swimming | ● | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | ||||||||
 Diving | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | |||||||
 Archery | ● | 2 | 2 | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | 8 | |||||||
 Athletics | ● | ● | ● | 12 | 13 | 13 | 38 | ||||||||
 Badminton | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||||||
 Basketball (3x3) | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
 Beach handball | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
 Beach soccer | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
 Boxing | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 7 | 6 | 13 | |||||
 Breaking | ● | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Canoeing |  Slalom | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | |||||||||
 Sprint | ● | 4 | 6 | 6 | 16 | ||||||||||
| Cycling |  BMX | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
 Mountain biking | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||
 Fencing | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||||||||
 Judo | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
 Karate | 6 | 6 | 12 | ||||||||||||
 Kickboxing | ● | ● | 16 | 16 | |||||||||||
 Modern pentathlon | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||||
 Muaythai | ● | ● | 10 | 10 | |||||||||||
 Padel | ● | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
 Rugby sevens | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
 Shooting | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 30 | |||
 Ski jumping | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||
 Sport climbing | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||||
 Table tennis | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 2 | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 5 | |||||
 Taekwondo | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 16 | ||||||||||
 Teqball | ● | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||||||||||
 Triathlon | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
| Daily medal events | 21 | 36 | 38 | 34 | 12 | 25 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 26 | 31 | 254 | |||
| Cumulative total | 21 | 57 | 95 | 129 | 141 | 166 | 175 | 188 | 197 | 223 | 254 | ||||
| June/July | 20th Tue | 21st Wed | 22nd Thu | 23rd Fri | 24th Sat | 25th Sun | 26th Mon | 27th Tue | 28th Wed | 29th Thu | 30th Fri | 1st Sat | 2nd Sun | Total events | |
Events took place in the city ofKraków, the surroundingLesser Poland Voivodeship region and inBielsko-Biała andChorzów in the neighbouringSilesian Voivodeship.
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| Key to colours | |
|---|---|
| E | Existing |
| R | Renovated |
| T | Temporary |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium[60] | Ceremonies and Rugby sevens | 33,130 | R |
| Tauron Arena Kraków[61] | Fencing | 15,000 | E |
| Cracovia Arena[62] | Basketball 3×3 | 1,000 | T |
| Hutnik Arena[63] | Table tennis | 1,000 | E |
| AWF Sports Centre[64] | Modern pentathlon | 1,000 | R |
| Kraków Main Square[65] | Padel and Teqball | 1,000 | T |
| Kolna Canoe Slalom Course[66] | Canoe slalom | 1,000 | E |
| Kryspinów Waterway[67] | Canoe sprint | 1,400 | T |
| Płaszowianka Archery Park[68] | Archery | 500 | R |
| Nowa Huta Lake[69] | Triathlon | N/A | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silesian Stadium[70] | Athletics | 54,378 | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dębowiec Sports Arena[71] | Karate | 3,000 | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Krynica-Zdrój Arena[72] | Judo and Taekwondo | 2,635 | E |
| Krynica-Zdrój Hill Park[73] | Mountain bike cycling | N/A | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Krzeszowice BMX Park[74] | BMX Freestyle | 2,300 | T |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myślenice Arena[75] | Kickboxing and Muaythai | 566 | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strzelecki Park[76] | Breaking | 3,070 | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nowy Targ Arena[77] | Boxing | 3,000 | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquatics Centre[78] | Artistic swimming | 400 | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diving Arena[79] | Diving | 1,000 | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arena Jaskółka Tarnów[80] | Badminton | 4,317 | E |
| Tarnów Beach Arena[81] | Beach handball and Beach soccer | 1,000 | T |
| Tarnów Climbing Centre[82] | Sport climbing | 2,500 | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrocław Shooting Centre[83] | Shooting | 1,300 | E |
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Średnia Krokiew[84] | Ski jumping (normal hill) | 15,000 | E |
| Wielka Krokiew[84] | Ski jumping (large hill) | 15,000 | E |
The following 48 National Olympic Committees participated, along with theEOC Refugee Team:[85]
| Participating National Olympic Committees |
|---|
*As a result of theRussian invasion of Ukraine, theEuropean Olympic Committees has taken a decision to not invite athletes fromRussia andBelarus to the European Games.[92] |
| IOC Code | Country | Running Order | Athletes |
|---|---|---|---|
| POL | 1 | Poland | 404 |
| ITA | 2 |  Italy | 372 |
| GER | 3 |  Germany | 361 |
| ESP | 4 |  Spain | 347 |
| FRA | 5 |  France | 298 |
| CZE | 6 |  Czech Republic | 273 |
| UKR | 7 |  Ukraine | 265 |
| GBR | 8 |  Great Britain | 254 |
| HUN | 9 |  Hungary | 246 |
| SUI | 10 |  Switzerland | 220 |
| POR | 11 |  Portugal | 208 |
| TUR | 12 |  Turkey | 193 |
| NED | 13 |  Netherlands | 186 |
| AUT | 14 |  Austria | 170 |
| GRE | 15 |  Greece | 170 |
| DEN | 16 |  Denmark | 163 |
| NOR | 17 |  Norway | 155 |
| ROU | 18 |  Romania | 151 |
| LTU | 19 |  Lithuania | 148 |
| SVK | 20 |  Slovakia | 145 |
| SLO | 21 |  Slovenia | 143 |
| ISR | 22 |  Israel | 141 |
| SWE | 23 |  Sweden | 141 |
| BEL | 24 |  Belgium | 140 |
| CRO | 25 |  Croatia | 130 |
| SRB | 26 |  Serbia | 125 |
| IRL | 27 |  Ireland | 123 |
| FIN | 28 |  Finland | 118 |
| BUL | 29 |  Bulgaria | 113 |
| EST | 30 |  Estonia | 110 |
| AZE | 31 |  Azerbaijan | 100 |
| GEO | 32 |  Georgia | 100 |
| LAT | 33 |  Latvia | 98 |
| CYP | 34 |  Cyprus | 74 |
| MDA | 35 |  Moldova | 74 |
| LUX | 36 |  Luxembourg | 60 |
| ARM | 37 |  Armenia | 55 |
| BIH | 38 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 55 |
| ALB | 39 |  Albania | 40 |
| MNE | 40 |  Montenegro | 40 |
| ISL | 41 |  Iceland | 38 |
| KOS | 42 |  Kosovo | 38 |
| MKD | 43 |  North Macedonia | 38 |
| MLT | 44 |  Malta | 36 |
| SMR | 45 |  San Marino | 32 |
| AND | 46 |  Andorra | 27 |
| LIE | 47 |  Liechtenstein | 7 |
| ERT | 48 |  Refugee Olympic Team | 4 |
| MON | 49 |  Monaco | 3 |
| Total | 6,857 |
* Host nation (Poland)
| Rank | NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 35 | 26 | 39 | 100 |
| 2 | Spain | 21 | 17 | 19 | 57 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 21 | 12 | 8 | 41 |
| 4 | Germany | 20 | 16 | 27 | 63 |
| 5 | France | 17 | 19 | 26 | 62 |
| 6 | Poland* | 13 | 19 | 18 | 50 |
| 7 | Great Britain | 12 | 10 | 27 | 49 |
| 8 | Hungary | 10 | 10 | 18 | 38 |
| 9 | Turkey | 9 | 9 | 20 | 38 |
| 10 | Netherlands | 8 | 6 | 5 | 19 |
| 11 | Czech Republic | 7 | 10 | 11 | 28 |
| 12 | Austria | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| 13 | Switzerland | 7 | 5 | 12 | 24 |
| 14 | Denmark | 7 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| 15 | Romania | 6 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| 16 | Norway | 6 | 4 | 5 | 15 |
| 17 | Croatia | 5 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 18 | Ireland | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
| 19 | Georgia | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 20 | Slovenia | 3 | 8 | 2 | 13 |
| 21 | Portugal | 3 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
| 22 | Serbia | 3 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| 23 | Bulgaria | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 24 | Azerbaijan | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| 25 | Latvia | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 26 | Sweden | 2 | 7 | 5 | 14 |
| 27 | Greece | 2 | 5 | 10 | 17 |
| 28 | Belgium | 2 | 5 | 6 | 13 |
| 29 | Lithuania | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 30 | Finland | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 31 | Estonia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | Albania | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 33 | Slovakia | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 34 | Israel | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 35 | Moldova | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 36 | Cyprus | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 37 | Armenia | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 38 | Luxembourg | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 39 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Monaco | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| North Macedonia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Totals (41 entries) | 254 | 253 | 333 | 840 | |
The official emblem of the games was unveiled on 21 June 2022, exactly one year before the opening ceremony. Designed by Marcin Salawa the emblem depicts a flame containing the towers ofSt. Mary's Basilica, to represent the city of Kraków and theTatra Mountains, to represent the landscape of the Małopolska region. The colours, taken from the coats of arms of Kraków, and Małopolska, represent fire and water. Fire is said to symbolise action, will, energy, while water symbolises spirituality, emotions and purification.[94][95]
The official motto of the games isWe are Unity,Polish:Jesteśmy jednością,lit. 'We are One'.
“Krakusek” thedragon and “Sandra” thesalamander have been chosen as the official mascots for the European Games Kraków-Małopolska 2023.[96] The initiative, which received over 2,400 entries, was open to young people aged 5–15 across the continent. The dragon design by 15-year-old Katarzyna Biśta fromLibiąż references the local culture and history of Kraków. Alongside Krakusek, the creation of the black and gold salamander by 10-year-old Gloria Goryl fromWojnicz portrays thefire salamander which can be found in south Poland.[96]
On 6 July 2021,Atos has been selected by theEuropean Olympic Committees as its official Digital Technology Partner for the 2023 and 2027 editions of theEuropean Games. As part of this partnership, Atos, long-standing supporter of theOlympic Movement, and EOC, the governing body for Europe's 50 National Olympic Committees, will work together to improve fan engagement.[97] On November 14 2022, representatives ofLaLiga and the European Games Organising Committee signed a cooperation agreement to mutually promote sports events and organisations.[98]
| General Sponsor | Orlen |
|---|---|
| Main Partners | Atos,La Liga,Lotto,MARR,Realme,Tauron |
| Media Patrons | RMF,Wirtualna Polska |
50 countries around the world will broadcast the European Games.[99]
Albania –RTSH Austria –ORF Azerbaijan –CBC Sport Belgium –RTBF andVRT Bulgaria –BNT 3 Croatia –HRT Cyprus –CyBC Czech Republic –ČT sport Estonia –ERR Finland –Yle France –TF1 andLa chaine L'Équipe Germany –ARD andZDF Greece –ERT Hungary –MTVA Iceland –RÚV Ireland –RTÉ Israel – TSC Italy –RAI Kosovo –RTK Lithuania –LRT Netherlands –NOS Norway –NRK Poland –TVP
Portugal –RTP Romania –TVR Slovakia –RTVS Slovenia –RTV Slovenija Spain –RTVE and ENJOY Sweden –SVT andSR
Switzerland –SRG SSR Turkey –TRT and SARI Ukraine –UA:PBCThe region ofMałopolska, to which the Games were jointly awarded, declared itself anLGBT ideology-free zone in 2019.[100] In August 2020, theLord Provost of Edinburgh Frank Ross wrote to Kraków's mayorJacek Majchrowski to confirm the city's opposition tohomophobia after calls for a "serious rethink" of the two cities'twinning relationship.[101] In September 2020, a group of European politicians (includingLiz Barker, a member of theHouse of Lords andTerry Reintke andMarc Angel, twoMEPs) published a letter addressed to theEuropean Olympic Committees in which they demandedLGBT rights be respected and suggested that the Games should be held in a different location due to the Małopolska region's status.[102][103][104] Flemish sports ministerBen Weyts said the region's LGBT-free zone declaration is "incompatible with the values of theOlympic Charter" and that Olympic Committees should not support bids from such regions.[105] The EOC responded, saying that there would be "no discrimination of any kind" and that the Olympic Charter would be respected.[106] The Małopolska region revoked its declaration of an LGBT ideology-free zone on 27 September 2021 and instead adopted a resolution to "oppose any discrimination against anyone for any reason".[107]
The Polish government has announced that athletes representing Russia and Belarus would not be allowed to attend the games as a result of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[108]
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