The postponement of the Olympic Games will affect the EYOF 2021 Banská Bystrica

The current pandemic situation and the postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo to 2021 will have a major impact on the preparations for the XVI. European Youth Olympic Festival in Banská Bystrica. It is already certain that it will not take place on the originally planned dates from 25 to 31 July 2021.

The current pandemic, which has affected the whole world, has in many cases turned this year’s sports calendar into meaningless scraps of paper. The Tokyo Olympic Games will take place one year later, from 23 July to 8 August 2021, and these dates coincide with EYOF 2021 Banská Bystrica. The Olympic Games take precedence over all multisport events, and the entire sports calendar adapts to these dates. “We already know that it will not be possible to organize the EYOF 2021 on the original date,” says Peter Korčok, Executive Director of the EYOF 2021 Banská Bystrica Organizing Committee. “We have immediately begun negotiations with the European Olympic Committees on the postponement of the deadline or the modification of the event. Various options are being considered. The transfer of EYOF to 2022 seems to be the most advantageous.”

It is still premature to talk about the definitive solution. The year 2020 was supposed to be crucial in the preparation of the largest multisport event in Slovakia. The organizers planned to make progress with the reconstruction and adaptation of the sports grounds; they also wanted to prepare the first test competitions, and the situation with accommodation had to be clarified. However, the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 disease have had a significant impact on the preparations. Reconstruction work on the key building of the SNP Stadium in Štiavničky could slow down in the event of a lack of the necessary building materials from abroad. It is questionable as to when the reconstruction of the winter stadium in Banská Bystrica will begin, as many activities and preparatory works are also linked to public procurement and tenders, which are difficult to secure today. “From our point of view, it would be ideal if the EYOF in Banská Bystrica moved to 2022. If this happened, we would be able to prepare the planned reconstruction of the winter stadium or the construction of a multifunctional sports hall in the Mičinská parking lot,” says the President of the Organizing Committee and the Mayor of Banská Bystrica, Ján Nosko.