The region under Urpín came to life during the EYOF

The European Summer Olympic Festival (EYOF) 2022 is fast approaching its end. Already on Saturday, the flame of
peace will go out at the closing ceremony, and only memories will remain behind the festival. Banská Bystrica is
experiencing an exceptional week, the likes of which we haven't had in Slovakia for a long time. EYOF brought a lot of young athletes, expedition members, delegations, volunteers and, last but not least, fans to the city below Urpín.
Life in the city changed slightly during the Olympic festival. Young athletes and entire national teams of the
participating European countries move in the streets. Transport has also undergone certain changes, special lines
run between the sports grounds. Some roads were temporarily closed during the cycling race. The organisation of
the biggest multi-sport event in Europe this year brought all of this with it.

Full terraces, cafes and restaurants indicate a lot of foreign visitors. Even the nightlife in Banská Bystrica and Zvolen
is more lively than usual. „Our cafe is the closest to the EYOF Sports Park, which is also notable in the daily turnover. Of course, more people than usual visited the place this week. Foreign guests also come to sit. We have more work to do, it´s normal for such a big event,“ the waitress Radka described the situation with the visitors.

Entry to individual sports is free, so local residents will also visit the sports grounds. Matúš from Zvolen came with
his whole family to the athletics stadium, where they watched various disciplines together. „We are here at EYOF
for the second time this week. It´s a great opportunity to spend time with your family. Children can run around here and also watch young athletes. It´ an experience we don´t get every year. We have already seen athletics, judo, and volleyball in Zvolen too.“ 

The EYOF fan zone is also open to the public, where visitors can enjoy a rich cultural program every day. Lucia and
Klára from Banská Bystrica have already visited it several times: „On the one hand, EYOF brought a lot of people to the city, you can see athletes and volunteers everywhere. There were also some traffic restrictions and the nightlife in the city is more lively than usual. On the other hand, the people of Banská Bystrica have the opportunity to support themselves culturally. Every evening there is a program in the fan zone. We went to see the IMT Smile concert and Majk Spirit.“

EYOF brought life and atmosphere of the Olympics to the region under Urpín. Thanks to this, local residents have a
unique opportunity to soak up the atmosphere of a major sporting event. Using the example of the Youth Olympic
Festival, they can see approximately how it looks during the Olympic Games in their scenes. EYOF 2022 is slowly but
surely approaching its conclusion and life under Urpín will soon return to its old ways.