International Olympic Committee group visits Georgia
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A group representing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are in Georgia to discuss how the country will host the European Youth Olympic Festival next year, in which more than 4,000 athletes from 49 countries are expected to participate.
IOC president Thomas Bach was invited to Georgia on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Georgian National Olympic Committee, which was marked in February, 2014.
Tbilisi will host the 13th European Youth Olympic Festival in July 2015. The EYOF is a biennial multi-sport event for youth athletes from 48 member countries who are part of European Olympic Committees.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met Bach and discussed the Georgian Olympic Movement and the role of Georgian Sport in the International Olympic Movement.
The meeting focused on next year’s European Youth Olympic Festival and the preparatory work that was already underway.
Garibashvili was proud Tbilisi was the first post-Soviet country to host the festival. He said by offering Tbilisi his honour, it showed a great deal of confidence from the European Olympic Committee.
He thanked the guests for their support and attending a special event regarding the 25th anniversary of the Georgian National Olympic Committee.
We see it as a respect and appreciation to the Georgian Olympic Team, to our honoured sportsmen, as well as your support for the Olympic Movement in Georgia,”Garibashvili said.
After the meeting, head of the Georgian Olympic Committee Leri Khabelov presented the Prime Minister an anniversary commemorative medal and souvenir of the Georgian National Committee’s 25th anniversary.
The meeting was attended by the European Olympic Committee President Patrick Hickey and Sport and Youth Affairs Minister of Georgia Levan Kipiani.
Later, PM Garibashvili opened a sculpture exhibition titled Ode to Olympic Champions, which was dedicated to famous Georgian athletes at the National Olympic Committee of Georgia.
Garibashvili thanked the Georgian athletes who had repeatedly glorified the homeland and brought much joy to those in their homeland.
Georgians really have something we can be proud of. Since 1952 we have had 34 Olympic champions. They brought us 37 Olympic gold, 28 silver and 53 bronze medals, he said.
We are very happy that our Olympians performed under the independent flag of Georgia and the national anthem of our country has sound in Olympic cities.
An earlier decision by the 39th General Assembly of European Olympic Committees revealed Tbilisi would host the 13th European Youth Olympic Festival in July 2015.
The EYOF program will include nine sports: judo, tennis, artistic gymnastics, cycle racing, track and field athletics, swimming, volleyball, handball and basketball.
More than 4,000 athletes from 49 European countries will descend on Tbilisi to participate in the Youth Olympic Festival next July.
The Olympic flame for the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) will travel into Georgia on May 26 next year ahead of the biennial multi-sports event.
Representatives of the upcoming Youth Olympic Games have met with the country’s leader and inspected the facilities to be used in the July 2015 international festival, where more than 4,000 athletes from 49 countries are expected to participate.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has paid tribute to a Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili who died in a tragic accident, at the opening of an exhibition honouring Georgian athletes.
"Every Georgian should be proud of the progress in the field of Olympics and of the Georgian sportsmen’s achievements," International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said in Tbilisi today.
The Olympic flame for the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) has been lit in the ancient Greek city of Athens and will today travel to Georgia for the international youth sporting competition.
The Olympic flame for the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) has landed in Georgia’s seaside city Batumi ahead of the Tbilisi 2015 torch relay after being flown from Athens, Greece.
People in southern Georgia are among the first in the country to be given the rare opportunity to see the Olympic flame.
A celebration is planned in Rustavi this evening to mark the arrival of the Olympic flame.
The Olympic flame has left the land of Georgian wine and is continuing its journey across the mountainous Kazbegi municipality by the helicopter.
The Olympic flame has arrived in Borjomi – its latest stop on its nationwide tour ahead of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), but without a festive celebration in recognition of those who lost their lives in the deadly June 13 flash flood.
A state-of-the-art sports complex has opened in Georgia’s capital ahead of the European Youth Olympic Games (EYOF).
The International Olympic Committee will send a special group of experts and advisers to Georgia to learn about development in the country’s mountain resorts and future prospects in the industry.
The Georgian National Olympic Committee has commemorated the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who lost control at high speed and crashed into a steel pole at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.