12 days until EYOF 2015: Is Tbilisi ready? [VIDEO]

In less than two weeks thousands of the world’s best young athletes, their coaches and supporters will come to Georgia for the European Youth Olympic Festival 2015.

The official opening of the event, commonly known as Tbilisi 2015, will take place in 12 days in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.

Watch a commercial for the upcoming Festival below: 

In preparation for the event, several new sporting facilities that will host EYOF competitions have opened in recent days, and an additional two sporting venues opened today; one for judo and another for basketball.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili visited the two new venues today and noted the country was ready to host the influx of international guests.

He said the Olympic Festival would be held in 12 sports venues, six of which were specifically constructed for Tbilisi 2015 while the other had been renovated and refurbished. He stressed all the EYOF facilities would remain as state property and athletes would be able to enjoy them in the future.

The new judo hall will remain in the state property after the Festival. Photo by PM's press-office

"Construction of all venues has finished. We are ready to host the Olympic Festival.

"It is very important that state facilities were renovated or built. Throughout the last 25 years, this much has not been done for Georgian sports. Our sportsmen deserved appreciation and I am happy that we had this opportunity to appreciate our judokas, who did not have their own hall,” said PM Garibashvili while opening the new judo hall.

Workers spent the past year renovating the existing Vere Basketball Palace for the upcoming EYOF, which will host the women’s basketball competition. The men’s basketball tournament will be held in the old Sports Palace, which is a bigger venue.

Garibashvili said the renovated basketball hall offered two top quality courts where players were able to use one hall for trainings and the other for tournaments.

Prime Minister Garibashvili with the women basketball team and the newly renovated venue. Photo by PM's press-office

"The Vere Basketball Palace is a beloved place for basketball players and Tbilisi locals. This hall was rehabilitated and we spent over two million GEL doing this. Now it is absolutely in line with international standards and will be a suitable EYOF venue,” said the PM.

The 13th EYOF will open in Tbilisi on July 26 and continue until August 1. To accommodate the 3500 athletes from 50 nations attending the event, a special Olympic Athlete’s Village has been built near Tbilisi Sea. According to the PM’s earlier decision, once the sporting event was over the apartments would be gifted to internally displaced families.

Nine sporting codes will be represented at Tbilisi 2015: judo, tennis, artistic gymnastics, cycling, athletics, swimming, volleyball, handball and basketball.

Almost 3500 athletes from 50 nations will visit Tbilisi for the EYOF, which will be covered by more than 300 international and local media outlets. As well as organisers, more than 2,000 volunteers aged 17-78 will take part in the event.