It’s official now: Georgian ski resort of Bakuriani to host 2025 European Youth Olympic Festival

Georgia’s winter resort of Bakuriani will host the 2025 European Youth Olympic Festival involving over a thousand young athletes, after a formal agreement on the tournament was signed in Tbilisi on Thursday.

The Georgian National Olympic Committee said work on infrastructure for hosting participants of the event and organising the tournament itself would start following the deal.

The ceremony for signing the agreement in the Georgian capital involved officials from Georgian state institutions and the European Olympic Committees.

EOC President Spyros Capralos, his counterpart from the National Olympic Committee Leri Khabelov, Georgia’s Deputy Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ioseb Baghaturia were present in the occasion.

Photo: Georgian National Olympic Committee

Khabelov said he believed the country would “successfully cope with all the challenges” of organising the high-level tournament.

Plans for hosting the Festival in the country were also discussed on Thursday in a meeting between Capralos and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

• Georgian PM, European Olympic Committee review 2025 Winter Youth Olympic Festival plans

The sides said the ongoing Freestyle, Ski, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships in Bakuriani was an “important event” for the country and the experience gained from hosting it would be significant for the Olympic Festival.

Designed for athletes aged between 14-18, the EYOC is hosted in two-year cycles and brings together about 3,600 participants and officials in summer editions and 1,600 in winter versions.