Fifteen sports and 21 disciplines will be contested at Minsk 2019.

Thirteen venues will host events at the second European Games.

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the second European Games will take place at the Dinamo Stadium, which will also host the athletics events.

Minsk is the capital and largest city of Belarus, situated on the Svislač and the Nyamiha rivers.

Minsk has a population of 1.98 million people.

The Minsk 2019 mascot is Lesik the Fox who represents friendship, development, harmony, discipline, determination, cheerfulness, invincibility and vigour!

Lesik is pretty easy to spot with his red hat, white and green shirt, black shorts, blue shoes and yellow fur. These same colours are used on the Minsk 2019 logo.

One-hundred-and-ninety-nine medal events will be contested at Minsk 2019; 91 men’s events, 89 women’s events and 19 mixed events.

In all, 4,022 competitors will take part over 10 days.

The European Games take place every four years, the first of which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2015.

Eight sports taking place at the European Games will serve as qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Minsk was elected as the venue for the second European Games on October 21, 2016 at the General Assembly of the EOC.

Fifty One European National Olympic Committees will be represented in the Belarusian capital during the Games.

Belarusian athletes won 43 medals at the first European Games - 10 gold, 11 silver, and 22 bronze - and finished seventh on the medal table.

The second European Games will be held at the largest sports facilities in Minsk, such as stadium “Dinamo”, “Minsk-Arena” and “Chizhovka-Arena”.

More than 8,000 volunteers will help prepare and stage Minsk 2019.

Minsk 2019 volunteers are assigned to one of 20 roles ranging from spectator services, hospitality, venue management, medical services, transport and protocol assistants.

Belaruskali is a Premium Partner of Minsk 2019 whilst Yasna-Beltelecom, MTS, Fabrika Reklamy, Belarusbank, UNICEF and LUCH are National Partners.

Faroe Islands will be able to compete for the first time at the second European Games in archery, badminton, judo and table tennis.

The first buyer of a paper ticket was Minsk 2019 mascot Lesik, the baby fox.

The programme of the European Games also includes the European Judo Championships which will gather the best athletes in the Chizhovka Arena.

The second European Games will be held under the motto Bright Year, Bright You.

The logo of the second European Games has been inspired by the slogan “Follow Your Dream”.

A Minsk Guest Card has been designed for tourists coming to the Belarusian capital and provides discounts and bonuses for museums, shopping centres, restaurants, and cafes.

Minsk is characterised by long avenues and neoclassical grandeur.

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Minsk 2019 Torch hits halfway point of Relay in Vitebsk

By Philip Barker

The European Games Torch has reached the halfway point of its journey to Minsk after a visit to Vitebsk in the north of the country.

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Fact of the day

Denver were awarded the 1976 Winter Olympic Games ahead of Sion in Switzerland, Tempere in Finland and Vancouver in Canada at the International Olympic Committee Session in 1970. But in a Colorado referendum in November 1972, voters rejected funding for the event. It is the only time a city has been awarded the Olympics but pulled out. The IOC then offered the Games to Whistler in Canada, but they too declined owing to a change of Government following elections. Salt Lake City offered to host the Games, but the IOC, still reeling from the Denver rejection, declined and selected Innsbruck, the 1964 host city, as a replacement.

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