Kraków was selected as the host city of the 2023 European Games.
The 3rd European Games, informally known as Kraków-Małopolska 2023, is a scheduled international sporting event to be held in Kraków and the regions of Małopolska from 21 June to 2 July 2023.
Events will take place in the city of Kraków, the surrounding Małopolska region, and in Chorzów in the neighboring Silesia region.
The opening and closing ceremonies will take place at the Tauron Arena Krakow.
- Stadion Miejski, Kraków – Opening and closing ceremonies, rugby sevens
- Stadion Śląski, Chorzów – Athletics
- Tarnów – Badminton, beach football, beach handball, sport climbing
- Krynica-Zdrój – Mountain running, mountain biking, judo, taekwondo, break dancing
- Zakopane – Ski jumping
The official emblem of the games was unveiled on 21 June 2022, exactly one year before the opening ceremony.
Designed by Marcin Salawa the emblem depicts a flame containing the towers of St. Mary’s Basilica, to represent the city of Kraków and the Tatra Mountains, to represent the landscape of the Małopolska region.
The colors, taken from the coats of arms of Kraków, and Małopolska, represent fire and water. Fire is said to symbolize action, will, and energy, while water symbolizes spirituality, emotions, and purification.
The official motto of the games is We are Unity (“Jesteśmy jednością”).
The following competitions are scheduled to place:
- Aquatics Aquatics
- Archery Archery
- Athletics Athletics
- Badminton Badminton
- Basketball Basketball 3×3
- Beach handball Beach handball
- Beach soccer Beach soccer
- Boxing Boxing
- Breakdancing Breakdancing
- Canoe Canoe slalom
- Cycling Cycling
- Fencing Fencing
- Judo Judo
- Karate Karate
- Kickboxing Kickboxing
- Modern pentathlon Modern pentathlon
- Muaythai Muaythai
- Padel Padel
- Rugby sevens Rugby sevens
- Ski jumping (summer) Ski jumping
- Shooting Shooting
- Sport Climbing Sport climbing
- Table tennis Table tennis
- Taekwondo Taekwondo
- Teqball Teqball
- Triathlon Triathlon
Host city selection
In January 2019, Marcin Krupa, the mayor of Katowice, Poland, announced the city’s interest in hosting the 3rd European Games, becoming the first candidate city.
On 28 June 2019, six days after Kraków was awarded the Games, the EOC confirmed it had signed a letter of intent with the European Union of Gymnastics to include gymnastics in the upcoming Games.
In July 2019, Hasan Arat, the vice president of the Turkish Olympic Committee, was named chair of the EOC’s Coordination Commission for the 2023 Games. He said he was “honored and humbled by the decision”.
In October of the same year, both the city of Kraków and the Małopolska region signed a letter of intent confirming their joint commitment to the hosting of the Games.
In March 2020, Kraków’s mayor Jacek Majchrowski warned of cuts to the city budget and impacts on the tourism industry due to the coronavirus which could impact the success of the Games.
In February 2021, the Games faced a funding deadlock when the city of Kraków said it needed financial guarantees from the Polish government in order to proceed with the signing of the host city contract.
A spokesperson of the office of the mayor of Kraków, Jacek Majchrowski, said that the city had agreed to host the Games “only on condition that the government subsidized the necessary infrastructure”.
Government organizers blamed the city’s leadership, with Jacek Sasin saying that “Kraków is the organizer of the Games” and that the government is “ready” to support it. Sasin said that the government would commit to sharing funding, but only after Kraków signed the host city contract.
However, Majchrowski said that he would not sign the agreement until the government has introduced legislation supporting the event’s organization, leading to suggestions that Katowice, the original bid city, and the Silesia region could end up hosting the Games.
In a statement, the EOC said they were “working closely with the organizers” and remained “confident” that Kraków would sign the host city contract.
In early March 2021, the EOC entered into talks with Silesian officials to explore the possibility of the region co-hosting the event. Kraków and the Polish government were reported to have come to an agreement over funding by the end of March 2021.
As a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee has taken a decision to not invite athletes from Russia and Belarus to international competitions.
Investments in the Krakow infrastructure thereby the 3rd European Games’ event
- extension of st. Igolomskaya
- modernization st. 29th of November
- reconstruction of st. Fatima
- reconstruction of st. Queen Jadwiga
- extension of st. Red Poppies along with the construction of the sidewalk from st. Lubostron to the intersection with the st. Bobzhinsky/Bunsh
- extension of st. Vrobela
- construction of a communication system to support the University Hospital in Prokozyma
- construction of a pedestrian bridge on foot-by-bike Grzegorski Zabłocie
- extension of Rogozhinsky street
- extension of st. Vesevsky along with the expansion of the Zakarchim Street
- program for the modernization of roads, sidewalks, tramways, and bicycle paths in Krakow
