Ceremonial handover of the flag of the European Games to the mayor of Tarnów

Tarnów is one of arenas of the European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023. A symbol of the upcoming sports feast was the ceremonial handover over of the flag to the mayor of the city, Roman Ciepiela. It was officially done by the Marshal of Małopolska Voivodeship Witold Kozłowski and Vice President of the European Games Organizing Committee Maciej Kurp.

On Monday, February 13, a replica of the European Games flag was presented to the partner city in the Lustrzana Hall in Tarnow. Among the guests at the ceremony were Marshal of Małopolska Voivodeship Witold Kozłowski, Deputy Marshal of Małopolska Voivodeship Józef Gawron, Member of the Board of the Małopolska Voivodeship Marta Malec-Lech, Mayor of Tarnów Roman Ciepiela with his deputies and Vice President of the European Games Organizing Committee Maciej Kurp. There were also numerous representatives of the youth from sports schools in Tarnów.

At the end of September 2022, the original flag was received in Olympia by the Marshal of the Małopolska Region Witold Kozłowski from the President of the European Olympic Committees Spyros Kapralos. “This is the largest multidisciplinary sports event not only in the history of our country, but also in the world this year. I am glad that one of the partner cities is Tarnow – and after all this city will become a permanent part of the history of the Olympic movement,” said Witold Kozlowski.

“We will be very happy if our athletes win as many medals as possible. However, the most important thing is for the athletes to be able to come to us, and for us to be able to kindly host them. Malopolska and all the partner cities are safe places. We have a great opportunity to promote our area and bring Malopolska into the most important European regions. This is a good omen for the future,” he concluded.

Satisfaction with the organisation of the European Games precisely in this region was also shared by Vice President of the Organising Committee, Maciej Kurp. “I am glad that after a gap of many years, I have the pleasure of renewing my acquaintance with the President of Tarnów at such a special moment. The handing over of the flag is a sign of how important Tarnów is on the map of Małopolska, and a significant point of this event,” he said, addressing the numerous guests gathered. “Tarnów will be the second most important venue after Krakow. According to the calendar, the first set of medals will be handed out in this city. What’s more, we are counting on medals for Poland, as this will be a competition in sport climbing, in which Tarnów’s women are the best in the world,” he added.

“It is an honor for me, that Tarnow will become the capital of European and even world sports for several days. I had no doubts that our city would be a good place to host some of the disciplines,” said Roman Ciepiela. The mayor of Tarnów also stressed that in addition to the sports aspect, the promotion of our country will be important. “All those, who will participate in these competitions, will get to know Poland from a different side. I hope they will discover Tarnów, Krakow, Zakopane, Krynica Zdrój and many other places.

The III European Games will start on June 21 and will last until July 2. In Tarnow, the competition will be held in four sports disciplines. Competitions in beach handball and beach soccer will be seen at the Tarnów Beach Arena. What’s also important from the perspective of the success of local athletes, will be sports climbing located on the grounds of the Academy of Applied Sciences. The badminton competition will be held also with the status of the European championships and qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.