Oświęcim – one of the thirteen cities of the European Games

Nowy Targ, Zakopane, Chorzów, Nowy Sącz, Krzeszowice, Bielsko-Biała, Rzeszów, Myślenice and Oświęcim are the cities that will host one discipline during the Third European Games. The latter will host the artistic swimming competition.

At the end of January, Oświęcim was announced as the host city of EG 2023. This came during a meeting between Hasan Arat, responsible for organising the event on behalf of the Association of European Olympic Committees, and the municipal authorities.

The struggles of 96 of Europe’s best swimmers will be on show at the Olympic swimming pool of the Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre. The 50x20m pool with a depth of 2.30m to 3.80m is well suited to hosting this type of competition. Artistic swimming competitions can be held as a solo, duet, team (8 people) and combination (10). During the five-day (23 – 27 June) competition, swimmers will compete not only for European Games medals, but also European Championships and for Olympic Games qualification.

During the meeting, Maciej Kurp, vice-president of the European Games 2023 company, emphasised that artistic swimming competitions of such importance were coming to Oświęcim for the first time. – They will show children and young people that it is worth training to become a competitive athlete. We also hope that it will be a benefit for Oświęcim in terms of sport and infrastructure. Something that will be a lasting effect, not only for this event – vice-president Kurp.

Janusz Chwierut, mayor of the city, emphasised that participation in the European Games is prestigious for Oświęcim. – We have been talking about our participation in the event since November last year, when the Marshal’s Office of Małopolska announced information about additional competitions. We are happy that the decision has finally been made and artistic swimming will take place in Oświęcim,” he says.

On the occasion of its participation in the organisation of IE 2023, the MOSiR swimming pool will be enriched with a modern telebim. There are also plans for an investment that will improve traffic around the Olympic Hotel. – I hope that we will all have great satisfaction that this extremely spectacular sport will take place in Oświęcim,” added the mayor.