Georgian President highlights EYOF Bakuriani 2025 as “huge step forward” for national development

Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili on Sunday said the organisation of the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival was a “huge step” forward for the development of the country.

Kavelashvili noted that hosting the festival would contribute to the development of both winter sports and sports tourism.

He further expressed pride that the European Olympic Committees had selected Georgia among 50 countries to host such a large-scale event.

“For the first time in history, Georgia is hosting the European Youth Winter Olympic Festival! I am honoured to be part of this truly historic event and to have had the opportunity to inaugurate EYOF Bakuriani 2025 alongside Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze. This festival will contribute to the development of both winter sports and sports tourism in our country. It is truly a source of pride that the European Olympic Committees have shown full trust in us and selected Georgia among 50 countries to host such a large-scale event”, the Georgian President said.

“This means that the country is fully prepared to host the EYOF Bakuriani 2025 at a high level - numerous large-scale infrastructure projects have been implemented for this important event. The new infrastructure, built to modern standards, will provide us with the opportunity to involve more young people in winter sports in the future, and for Georgian athletes to achieve even greater success in this field. It is important that nearly 1,000 young athletes from 45 countries are participating in the festival. I wish everyone success, especially our Georgian athletes. I believe they will win many victories and bring even more recognition to our country”, he concluded.