The 2019

European Youth Olympic Winter Festival The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for youth (14 to 18 years old) athletes from the 50 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. The festival has a summer edition, held for the fir ...

( bs, Evropski zimski olimpijski festival mladih 2019) was held in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

Istočno Sarajevo Istočno Sarajevo ( sr-cyr, Источно Сарајево, lit. "East Sarajevo") is the ''de jure'' capital city of Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of a few suburban areas of pre-war Sarajevo which are now includ ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

from 10 to 15 February 2019. The event had initially been planned to be held in 2017, whereas the 2019 EYOF had been planned for

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

. In November 2015, the two cities agreed to swap their events, since Sarajevo and Istočno Sarajevo could not be ready in time, while Erzurum already had facilities in place from the 2011 Winter Universiade. Within the framework of the EYOF 2019 project, there were around 750 recruited volunteers, the majority of which were students.

Sports

Venues

Sarajevo

Istočno Sarajevo

Schedule

The competition schedule for the 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival is as follows:

Participating nations

46 national Olympic Committees sent athletes. Azerbaijan, Malta, Monaco did not compete.

Medal table

Opening ceremony

Opening ceremony was held on City Stadium Koševo on 10 February 2019 at 19:00. The name of the ceremony is "''We create together''", which is selected as the title of main music-dance performance. Flame at opening ceremony was lit by

Larisa Cerić Larisa Cerić (born 26 January 1991) is a Bosnian judoka competing in the women's +78 kg division. She won a silver medal at the 2014 European Judo Championships and a bronze medal at the 2018 World Judo Championships. At the 2019 European ...

, Bosnian judoka, and event is officially opened by

Milorad Dodik Milorad Dodik ( sr-cyrl, Милорад Додик, ; born 12 March 1959) is a Bosnian Serb politician serving as the 8th president of Republika Srpska since November 2022. Previously, he served as the 7th Serb member of the Presidency of Bo ...

, at the time the chairman of the

Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina The presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Predsjedništvo Bosne i Hercegovine, separator=" / ", Предсједништво Босне и Херцеговине) is a three-member body which collectively serves as head of state of ...

together with Janez Kocijančić, president of EOC, Abdulah Skaka,

mayor of Sarajevo This is a list of people who have served as mayor or president of the city council of the city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo has had 38 different mayors in 39 different mayorships since the position was created on 22 ...

and Nenad Vuković, mayor of Istočno Sarajevo. Opening ceremony of EYOF 2019 02.jpg, West stand of Koševo stadium Opening ceremony of EYOF 2019 05.jpg, Fireworks at the end of the opening ceremony Opening ceremony of EYOF 2019 09.jpg, Larisa Cerić at the stairs that led to the flame Opening ceremony of EYOF 2019 07.jpg, Main stage

Mascot

The official mascot of the EYOF 2019 was Groodvy, created by the Visia Agency from Istočno Sarajevo, and selected after all the votes of fans from social networks. Other proposed mascots were Jezos and Jazzy. The name Groodvy comes from the word '' grudva'' which in Bosnian and Serbian language means

snowball A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights. A snowball may also be a large ...

Medals

Medals have irregular shape and represents a snowball that has engraved EYOF marks on either side. Medal award ceremonies were organized daily from 7.30 pm on a specially played floor in the area between the Hills Hotel and the Termal Riviera in

Ilidža Ilidža ( sr-cyrl, Илиџа, ) is a town and a municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has a total population of 66,730 with 63,528 in Ilidža itself, and is ...

Official song

On January 16, 2019, the official song "Za pravu raju" of the event was presented in

Zetra Olympic Hall The Juan Antonio Samaranch Olympic Hall ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Olimpijska dvorana Juan Antonio Samaranch'' / Олимпијска дворана Хуан Антонио Самаран; formerly Zetra Olympic Hall) is an indoor multi- ...

. At this occasion, Vučko, mascot of the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...

, handed "the key of fame and success" to Groodvy as stated by the mayor of Sarajevo, Abdulah Skaka. The song is performed by

Elvir Laković Laka Elvir Laković, also known as Laka ; born 15 March 1969), is a Bosnian rock singer-songwriter, born in Goražde, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Early life He attended music school there studying guitar, but he disliked the school's teaching methods and ...

, Mirela Laković and Tarik Tanović.

The Flame of peace

Flame of Peace was lit at

Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on January 31. 2019, after which it started its travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first stop of the flame was in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

on February 1. 2019. After Banja Luka, the flame was brought to

Sarajevo International Airport Sarajevo International Airport ( bs, Međunarodni aerodrom Sarajevo/Међународни аеродром Сарајево) is the main international airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It i ...

on February 2. 2019, onboard an aircraft of the

FlyBosnia FlyBosnia was ch-aviation.com - FlyBosnia
retrieved 12 October 2022

company, that had special

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

for this EYOF. During the opening ceremony, the flame of peace was carried by several famous Bosnian sports people, and on the final stage, the flame was carried by

Mirsad Fazlagić Mirsad Fazlagić (born 4 April 1943) is a Bosnian retired professional footballer and manager, considered one of the best full-backs of his generation. Club career Fazlagić started his football career in the youth setup of his local hometown t ...

Svetlana Kitić Svetlana Kitić ( sr-cyrl, Светлана Китић, born 19 June 1960) is a Bosnian Serb retired professional handball player who competed at the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics for Yugoslavia, and was part of the Bosnia and Herzegovina natio ...

, Ajdin Pašović,

Nedžad Fazlija Nedžad Fazlija (born 25 February 1968) is a Bosnian retired Olympic sports shooter. Fazlija was a part of the Bosnian Olympic team at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics, 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer ...

Mirza Teletović Mirza Teletović (born September 18, 1985) is a Bosnian former professional basketball player who was the president of the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2018 to 2022. As a player, he spent six seasons in the National Basketb ...

Žana Novaković Žana Novaković ( sr-cyrl, Жана Новаковић; born June 24, 1985) is a female alpine skier from Bosnia and Herzegovina who competed for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She carried her nation's flag at the 2010 Winte ...

, Aleksandra Samardžić and

as the last person who lit the flame on the stadium.

Media

The opening ceremony in Bosnia and Herzegovina was broadcast on BHT 1 and Hayat TV. Two postal service companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina,

BH Pošta BH Pošta is one of three companies responsible for postal service in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other two are Srpske Pošte and Hrvatska pošta Mostar. BH Pošta operates mainly in Bosniak-majority areas in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzego ...

and

Pošte Srpske Pošte Srpske (officially ) is one of three companies responsible for postal service in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other two are BH Pošta and Hrvatska pošta Mostar. Pošte Srpske operates in Republika Srpska. Before the war conflicts in Bosnia ...

, for this occasion issued promotional postal stamps and FDC to commemorate this event.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony was held in front of the town administration of Istočno Sarajevo on 15 February 2019. During the closing ceremony, Miligram and

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inclu ...

, two musical groups from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

performed. The event was officially closed by

, and the

Olympic flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...

was officially handed to the mayor of

Vuokatti Vuokatti is an urban area that is a physically separate part of the municipality of Sotkamo, Finland. It is home to more than 6,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populous urban area in the region of Kainuu, after the main urban area ...

, the host town of the next European Youth Olympic Winter Festival that will be held in 2021.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, 2019

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2019 in multi-sport events 2019 in European sport February 2019 sports events in Europe 2019 in Bosnia and Herzegovina sport International sports competitions hosted by Bosnia and Herzegovina Multi-sport events in Bosnia and Herzegovina Youth sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina Sports competitions in Sarajevo

2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival The 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival ( bs, Evropski zimski olimpijski festival mladih 2019) was held in Sarajevo & Istočno Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina from 10 to 15 February 2019. The event had initially been planned to be held ...

Festivals in Sarajevo 2019 in youth sport