“Thank you for this wonderful welcome to beautiful Bakuriani for the 17th Winter European Youth Olympic Festival,” stated Spyros Capralos, President of the European Olympic Committe at the opening ceremony of the European Winter Youth Olympic Festival in Bakuriani ski resort.

Spyros Capralos expressed his best wishes for the athletes’ success and thanked the Bakuriani 2025 Organizing Committee.

Here is his speech as delivered:

“Dear Athletes,
Dear President of Georgia,
Dear Prime Minister and Honorable representatives of Georgian Authorities,
Dear Georgian National Olympic Committee President Mr Khabelov, and Dear Chair of the Organizing Committee Bakuriani 2025 Mr Khabareli,
and Honorable Presidents and Representatives of National Olympic Committees of Europe
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for this wonderful welcome to beautiful Bakuriani for the 17th Winter European Youth Olympic Festival. After the success of the 13th Summer European Youth Olympic Festival in Tbilisi, we were always confident that Georgia would once again host a spectacular event for our continent’s young athletes.

Already, I can feel the spirit of the Festival is alive and well. From the incredible performances we have just witnessed to the parade of the athletes from our 45 competing nations, we are set for an exciting week of competition.

The EYOFs play a vital role in the European Olympic Movement. For many of our young athletes here, this is the first time they will compete in an international multi-sport event. It is a crucial and valuable opportunity to test themselves against the best athletes from across Europe.

We also see it as their first opportunity to experience the best of the Olympic Movement. Thanks to the work of our European Youth Olympic Ambassadors, they will be taught about the Olympic Values and feel the Olympic spirit. As we saw in Paris last summer, and will see again in Milano Cortina next year, the spirit of Olympism remains with Olympians throughout their careers. And it starts here!

To all our athletes, I wish you the best of luck in your competitions and hope that you leave here fulfilled by your performances.

To the Bakuriani 2025 Organising Committee, thank you for your hard work in ensuring this event will be a success.

And to our volunteers, thank you for all your upcoming hard work and for always welcoming us with a smile.

Thank you and good luck!” the European Olympic Committee President said.