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The agreement signers from the left: Maciej Kurp, Michał Langer – Vice Presidents of the company; Professor Jerzy Lis, AGH UST Rector; Henryk Zioło, AGH UST Chancellor; Radosław Serwicki, Director of AGH UST Student Campus. Photo: AGH UST
The AGH University of Science and Technology signed an agreement with European Games 2023 Ltd. which opens the way to organising the athletes’ village for the competitors taking part in next-year’s European Games on the university campus.
The 3rd European Games Kraków – Małopolska 2023 will begin on June 21 and end on July 2. For twelve days, the best athletes of the Old Continent will compete for medals, as well as Olympic qualifications, in 19 disciplines. Some events will have the rank of European Championships.
It is estimated that the European Games will bring in about 7,000 athletes. A substantial portion of them will compete in Krakow and its vicinity. These are the ones for whom the athletes’ village will be organised on the AGH UST Student Campus. The agreement signed on December 27 between European Games 2023 Ltd. and the university authorities books the area and facilities for the needs of the village. At the beginning of next year, both parties shall sign another agreement to determine further details.
European Games 2023 Ltd. and the AGH UST have been in close cooperation for months in relation to meticulous planning of all aspects of the athletes’ village. The signed agreement is one of the official stages that corroborates the previous arrangements.
Prof. Jerzy Lis, AGH UST Rector, emphasises: ‘The AGH UST Student Campus in Krakow is actually the only available place that meets the requirements necessary for uninterrupted organisation of such a grand event as the European Games; it’s the only place to house the athletes’ village. We are sharing our infrastructure bearing in mind that the end of the academic year in the second semester will be altered. Rescheduling will affect classes, work placements, and, of course, the very accommodation of students. However, we are certain that our facilities will stand up to the challenge and be useful in the organisation of this important event, both for Poland and Krakow.’
Michał Langer, Vice President of the board of European Games 2023 Ltd., added that cooperation will be beneficial to both parties: ‘Signing an agreement with another Krakow university is an important step. We have a great sporting event ahead of us; thus, I’m glad that we can count on such strong partners. The cooperation will be beneficial to both parties because due to the construction projects in store, not only the athletes competing in the European Games but also the AGH UST students will get to make use of the refurbished infrastructure. As organisers of the European Games, we are happy that the athletes’ village will be located precisely in the centre of Krakow, close to the historic Market Square, but also to the Błonia Park, one of this city’s landmarks’.
The AGH UST’s grounds will not witness particular competitions, but this is where the heart of the Games will beat, as the athletes’ village, similarly to the Olympic Village, is a place where the competitors are meant to feel part of a huge sports family.
The Games will officially begin on June 21, but some of the athletes, for example, beach handball players, will start competing a day earlier. Most of the competitors will arrive in Krakow before the opening ceremony, which will take place at Henryk Reyman's Municipal Stadium, so the athletes’ village at the AGH UST must launch considerably earlier. The agreement signed with the university authorities is a major step towards making proper preparations to organise this largest European sporting event in 2023.
It is worth mentioning that the agreement with the AGH UST corroborates the assumptions made by the organisers at the very beginning that it will be possible to organise the event relying on the existing infrastructure, without the need to build new facilities. Some of them did require modifications and minor adjustments due to the requirements of international federations, as well as safety regulations, but construction work has already begun or is scheduled to start very soon.
The AGH University of Science and Technology is the second Krakow university to sign an agreement with European Games 2023 Ltd. A few days earlier, on December 22, at the University of Physical Education in Krakow, the company’s representatives: President Marcin Nowak and Vice President Janusz Kozioł, as well as the university’s rector, Andrzej Klimek, signed an agreement that sealed the cooperation between the two parties. The University of Physical Education will rent its sports facilities to the company. They will undergo proper modernisation and will be adjusted accordingly to the modern pentathlon competitions scheduled to take place there.
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