European Youth Olympic Festival Maribor 2023

The Festival is held every two years under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee and is organised by the European Olympic Committees.

This event, which will be hosted by Slovenia’s second largest city between 23 and 29 July, is not only the largest youth sports event, but also an opportunity for tourism and economic development, which is why the Republic of Slovenia, through the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, has financially supported the project.

A springboard for young athletes

The EYOF is the largest sports event for young athletes to gain experience for future competitions, to experience Olympism and Olympic values for the first time, and to bond through fair play and new friendships. The EYOF is often a springboard for their future in sports. 

Young athletes will compete in athletics, judo, tennis, gymnastics, road and mountain biking, swimming, 3x3 basketball, and skateboarding.

Visitors will be able to watch 123 competitions at 13 venues. The organisers will award 742 medals and 3,588 athletes and support staff (coaches, doctors, assistants), 300 EOC (European Olympic Committees)  delegates, and around 800 technical delegates and sports officials will attend the competitions.

To ensure the success of the EYOF, the Municipality of Maribor has also made extensive investments in new sports infrastructure and renovated existing sports facilities.

The fact that Maribor is a true city of sports is also demonstrated by the fact that many of the athletes will be accommodated in private accommodation under the “family and friends” system, while most of them will stay in the Athletes’ Village.

Volunteering is a tradition in Slovenia

The fact that Slovenians love to help is also evident from the large number of volunteers who will be helping with the event. Volunteering is a part of our identity and almost 1,000 volunteers will be helping with the event in Maribor.

The European Youth Olympic Festival in Maribor is also an incentive to formalise the concept of promoting volunteering in sports in Slovenia.

Accompanying programme

One of the central squares in Maribor, Trg Svobode, will serve as the Fun Zone.

There will be concerts by various bands and sports games from the Middle Ages (based on the Gladiator Games but with a running theme of Maribor). Trg Svobode will also be the venue of the EYOF closing ceremony.

The Sports Promenade will run along the street of Maksimilijan Držečnik, where the Festival’s central information point will also be located. The Sports Promenade will showcase all the venues and all the disciplines in which the athletes will compete. The promenade will also serve as a link between two important venues (Trg Svobode and the venue for the 3x3 basketball competitions).

The city park will be a Relax Zone and will offer relaxing activities with cultural, scientific, sports, recreational and fun content.

Maribor Island will serve as the Green Zone. This part of the town will offer athletes and other visitors a place to relax. Pilates and yoga, swimming, beach volleyball, and other relaxation activities will be available.

The city’s main square, Glavni Trg, will serve as the Sport Presentation Zone and showcase new sports that may not be as well-known and popular, but are gaining more visibility abroad.

Visitors will be introduced to disc golf, footgolf and water basketball and witness a demonstration of weightlifting.

Many events will also take place in the Athletes’ Village, where the Maribor University Sports Association has been organising and implementing extracurricular sports activities since 1998.

The main purpose of the Olympic Festival is to unite and to reinforce the values of fair play, friendship and tolerance. This Olympic event will surely be an unforgettable one in the history of the city and in the history of Slovenia. 

More about the EYOF on the website eyof-maribor.com