ECR Study Days 2022

"Organisation of sports events by local and regional governments"

General information

Our 2022 ECR CoR Group Study Days will be held in Krakow, the capital of Małopolska region. The event is hosted by Mr Witold Kozłowski, who is Marshal of the Małopolska region, situated in southern Poland, and its topics are:

1. Organisation of sports events by local governments - a noble idea or business?
2. Financing of sports events / sports infrastructure by local governments

The event will be held in person, in line with all health and safety protocols. 

Topics

1. Organisation of sports events by local governments - a noble idea or business?

Subnational government authorities have a central role to play in the provision of community sport and recreation facilities. From the local parks to leisure centres, local and regional authorities enable a huge range of leisure activities and sport to happen. They also have an important leadership role to play, bringing schools, sports clubs, health and the private sector together to forge partnerships, unblock barriers to participation and improve the local sport delivery system. We must also not forget that they play a key role in organising large-scale sports events, which bring in both short term and long term new tourists to their regions, which in turn generates local income.

During the Study Days, we will discuss local experiences of organising a sports event. We will raise several questions like: What are the risks involved while organising such an event? How to attract good quality sportsmen and sportswomen? What measures must be put in place to ensure safety and security, in particular, during pandemic times? And – most importantly – to what extent do these sporting events bring added value to the local inhabitants, either economically or socially? 

2.   Financing of sports events / sports infrastructure by local governments

Sport should be seen as a very valuable tool for local and regional development, urban regeneration, rural development, employability, job creation and labour market integration, thereby contributing to the economic and social development of Europe's regions.

Sport is funded across EU Member States both centrally and through local authorities and funding can take different forms (e.g. direct support, tax advantages). Public support measures in the field of sport generally finance either infrastructure or activities or individual sport clubs. In grassroots sport, equal opportunities and open access to sporting activities can only be guaranteed through strong public involvement. The degree to which responsibility is devolved locally naturally differs from country to country. During the ECR Study Days we will share best practices in this field from a number of EU Member States such as Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary or Italy.

Why hosted in Małopolska? 

Małopolska - one of Poland's most beautiful and attractive tourist regions is at the same time the bustling heart of Poland - historically, culturally, economically as well as in terms of sports.

The region is also home to many important sports events, including the more permanent sport fixtures as well as those organised occasionally, such as the World or European Games.

Every year, Małopolska is organising partner for several sports events, including those that attract the world's highest ranking athletes such as the Ski Jumping World Cup in Zakopane, the European Climbing Championships or the Kyokushin Karate World Championships.

Extensive experience in the organisation of international sports events, as well as appropriate sports and non-sports infrastructure were key in influencing the decision of the Association of European Olympic Committees to choose the Małopolska Region and its capital as organiser of the 3rd European Games in 2023.

The official election of the European Games 2023 host took place on 22 June 2019 during the European Olympic Committee General Assembly, where it was unanimously decided that and Małopolska region and its capital Kraków would host the Games. 

The European Games is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Europe. The Games are organised by the European Olympic Committees. The Games are held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee and thrive to ensure that Europe remains at the heart of world sport.

It is not without significance that Kraków is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Furthermore, in 2014 Kraków was selected as the European City of Sport. That same year the city also hosted the 2014 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship and 2016 European Men's Handball Championship. Furthermore, the Cracovia Marathon, with over a thousand participants from two dozen countries annually, has been held in the city since 2002.

Football is one of the most popular sports in the city with the two most famous and oldest football clubs in Poland to its name – thirteen-time Polish champion Wisła Kraków, and five-time champion Cracovia, both founded in 1906. 

Since 2003, Kraków also hosts the Kolna Sport and Recreation Centre. The 320 metres long Kayak Route is one of the most modern kayak infrastructure in Europe. 

Programme

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