The second edition of the European Games will be held in the Belarussian capital of Minsk in 2019 after a vote by the membership of the European Olympic Committee (EOC).
The inaugural Games, held in Baku in 2015, saw Team GB finish third in the medal table with 47 won overall – 18 gold, 10 silver and 19 bronze – from a team of 162 athletes.
A number of those who competed in Baku then went on to win Olympic medals in Rio this summer, including Nicola Adams, Joe Joyce, Jade Jones, Lutalo Muhammad and Duncan Scott.
The full programme for Minsk 2019 is still to be announced after a total of 20 sports featured in Baku including non-Olympic sports such as beach soccer, karate and acrobatic and aerobic gymnastics.
The vote to elect Minsk as the host city was held at the 45th EOC General Assembly in the same city yesterday, with a large majority voting in favour.
Minsk has a strong reputation for staging high-level competitions in Olympic sports having hosted the UCI Track Cycling World Championships and the EUBC European Boxing Championships in 2013, the IIHF World Championship in Ice Hockey in 2014, and the ISU European Speed Skating Championships earlier this year.
EOC acting President Janez Kocijančič said, “I am delighted that the General Assembly has voted to bring the European Games to Minsk in 2019.
“Minsk has excellent sports facilities and their initial proposal is to use as much existing infrastructure as possible to create a Games concept suited to their national sports identity. This has the benefit of making the Games more affordable and sustainable for Belarus.”