MEGOC engages diplomatic corps to promote 2nd European Games

The Minsk European Games Operations Committee (MEGOC) has called for productive cooperation with Belarusian diplomats working abroad for the promotion of next year’s European Games.

MEGOC CEO George Katulin made the announcement during a seminar for heads of diplomatic missions and consular institutions of the Republic of Belarus in Minsk. 

The MEGOC CEO said: “It is necessary to use the enormous potential of international cooperation that is available to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its offices abroad. Firstly, they can help bring information about the Games to interested parties in the countries that will take part in the event. Secondly, there is an opportunity to advertise the host country itself.” 

Katulin added that competition for the sake of the competition is meaningless if it is not open to the general public. To ensure that the global public is informed about the Games, a maximum number of guests, including high-ranking ones, must be invited and the Belarusian diplomatic mission abroad can help with that. A visa-free agreement for anyone who purchases a ticket is also expected to attract a wide range of fans from around Europe.  

“We have to campaign to promote the Games using the time we have left. We are looking forward to a productive cooperation with the diplomatic corps,” Katulin said. Participants of the seminar for the heads of diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Belarus were given a tour of the recently refurbished Dinamo Stadium, one of the main venues for the 2nd European Games.

Thanks to close co-operation with the organisers of the 1st European Games Baku 2015, MEGOC is well-versed in methods that should prove useful in attracting foreign visitors.

“The concept of the 2nd European Games is a sustainable one based on existing venues that already host many international competitions every year,” the MEGOC CEO said. “This will allow us to avoid additional budget costs related to the Games while ensuring that the competition will be held at a high level.”

The issue was also discussed during this week’s Chefs de Mission Seminar for the 50 countries participating in the European Games Minsk 2019.

Ticketpro, the ticketing operator for the 2nd European Games, has a system in place to interact directly with the Ministry of Interior and the border service. There should therefore be no problems for fans with tickets crossing the border at checkpoints. It is predicted that a significant number of overseas sports fans will attend the Games in Minsk from Russian territory. Belarus and Russia recently signed an intergovernmental agreement under which the Russian side will provide visa-free travel and stay in its territory for foreign nationals arriving for the European Games next year.

Read more: http://minsk2019.by/en/news/435