A return to the sporting limelight

The five-day sporting event was the largest held in the city since the Olympic Winter Games, and brought together 1,600 athletes aged 14 to 18 from 46 European nations. They competed in eight winter sports at nine venues across Sarajevo and East Sarajevo, six of which had been used at the 1984 Games.

Many improvements were made at these former Olympic sites in preparation for the festival. They included the homologation of skiing and snowboarding slopes by the FIS – the governing body of international skiing and snowboarding – the restoration of cross-country skiing tracks, and the installation of new snow-making systems.

As well as boosting the local tourism industry – some 150 media crews covered the Festival and the city’s hotels were fully booked for its duration – it also provided an opportunity to bring Sarajevo and East Sarajevo closer together.

Separated during the Bosnian War and situated on either side of the border between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska – the two entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina – the two cities worked together in preparing for and staging the event. The opening and closing ceremonies symbolised their cooperation, with the former taking place in Sarajevo and the latter in East Sarajevo. The Festival’s official motto – Two Cities, One Dream – also encapsulated this new-found spirit of togetherness.

In recognition of their efforts in harmoniously staging the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, the Bosnia and Herzegovina National Olympic Committee, the City of Sarajevo and the City of East Sarajevo received the Peace and Sport Award for Diplomatic Action of the Year 2019.