Brno, 19 June 2024
Brno will host the 13th year of the European Disabled Youth Games, the Emil Open, which will take place from 19 to 23 June 2024. The event will attract young athletes from across Europe aged ten to twenty-six with all types of disabilities. Young athletes will compete in seven sports and over 30 disciplines.
"This year a record 1,200 participants from 13 countries have entered. Unfortunately, due to capacity reasons, we were forced to limit foreign participation to a maximum of 25 participants per country," said Pavel Zbožínek, president of the organizing committee. We are therefore pleased to announce that this year Brno will welcome over 800 participants from 13 European countries. "Expectations are high this year, as this year is also the Paralympic year and we would very much like to see both the Emil Open participants and our Paralympians going to Paris "happy"." says Pavel Zbožínek, President of the Emil Open Organizing Committee.
And why #happy13? Let's prove this year that 13 doesn't have to be just a number bringing fear or bad luck, but it can also be a lucky number.
Wednesday belongs to the opening ceremony!
A rich cultural programme is also a standard feature of this year's event. The opening ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 19 June at 16:00 in the Sports Complex of the Brno University of Technology under Palacký vrch. The ceremony will include the introduction of the teams, the parade of flag bearers, the promise of athletes, coaches and referees. There will also be wishes from official guests. From 18:00, the Wine Cup event will take place in the Fait Gallery at the invitation of the Mayor of the Statutory City of Brno. "Here in Fait Gallery we will thank all the partners of the Emil Open together with the Mayor of Brno," said the producer of the Emil Open, Kamila Zouharová. The opening evening will be crowned by a benefit show "Eye to Eye" by Jan Kraus, who will welcome among his guests the most successful Czech Himalayan professional climber Radek Jaroš, Paralympians from the Golden Paris project (Agata Koupilová, Anastasja Vištalová, Alexandra Borská, Radek Procházka, Arnošt Petráček) and singer Ben Cristovao, who will close the opening day with a concert. This programme will take place on the outdoor stage in front of Café Práh at the Vaňkovka Gallery.
Thursday and Friday sports, Saturday fun.
On Thursday from 10:00 to 15:00, Brno will be pulsing with sporting spirit. Qualifying competitions in athletics, bocce, cycling and archery will be held at the Sports Complex of the Brno University of Technology. Swimming competitions will take place in the beautiful Kraví hora area and in the newly renovated Lužánky swimming pool. Competitions in boccia and table tennis will take place at the Faculty of Sports Studies of Masaryk University. But also this year the Emil's Sports Association has prepared several novelties, for example, by introducing the combat sports.
Friday's day will then offer the final competitions, where spectators can support the athletes in the fight for medals. It will be a day full of excitement and joy of achievements. Medal ceremonies will take place continuously at the sports venues, where athletes will also be awarded for their performances.
There will also be an accompanying programme for the participants and plenty of experiences outside the sporting competitions. "But the Emil Open is also about the accompanying programme for our participants. Every year we try to create a varied offer, which includes, for example, events at the Brno Observatory and Planetarium, or a joint cruise on a steamer on the Brno dam," added the producer of the Emil Open, Kamila Zouharová.
In addition to the city of Brno, this year's event was supported by a total of 12 regions, which contributed to the accommodation and meals of their participants. The partners of the Games are, among others, the Faculty of Sports Studies of Masaryk University, which is the expert guarantor of the sports part of the Emil Open, and the municipal company Teplárny Brno, which has become the general partner for this year's edition. Over 200 volunteers will be involved in the games this year, helping and supervising their smooth running.
Media contact:
Pavel Zbožínek
President of Emil Open
+420 602 720 518
zbozinek@emilopen.cz
