Sofia was named European capital of sport, 2018, even though its bid was for 2017 but it lost to Marseilles. The decision was made at a meeting of the Evaluation committee of ACES Europe, the European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation.

Sofia and Marseilles were admitted to the finals and last week, the Evaluation Committee paid a visit to the Bulgarian capital to inspect the sports conditions and facilities, as well as Sofia’s sports promotion programme. The city joined the contest at the last minute, and received two points less than Marseilles after the Evaluation Committee’s inspections. Sofia’s problem was in fact the existing sports infrastructure, though it got more points than Marseilles for sports events held. According to the organization’s common rules, if finalists have a neck-and-neck result, they are given the title two consecutive years. So, in 2017, Marseilles will be European capital of sport, and in 2018 – Sofia.

In a letter to Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandukova, ACES Europe President Gian Francesco Lupatelli writes that Sofia is a good example of the development of sport as a means to promote healthy living, integration and education, which are among the main objectives of the initiative. From now on, your city is a member of the ACES Europe family, the letter reads.

Sofia’s bid was supported by the Bulgarian Olympic Committee as well as Bulgaria’s leading Olympic and world champions. Finally, let us say that the title “European capital of sport” does not entail hosting sports events or access to any designated financing, but aims at popularizing healthy living, the focus being on grassroots sport and the importance of sports as a priority; moreover sports are an image factor.

English version: Milena Daynova