Revolution or epiphenomenon? The same year that Baku is due to host the first European Games in history in June, the Old Continent is having a new event. An invention with a unique concept and a deliberately very generic name: the European sports championships. Their first edition is scheduled to take place in July/August 2018 in Glasgow and Berlin.
The concept. It may seem artificial. Once every four years, in the middle of the Olympiad, several Olympic sports will jointly organize their respective European championships, under the common name of European sports championships. For the first edition, in 2018, there will be five of them: rowing, cycling, athletics, swimming and triathlon. A sixth, golf, should join them. Rowing, cycling, swimming and triathlon will come together in Glasgow, Scotland, at the facilities of the last Commonwealth Games. Golf, if added, would take place at Gleanagles, on the course of the last Ryder Cup. Athletics will take its place in Berlin, in the Olympic Stadium.
Each of the federations, international or European depending on the case, will be in charge of organizing its own competition. The event is overseen by a joint entity, European sports championships management, based in Nyon, Switzerland. A company behind which is notably the Briton Jon Ridgeon, vice-world champion in the 110m hurdles in 1987 in Rome.
The interest. It is above all media. Barely out of the ground, the European sports championships have announced a partnership with the EBU (European broadcasting union), for a broadcast of the 2018 edition. An agreement which could considerably boost the visibility of European meetings in certain disciplines, including triathlon, cycling and rowing.
As a reminder, the EBU brings together the majority of European public channels. It provides images to 72 channels in 56 countries. It has already announced 2.700 hours of programming for an event expected to last 12 days between July and August 2018. The EBU anticipates a market of 850 million potential viewers. A boon.
“This alliance aims to increase the prestige and media exposure of the various events,” assured the European Athletics Association (AEA). “This joint programming of our European Championships with these other flagship sports, via the EBU, is an opportunity for our sport, at a time when our audiences are increasing year after year,” confirmed Jean-Christophe Rolland, president of the International Rowing Federation (FISA). According to AFP, which cites a “source close to the matter”, the television rights generated by this “pool” of European championships should exceed the sum of the rights acquired individually by each discipline during its Euros.
The risk. On paper, the creation of European sports championships seems like a good idea. It ensures better exposure to the sports concerned. It can also have the advantage of increasing ticket sales. A spectator planning to go to the European swimming championships, for example, can take advantage of the trip to also attend a day of rowing or a triathlon event. In short, there is strength in unity.
But there is a real risk of seeing this newcomer vampirize the European Games, the first edition of which is to take place from June 12 to 28, 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Patrick Hickey, president of the European Association of Olympic Committees (EOC), the governing body of the European Games, sees no threat. “It’s a completely different initiative, with fewer disciplines, fewer competitors, and not the same year,” he assures. The Irish leader, also a member of the IOC, also notes that the European Games, by offering Olympic quotas in a growing number of disciplines, will remain very attractive for athletes.
Without a doubt. But what will happen if, with success, the federations decide to organize European sports championships not every four years, but every two years? And what would become of the European Games if the newcomer went from 6 to 12, 15 or 20 sports, with a common host city for all disciplines? The future, in the medium term, of the two new events of the Eve of Europe could depend on the answer to these questions.
