Has mass already been said? Likely. After three editions in Eastern Europe – Baku 2015, Minsk 2019 and Krakow 2023 – the European Games will soon head south. Unless the situation changes, Turkey will organize the multisport event in 2027.

The information is not yet official. It probably won't be there for several weeks. But today there is no real doubt that the Association of European Olympic Committees (EOC) will award the 2027 European Games to Istanbul. Turkey would be the only candidate. And she's already done a lot of the work.

The EOC Executive Committee met on Tuesday February 6 in Madrid, Spain. His first meeting of the year. Its president, the Greek Spyros Capralos, explained this to the Spanish agency EFE, before confirming it in a press release: a delegation from Istanbul traveled to Madrid to attend the meeting. The Turks presented their project. They were the only ones invited to the exercise.

« The fact that a city like Istanbul is ready to host the fourth edition in 2027 is a sign of the importance of the European Games and the success of last year's event, welcomed Spyros Capralos. In today's world it is very difficult to attract candidates to organize multi-sport events, but Istanbul has demonstrated that it has the infrastructure to host the Games and would welcome the benefits that this would bring to the city. We look forward to traveling to Istanbul to continue discussions. »

The road is now clear. A delegation from the EOC will soon set down its trunks in the Turkish city, many times a candidate for the Olympic Games, always unsuccessful, for an evaluation visit. The official announcement of the attribution of the 2027 European Games to Istanbul could come immediately. “ We will soon go to Istanbul, before granting it the Games”, confided Spyros Capralos.

Launched in 2015 to fill a void that few people seemed to complain about, the European Games have never managed to attract the best athletes in all the disciplines on the program. Athletics, in particular, is reluctant to fully play the game. Swimming and gymnastics were absent from the 2023 edition in Poland. But the EOC has never before found itself faced with a blank page, without a candidate city for the upcoming edition.

In Madrid this week, Spyros Capralos launched a call to Spain for the 2031 European Games or the following ones. “ Looking ahead to hosting Olympic Games in the future, the European Games are a good step moving forward.", he explained to EFE. One way like any other for the Greek leader, also a member of the IOC since 2019, to suggest to Madrid that hosting the continental meeting could serve an Olympic project by 2036 or 2040.

Another announcement of the day: a possible, even probable, return of swimming and gymnastics in the program for the 2027 edition. The president of the EOC explained that he was in discussions with the European authorities of the two sports – the LEN for swimming, UEG for gymnastics. “ They both want to be at the Games”, assured Spyros Capralos. Before specifying: “ I am sure that artistic and rhythmic gymnastics will return to the program. For swimming, we are currently discussing an under-23 competition. »