Second European Games in Belarus
Flame of Peace relay reaches Vitebsk
VITEBSK, 24 May (BelTA) – The Flame of Peace torch relay of the 2nd European Games was welcomed in Vitebsk Oblast on 24 May, BelTA has learned.
The northern region of the country took the relay over from Grodno Oblast. The first facility to welcome the flame of the 2nd European Games was Vitba Confectionary. Then, the flame went on to the Belarusian footwear company Marko.
The flame was carried by Belarusian First Deputy Culture Minister Natalya Karchevskaya. “Very soon our country will become the venue of a huge festival, both sport and cultural. I am really proud of being a torchbearer in the Belarusian capital of culture, Vitebsk,” Natalya Karchevskaya said.
More than 30 athletes on Team Belarus come from Vitebsk Oblast. “All of them have a potential and the champion’s will. There is no doubt that they will perform well in Minsk while their new achievements will go down in history of the games,” Chairman of the Vitebsk Oblast Council of Deputies Vladimir Terentyev said at the welcoming ceremony.
The Flame of the 2nd European Games traveled through the city, making stops at the city hall, Holy Assumption Cathedral and the Marc Chagall Museum.
Among the torchbearers were outstanding athletes and figures of art, prominent physicians and public figures, the best representatives of different professions, including People’s Artist of Belarus Svetlana Okruzhnaya, 1980 Olympics silver medalist Igor Kanygin, Director General of Marko Company Nikolai Martynov and Olympic champion Iryna Kryuko.
“While in Rome, where I was one of the first to light the flame, I did not think that it would be such a grand and large-scale event back in Belarus. It is great that the flame visited my native city of Vitebsk,” Olympic champion Uladzislau Hancharou said.
Vitebsk became the third oblast center to welcome the Flame of Peace. On 25 May, the flame traveled through Polotsk and Novopolotsk and then headed for Braslav, the landscape reserve Yelnya, Glubokoye, Berezinsky Reserve and Orsha. The flame will stay in Vitebsk through 29 May and will then travel to Mogilev Oblast.
The 2nd European Games will take place in Minsk on 21-30 June. Over 4,000 athletes from 50 countries will compete for 200 sets of medals in 15 sports.
On 12 May, the charity run #velcombegom kicked off its 5th season. The campaign aims to support children-athletes with disabilities. The participants of the charity run are expected to cover the record high 200,000km over 50 days. The charity assistance from velcom A1 will also make a record high Br200,000.
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