The EU Sport Forum 2024 kicked off on Tuesday 16 April in Liège, opening 2 days of discussions and sharing of ideas by the key players in this field.
The event, organised by the European Commission, brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including sports organisations, institutional representatives from EU Member States and international speakers, to discuss current and future sports policies. Issues such as integrity in sport, the challenges of the digital age and the promotion of gender equality will be addressed.
The European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, in the presence of Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Minister-President of the Government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, and Tomasz Frankowski, Co-Chair of the European Parliament’s Sports Group, opened the Forum.
Ms Ivanova stressed the importance of this event, which takes place 100 days before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She said that this moment would be a celebration of common European and Olympic values such as unity, solidarity, respect and equality, principles that she felt were all the more relevant “in these difficult times”.
These words were echoed by Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture at the European Commission, who spoke of the role of major sporting events such as the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and UEFA EURO 2024 in promoting shared European values. “Sport teaches us these values through practice”, she said.
Ms Ivanova also spoke about the ambitious goals of the Paris 2024 Games, which aim to leave a lasting legacy in terms of the environment, equality and social inclusion, as well as youth participation and mental health.
These objectives, she explained, are aligned with the EU’s priorities, which seek to support the sporting movement while tackling wider societal issues.
Finally, the Commissioner spoke about the EU’s role in supporting athletes and sporting events through various programmes and initiatives, including the Erasmus+ Sports programme, which has been extended to include mobility opportunities for coaches and sports staff, and the enhanced funding for sports actions in 2024, which amounts to over €75 million. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)