Alexander Lukashenko, the President of the Republic of Belarus and President of NOC Belarus, announced that Belarus is ready to host the next European game in his welcoming speech at the opening of the General Assembly of the EOC. "It is a big challenge for a country to host such an important sports event. We should not be afraid, if you approach the organization sincerely and open-heartedly, you will succeed. Belarus is ready to organize the second European Games in 2019, and will invest efforts to prepare and that the Games go in best possible order, and I can assure you that this will be a true celebration for our country and for our people." Assembly of the EOC has generally accepted this initiative; the Executive Board will be responsible to, along with a special commission and experts, consider all aspects and inform the National Olympic Committees of the conditions and plans for the next edition of the European Games. 45th General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees is held in Minsk on 21 and 22 October 2016. The session brought together representatives of all 50 countries of the old continent. In front of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, President Dusan Simonovic and the advisor for international corporation Zagorka Bozovic attended the Assembly. In addition to the adoption of the report on the work of the previous year and plans for the coming Olympic cycle, delegates will hear presentations of Organizational Committee for the next continental and world games within the Olympic program and declare the best young athlete in Europe in 2016, which would traditionally be awarded "Piotr Nurowski". The focus of attention of the European Olympic family is marking 25 years of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), which for many celebrated athletes represented the first Olympic experience, bt is also very important to educate and motivate young people to participate in sport and adopt healthy lifestyles. The new logo and visual identity of EOC was presented. Its creators found inspiration in ancient mosaics, blue sky and the unity of European countries. Also, the National Olympic Committee of Belarus will celebrate its 25 anniversary tonight. General Assembly of the EOC, headed by President Janez Kocijancic, sent a strong support to Patrick Hickey, President of the EOC, which temporarily withdrew from his positions in the Olympic movement, along with an invitation to ensure fair and correct treatment in the fight to prove his innocence in a scandal involving the sale of tickets for the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
