The Championships are scheduled for July 5 to 12 and are set to be the biggest event in Lithuanian Paralympic history.

"We wanted to leave behind other Olympic logos, where most often a man's silhouette and motion is shown," designer Lina Sasnauskaite said.

"I was looking for an animal, plant or bird to become a symbol and unexpected correlation for blind people's sport.

"The first association with goalball for me was a bat which flies in the night and orientates according to a sound.

"But the danger was that bat can be understood in a childish way as a symbol for superman or batman.

"Suddenly the bat turned into an owl and I said – why not?"

Sasnauskaite went on to further explain the process behind the logo, adding that she wanted to make the emblem symbolic of the game of goalball, which has enjoyed a growth in participation and popularity in recent years.

"An owl is a bird that is hunting in the night, a beautiful, noble and European bird," she said.

"That is how a "Night owl" logo for the IBSA Goalball European Championships was born.

"At the same time the idea was not to make a zoo-like logo, so I incorporated elements from goalball game: hands, ball, eyeshades."

The logo itself will have an embossed feel to enable blind people to feel it, according to the Lithuanian Blind Sports Association.

"We chose this "Night owl" logo because it looks really unique, is based on a strong idea and has no boring elements: a man, black eyeshades and motion in attack or defence position," President of the Lithuanian Blind Sports Association Linas Balsys added.

The Championships will feature 10 men's teams, including the host nation as well as Germany, Czech Republic, Finland, Belgium, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, Spain and Turkey.

The women's competition includes the same number of teams, with Russia, Turkey, Israel, Finland, Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Greece all set to compete.

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