Skopje has been chosen to host next year's European Olympic Committees Seminar ©Getty Images

Skopje will host the 38th edition of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Seminar next year, it was announced here today.

The Macedonian capital was chosen at the end of this year's Seminar after its only rival, Albania, withdrew.

The event, due to take place at the Marriott Hotel in the city, will be the centrepiece of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Macedonian Olympic Committee (MOK).

"With our work we hope to contribute to the work of the Olympic Movement," said Sasho Popovski, secretary general of the MOK. 

Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

It is officially known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as a result of an ongoing dispute with Greece over the use of the name Macedonia.

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The Marriott Hotel in Skopje will host the 38th edition of the EOC Seminar in 2017 ©Marriott Hotels

Macedonia made its debut in the Olympics at Atlanta in 1996.

They have so far won one medal, a bronze for wrestler Magomed Ibragimov in the men's freestyle 85 kilograms at Sydney 2000.

The 2017 Seminar is set to be more high-profile than this year's event here, coming just a few months before a host city is due to chosen for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.

Delegations from Budapest, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome are all set to be represented in one form or another.

The dates for the event in Skopje are due to be announced later this year at the EOC General Assembly in Minsk.