Scheduled to take place from November 21 to 28, it will be the fourth time that Norway has held the event and the second occasion that Lillehammer has done so - 30 years on from hosting it in 1990.

Oslo held the Championships in 1977 and Stavanger in 2013.

Stavanger last year also held the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship and the World Senior Curling Championships.

Lillehammer also held curling events when it hosted the 2016 Youth Winter Olympic Games. 

"We are delighted to be returning the Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships in Lillehammer," said WCF President Kate Caithness.

"It has been 30 years since these Championships were last held in the city and it is fitting that they are taking place in Lillehammer's Olympic Park.

"This is an important event in our season and will see our European teams earn qualification to our World Championships, where they and our other elite teams from around the world, will compete for places at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

"I am sure our friends at the Norwegian Curling Federation and the Lillehammer Curling Club will rise to the occasion and produce a first-class event for our athletes and spectators."

The A-Division competition for men and women will be held in the Håkons Hall, which was built as the venue for ice hockey during the 1994 Winter Olympics.

It is Norway's biggest venue for indoor sports, with a capacity of 10,000.

The nearby Lillehammer Youth Hall, which was used for the Youth Winter Olympic Games in 2016, will hold the men's and women's B-Division.

Lillehammer Curling Club chairman Jostein Buraas added: "Lillehammer Curling Club is proud and honoured to be the local host for the European Championships in 2020.

"We want to say a huge thank you to the WCF for giving us this opportunity to host such a great event on Olympic soil in Lillehammer.

"Together with the Norwegian Curling Federation we are really looking forward to welcoming all of you in the European curling family to Lillehammer in November.

"Europe has been greatly affected by COVID-19 and we long to experience top international curling again.

"We will work actively to present a safe and attractive event for all of you in close co-operation with the health authorities."

Sweden are the reigning men's and women's European champions.