At the pre-event press conference in the Torun Arena that was also accessible virtually, Karamarinov said: "These championships will be without spectators.

"But what is most important is we, as European Athletics, we come back on the track.

"We are here again.

"Our last competition was December 2019, the European Cross Country Championships.

"That was a really big break.

"In these challenging, unpredictable times our goal was only one – to get back to the Championships again.

"And we succeed here in Torun.

"Today we will start again."

Karamarinov said that the Indoor Championships, which run until Sunday (March 7) and will involve nine athletes who currently top the 2021 world lists, will enjoy around 400 hours of TV coverage through the European Broadcasting Union.

They are the first major multi-event championships to have taken place since pandemic lockdowns began - the World Athletics Indoor Championships, postponed from last March and due to take place in the Chinese city of Nanjing this month - have been further postponed until March 2023.  

Referencing the lack of spectators, Karamarinov added: "We deserve the best atmosphere for our athletes, but we start with this because there is no doubt that safety is the number one priority.

"We have to be brave, but also we have to be careful.

"Your championships will be remembered for a long time because we have delivered for a first time European Championships in this situation.

"It is a good example from European Athletics.

"We have to deliver our championships and we also have to show to the others the best example of how to do it.

"The Polish Athletics Federation have a great experience in organising top-quality athletics competitions, and I am fully confident they will rise to the occasion once again."

Henryk Olszewski, the Polish Athletic Federation President, commented: "The Polish Athletic Federation has been working very hard with all its partners in preparation for these championships, which I am sure will be a huge success. 

"Our thanks go to the city of Torun for cooperating with us in this immense effort to prepare the venue and championships."

He also highlighted that the 2021 European Athletics Team Championships Super League is also scheduled to take place in Poland, with action due to take place in Chorzow on May 29 and 30.

Michal Zaleski, Mayor of Torun, thanked the Polish government for making the staging of the event possible.  

When the action got underway in the evening Jakob Ingebrigtsen took a steady first step towards a 1500-3,000 metres double as he cruised through his heat in the former to qualify in second place for tomorrow evening’s final.

The 20-year-old European outdoor 1500 and 5,000m champion, who earned 3,000m gold at the last European indoors in Glasgow two years ago but was beaten to gold in the shorter distance by Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski, finished in 3min 39.89sec behind Britain’s Neil Gourley, who clocked 3:39.84.

There was a comfortable gap between the young Norwegian, who set the European indoor record of 3:31.80 in Liévin last month, and third place, occupied by Jan Fris of the Czech Republic in 3:40.99.

Meanwhile Lewandowski, 33, who spoiled Ingebrigtsen’s double plans in Glasgow by tracking and outsprinting him, looked impressive as he won the last heat in 3:39.78.

"I'm in good shape and Marcin [Lewandowski] is getting older," said Ingebrigtsen. 

"He's nearly twice as old as me!

"But I remember what happened in Glasgow two years ago so I'm expecting a good fight tomorrow. 

"Today I was just trying to save as much energy as possible."

Lewandowski, who will also seek a 1500-3,000m double, commented: "The heats are always about conserving energy, but even more so here, because my plan is to race four times in four days. 

"The race went according to plan. 

"The more even the pace, the more energy you save, and here I managed to run a steady race for the first 1000 metres before accelerating."

While Jakob Ingebrigtsen ticked the qualification box, his elder brother Filip, the 2016 European champion and 2017 world bronze medallist, was run out of the qualifying places in the opening heat.

Meanwhile in the men’s high jump qualifying the two favourites - Italy’s defending champion Gianmarco Tamberi, newly blond, who leads this year’s world standings with 2.35 metres, and Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus, who has cleared 2.34m this season, were among eight to go through on 2.21m.

Tamberi and Nedasekau jumped 2.16 and 2.21 at their first attempts.