A deal has been done to make Centrekurort the official tour operator of the Minsk 2019 European Games ©Minsk 2019

Centrekurort has been named as the official tour operator of the Minsk 2019 European Games.

The Belarus company will now offer their services to individual tourists, organised groups and other clients before the Games in the country's capital.

It comes after the firm served in a similar role at the Men's Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk in 2014.

"Fans together with the official participants represent the core of the European Games," said Organising Committee chief executive Georgy Katulin.

"Centrekurort has a number of establishments for accommodating the tourists. 

"Apart from that, it has signed a respectable number of contracts with other travel agencies, groups and hotels.

"Timely sharing of reliable information is crucial to the success of our cooperation."

The second edition of the European Games is due to run between June 21 and 30 next year.

The vetliva.by website will become a key resource for fans going to the Games ©Minsk 2019
The vetliva.by website will become a key resource for fans going to the Games ©Minsk 2019

In total, 4,082 athletes from all 50 European National Olympic Committees will compete in Minsk in 15 sports: 3x3 basketball, archery, athletics, badminton, beach soccer, beach volleyball, boxing, canoe sprint, cycling, judo, karate, sambo, shooting, table tennis and wrestling.

Ten of the 15 sports will act as qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with the European Games also counting as the official European Championships for four sports.

There will be 91 men's events, 89 women's events and 21 mixed events in total, with 115 universality spots available.

All 12 sporting venues, of which 11 are existing facilities, will be located within a maximum 30 minutes' drive from the Athletes' Village, ensuring athletes can easily travel to training and competition sites.

"We are approaching the second European Games Minsk 2019 with a website of a totally different level - vetliva.by," said Centrekurort director Oleg Mikhailov.

"The website is part of the state programme. 

"We consider it as the main instrument for tourists who are going to come to Belarus. 

"The website can be used to buy various services: hotel accommodation, sightseeing tours, sanatorium and resort treatment, and transfer services while putting together your own tourism package."