Five IPC representatives made the trip to the Netherlands to inspect the host venue, the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium, which also staged the World Championships in 2010, and, although they admitted the pressure is on for the Organising Committee to better its excellent hosting of the sport's flagship competition, they feel sure it will deliver.

"We had a great coordination meeting with the representatives from the local organising committee in Eindhoven," Agnes Szilak, IPC Swimming's sport senior manager, said.

"There are large expectations for the event following on from the great success of the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, and we are confident that their experienced group of staff can deliver a smooth competition where athlete performances steal the headlines."

Marc Evers will be hoping for similar success to that which he enjoyed in his home waters at the 2010 Swimming World Championships ©Getty Images


The IPC said it also used the visit to discuss matters, including the competition schedule and services, hospitality, media and broadcast and results management.

The European Championships, due to take place August 4 until 10, is expected to attract nearly 500 athletes from 40 nations, including home star Marc Evers, who won his first international medal during the 2010 World Championships when he took 100 metres backstroke bronze.

Visiting athletes will also be confident of their chances of medalling, particularly in light of the fact that 31 of the 36 countries competing at the last Swimming European Championships - held in the German capital of Berlin in 2011 - won at least one medal.

Eindhoven was awarded the host city rights for the continental tournament in January this year.

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