The traditional pre-event press conference took place in the host town of the Samokov, Bulgaria, and was split into two parts: with European Athletics officials and local dignitaries facing the media first.
Below are excerpts from this section of the press conference.
Hí¤nsjorg Wirz, President European Athletics
“It’s not my first time in Samokov because we had the European Mountain Running Championships here last year. I’m glad that the Mayor was so fascinated by our sport that he did everything possible to bring these cross country championships here as well.
“Cross country is one of the fundamental disciplines of our sport and it also shows that our move to have a European Cross Country Championships 20 years ago (the first edition of the event was in 1994) was really an important move.”
Christian Milz, Director General European Athletics
“This is the 21st edition of these Championships and I can tell that these Championships will be the third biggest ever, after last year in Belgrade and two years ago in Budapest. We have 486 entries from 34 nations; that is broken down into 276 men and 210 women.
“On the media side, 11 international broadcasters will show this event across Europe and they intend to show more than 27 hours live and/or differed coverage.
“In addition, European Athletics is pleased to announce once again that the event will be streamed live on our website. It means that all athletics fans around the world can see images from Samokov. This initiative is thanks to our faithful and long-term main International Partner SPAR, and we are very grateful to them.”
“These Championships will also serves as a qualifier for athletes who will be part of Team Europe competing in the international match at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country meeting on 10 January.”
Dobromir Karamarinov, President Bulgarian Athletics Federation
“We have had great success in organising European Athletics events. In addition to organising two times European Mountain Running Championships and the SPAR European Cross Country Championships, we have also organised the European Cup 10,000m and the European Cup Winter Throwing.
“We are going step-by-step but the next big athletics event we want in Bulgaria is the European Athletics Indoor Championships. We will be candidates for 2019 and, if not, then in 2021. We are looking at Burgas on the Black Sea; it is one of the biggest cities in Bulgaria, it has an international airport and because it is a summer resort, it has many hotels. It has an indoor arena that can hold 7000 people.”
Vladimir Georgiev, Mayor of Samokov
“Personally, I would like to thank Mr Karamarinov because without his efforts I don’t think these Championships would have come to Samokov. We realise how important this event is for Bulgaria and European Athletics, so we have done our best to provide perfect conditions. However, the weather is making things very hard for us, so I will be relieved and very happy when things have finished, and I expect successfully, tomorrow.