The annual European Athletics Convention will be taking place this year on 12-14 October albeit in a slightly different form to the usual face-to-face format.
The 2020 European Athletics will held as a e-Convention due to the pandemic. The EAA news note is below.
Three weeks to go until the European Athletics e-Convention begins
Due to ongoing travel restrictions and uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the European Athletics Executive Board made the decision in June to transform this year’s event that also marks 50 years of European Athletics into an online e-Convention.
The Convention was due to take place in person in Tallinn, Estonia next month but while the three-day programme will still be moderated and presented from a television studio in Tallinn all 51 European Athletics Member Federations will connect virtually.
European Athletics Interim President Dobromir Karamarinov will open the e-Convention from Lausanne and World Athletics President Sebastian Coe will also deliver his keynote speech to all attendees from Lausanne as well.
“We had hoped the entire European Athletics family would be able to gather in Tallinn but unfortunately this is not possible owing to the travel restrictions and quarantine rules which are still in force across Europe,” said Karamarinov.
“Therefore the Executive Board took the decision in June to move the Convention online. In these extraordinary times we agreed that it was essential to stage the Convention as each Member Federation has been affected in some degree by the coronavirus pandemic.”
“This could be one of the most important conventions in our history and while we look forward to 2021, it is still possible the effects of the pandemic could impact our sport next year. In such adverse circumstances I have been so impressed by the commitment and resilience of our Member Federations and I look forward to addressing the whole European Athletics family next month,” added Karamarinov.
The three-day programme will not only be highlighted by keynote speeches from Karamarinov and Coe but also by an Athletes Forum as well as a Digital Forum. More information on these forums will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
The three-day e-Convention will also be complemented by a series of workshops in the weeks that follow relating to various projects and initiatives led by European Athletics, including I Run Clean, DNA and sustainability.
The 2021 European Athletics Convention is due to take place in Lausanne.
