European Masters Games 2023: Athletes from more than 40 countries

In summer 2023, we will get to enjoy a great sports jamboree hosted by Tampere, when the fifth European Masters Games event arrives in Finland. The event program includes about 30 sports at the height of summer season 26.6.-9.7.2023.

A true sports festival celebrating friendship, passion for sports and the importance of togetherness is being built in Tampere.

A small, yet incredibly energetic team of six people is in charge of the EMG2023 production. The skipper of the team and the managing producer of the event is the highly experienced sports events veteran Päivi Harri. Harri has been working on the event planning for more than a year already, and is finally ready to get into the execution phase. EMG2023 will be the most international event in Tampere in summer 2023. The goal is to get registrations from 7500 athletes and participants from over 70 countries.

– The registrations have been open for about a month now and we already have a total of roughly 750 athletes from more than 40 countries. This is a good indication that we should reach our goal in registrations. And most importantly, it really shows just how much we need these kinds of global events.

In addition to the tiny event production team, more than 30 Tampere sports clubs and 17 sports venues from Tampere region are participating in the making of EMG2023. Piecing together the great number of parties and interest groups involved in the event’s preparations for a seamlessly functioning sports jamboree is a huge puzzle on Harri’s and the whole organisation’s planning desk. But it is precisely the huge interest group network, in which everyone plays a significant role in bringing the plans to life, that makes EMG2023 an exceptional event in Tampere.

– We need to prepare everything well in advance and even the smallest details have to be carefully planned and fine tuned. It takes a lot of time to bring all the parties together and consider the needs and technical requirements of each sport. It is wonderful to witness the great level of preparedness in Tampere and its highly experienced sports community to produce events on this scale. By doing things together we will be able to achieve great things, Harri sums up.

Harri wants to emphasise the special character of the EMG events; no one is left out, with the exception of the masters age criteria. EMG2023 is a low threshold masters sports jamboree in which registration is open for amateur and professional athletes alike.

– The fact that the EMG trademark events don’t have an established championship status, aside from a few individual disciplines, makes it possible for us to be creative. Athletes aren’t labelled in the EMG2023, but given a chance to at least test and go beyond their own limits, Harri rejoices.

In addition to goal-oriented sports, EMG2023 also highlights tourism in Finland and more specifically the activities and experiences the city of Tampere offers. According to statistics from previous, similar events, foreign tourists spend a whopping 10 days at the destination.

– We are excited to extend a very warm welcome to Tampere all over the world. This will be an unforgettable sports festival for the whole family.

Welcome to Finland’s best-loved city – registrations are open until April 2023.