A ceremonial presentation of Novi Sad’s candidacy for the title of European City of Sport 2026 was held at the ‘Svilara’ Cultural Station. In the presence of numerous guests from sports, cultural and public life. The candidacy was explained by the Mayor of Novi Sad, Žarko Mićin, and the member of the City Council for Sports and Youth, Tatjana Medved, and the candidacy was supported by the Minister of Sports, Zoran Gajić, the Minister of Environmental Protection, Sara Pavkov, and the Provincial Secretary for Sports, Dane Basta. Members of the Evaluation Commission of the Federation of European Capitals and Cities of Sport (ACES Europe) also addressed the attendees: Isabel Bonal, Antonio Garde Fernández-Fonteča, Berislav Čižmek and Fabrizio Santangelo.
The Mayor of Novi Sad, Žarko Mićin, pointed out that Novi Sad is proudly competing for this prestigious European title, because it is a city that “lives sport 24 hours a day, all 365 days a year”, and that Novi Sad athletes have made a great contribution to the flag of Serbia flying on many winners’ podiums, from club competitions to European and World Championships. and the Olympics.
“I am pleased that the representatives of ACES Europe will be able to personally see for themselves the extraordinary resources and capacity of the sports infrastructure of the city of Novi Sad, which is available to successful athletes, but also to recreational, student and inclusive sports. There are more than 1,097 sports clubs, organizations and associations in Novi Sad. More than 134,000 citizens of Novi Sad are engaged in sports, professionally or amateurly, and over 200 sports events are held in the city every year.
He emphasized that there is no successful sport without a developed infrastructure and that since 2012, more than 35 million euros have been invested in the construction of sports fields and facilities.
“We have managed to build more than 240 sports fields, children’s playgrounds, outdoor gyms, large and small street work out courts, fitness courts for young people. A new Olympic swimming pool was built and opened in Futogo. Investments have been made in the reconstruction of football fields, and the construction of new gyms in schools. In our city there are a total of 26 football fields and 79 fields for basketball, futsal and handball. Then there are 51 outdoor gyms, 75 tennis courts, more than 4.1 kilometers of jogging tracks, 10 small and large “street workout” courts, 55 school gymnasiums, three gymnasiums and 11 athletic tracks at schools, and as many as 113 children’s playgrounds. And athletes and citizens have 5 large and 3 small swimming pools at their disposal,” said Mićin.
He reminded that fundamental investments in sports, as well as other areas, were possible thanks to the strong economic growth of the city.
“In order to invest in sports, we had to develop the economy. With the support of President Aleksandar Vucic and the Government of Serbia, in the last 13 years, we have opened 14 new factories and increased the city budget three times. It is this growth that has enabled us to allocate a record 980 million dinars for the development of sports this year,” he emphasized.
Mićin also pointed out that Novi Sad pays significant attention to the improvement of sports through the development of cycling infrastructure and cycling.
– We have a network of 150 kilometers of bicycle paths, of which 50 kilometers have been built since 2012. years, in which 5.8 million euros were invested. In order to promote cycling as an environmentally friendly form of transport, Novi Sad is 2021. In 2010, he was the first in Serbia to launch a campaign to support citizens for the purchase of bicycles. Over the past four years, the purchase of 6,336 bicycles has been supported. We continue to invest. This year, we are building another 20 kilometers of bicycle path to Irmovo, 2 basketball courts and 15 children’s playgrounds. We expect the construction of the pedestrian and bicycle bridge to begin soon. We are planning the reconstruction of the Karadjordje Stadium, the construction of an athletic stadium and the renovation of the Serbian Orthodox Church “Vojvodina”. We are developing our city in accordance with the needs of citizens, and sports fields and environmental protection are at the top of the list of our priorities,” said Mićin.
Minister Pavkov and Minister Gajić pointed out that the Government of the Republic of Serbia will continue to support projects of Novi Sad in the field of sports and environmental protection, and City Council member Tatjana Medved especially thanked the representatives of sports organizations who contributed to the preparation of the candidacy.
Representatives of ACES Europe praised Novi Sad’s commitment to the development of sport as a social value, stressing that during the visit they will visit key locations and infrastructure capacities in order to make a decision on awarding the title of European City of Sport.