The European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) last week confirmed that the 2020 edition of the European Beach Volleyball Championship (EuroBeachVolley) will take place from 16 to 20 September in Jurmala, Latvia, while the 2020 U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship (EuroBeachVolleyU22) will be staged at Efes Selçuk Pamucak Beach in Izmir, Turkey on 23-27 September.
The continent’s flagship event, EuroBeachVolley, will return to Majori beach in Jurmala where the greatest beach volleyball teams in Europe were crowned in 2017. The iconic beach of Majori is a very popular destination for tourists and beach volleyball players alike and provides the perfect backdrop for elite sport. The first major European beach volleyball competition, a CEV Satellite event, was held there in 2014. A year later it hosted the men’s CEV Masters event, which was followed by a double-gender event in 2016 and the historic EuroBeachVolley in 2017.
A full stadium during the 2017 edition of EuroBeachVolley held in Jurmala, Latvia
Beach volleyball has found a home in Latvia, and its popularity grew exponentially after Latvian duo Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins claimed a bronze medal at the Olympic Games London 2012. Since then, Latvia’s success in beach volleyball has continued, as Smedins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs claimed the men’s continental crown in 2015 in Klagenfurt, Austria, while Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka achieved the same feat in the women’s competition in Moscow, Russia last year.
Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone at the upcoming CEV events is the top priority, and the CEV and local organisers will implement strict health measures, rigorous hygiene practices and adhere to the most recent guidelines provided by international and national health authorities.
The 2020 EuroBeachVolley will feature 32 teams per gender, with local favourites Graudina and Kravcenoka and Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sørum ready to defend their respective women’s and men’s European Championship titles.
The venue due to host the 2020 edition of EuroBeachVolleyU22 and EuroBeachVolleyU18 later this summer in Izmir
Meanwhile, Izmir, Turkey will host the 2020 edition of EuroBeachVolleyU22 at Efes Selçuk Pamucak Beach from 23 to 27 September 2020. The event was initially scheduled to be held in Vlissingen, Netherlands, but the Dutch Volleyball Federation withdrew in light of local restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. In addition, the same venue will host the U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship the week prior on 16-20 September.