The European Para Championships is a multisport event. It will be staged every four years and will always be hosted by a major European city in the year preceding the Paralympic Games. In 2023, the European Championships of ten different parasports were organized simultaneously in one host city, for the very first time. The inaugural edition took place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, from Tuesday 8 to Sunday 20 August 2023. At the event, 1,500 Paralympic athletes from forty-five different European countries competed to become European Champions.

All sports that were part of the European Para Championships 2023 had a direct connection to the Road to the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Paralympic Qualifying Points were earned during this event. Some sports even involved direct qualification for Paris 2024. By combining multiple European Para Championships on one occasion, we created cross-pollination between sports federations, associations, and other stakeholders.

Mission

The mission of the European Para Championships is to create a new standard for Paralympic sports events worldwide and to inspire people – with or without disabilities, rich or poor, young or old and regardless of background – to take up sports and exercise. We believe that only cooperation can help us succeed in this mission. By making connections, thinking big and believing in opportunities where others see limitations, we want to give adaptive sports the attention it deserves.

Legacy

It is important to emphasize that the European Para Championships is not a one-off event. Besides organizing the inaugural edition in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 2023, the organizing committee developed the concept, scenario, and event in such a manner that it served as a solid basis for guaranteeing the continuity of the event on the European sports calendar in 2027, 2031, and beyond.

European Para Championships as a rights holder

European Para Championships BV is the owner of the concept European Para Championships. It therefore was responsible for the organization of the 2023 European Para Championships, held in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) between 8 & 20 August 2023. In that capacity, it is also the right holder of all broadcast, sponsorship and marketing rights related there to. Besides organizing the inaugural edition in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, European Para Championships BV develops the concept, scenario and event in such a manner that it will serve as a solid basis for guaranteeing the continuity of the event on the European sports calendar in 2027, 2031 and beyond.