Belgrade and Rome to co-host EURO 2005

Luxembourg, November 9 (www.cev.lu) - Italy and Yugoslavia will co-host the 2005 Men's Senior Volleyball European Championship. This decision was announced by CEV President Andre Meyer on the occasion of the 23rd General Assembly of the European Volleyball Confederation, CEV. It is the first time that two countries will be co-hosting an important event like this.

Yugoslavia and Italy are two of the leading volleyball countries in the world. The Yugoslavian team is the current Olympic and European Champion, while Italy claimed the World Title in 1990, 1994 and 1998. The tournament is scheduled for September 2005 in the two historical capitals Rome (ITA) and Belgrade (YUG). The opening ceremony will take place in Yugoslavia, while the finals will be played in the famous Palaeur stadium in Rome. Both cities will host a preliminary round each.

"We had many candidates to host this event," CEV President Andre Meyer said. "It was a real competition between the countries that applied for this tournament. The CEV believes in the joint-venture between Italy and Yugoslavia." This Championship will be for sure one of the biggest challenges for European Volleyball and will guarantee an exceptional media and TV coverage as well as a spectator audience record.