Winter European Youth Olympic Festival 2015 will be hosted by the region of Vorarlberg. Most competitors will be staying at the town of Schruns. The settlement is nested among high alpine peaks of up to 3312 m (Piz Buin) and has 18,000 beds for tourists who arrive primarily in wintertime for skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, ice skating and other winter sports. Some events will also take place in Liechtenstein, the sixth smallest country in the world in the heart of the Alps.

Competitors at the European Youth Olympic Festival will take part in the following events:

- alpine skiing,
- snowboarding,
- ski jumping,
- nordic combined,
- cross country skiing,
- ice hockey,
- figure skating,
- biathlon.

Events will be hosted by eight cities in Austria and Liechtenstein:

• Bürserberg
• Dornbirn
• Gaschurn
• Malbun
• Schruns/Hochjoch
• Schruns/Tschagguns / Aktivpark
• St. Gallenkirch-Garfrescha
• Steg
• Tschagguns

More information about the venues is available by clicking here.

Here is some helpful information if you are planning on visiting the European Youth Olympic Festival:

• driving to Schruns from Ljubljana by car takes about seven hours (524 km),
• the local currency is the Euro,
• accommodation can be found here,
• the official timetable of events is available here,
• more tourist information about Vorarlberg.

The European Youth Olympic Festival was first held in 1993 in the Italian winter sports centre of Aosta. The best young European athletes competed for medals in five events: alpine skiing, cross country skiing, biathlon, figure skating and short track speed skating.

Since the Festival’s beginning, many participants went on to make their name in the global sporting world. Many participants went on to win medals at Olympic Games, World Cups, World Championships and European Championships.

Winter Youth Festival winners and later sports superstars include alpine skiers Janica Kostelić (Cro.) Anja Paerson and Anna Ottosson (both Swe.), Michaela Kirchgasser (Aut.), Denise Karbon (Ita.), cross country skiers Marit Björgen (Nor.), Yulia Tchepalova (Rus.), Kristina Smigun (Est.), ski jumpers Rok Benkovič, Anže Lanišek (Slo.), Janne Happonen (Fin.), figure skaters Yevgeniy Plyushchenko and Irina Sluckaya (both Rus.), Sarah Meier (Swi.), Elena Lyashenko (Ukr.), Nordic combined competitor Jason Lamy Chappuis (Fra.), snowboarder Paulina Ligocka (Pol.) and many more