The European Maccabi Games are held in Israel every four years, two years after the Maccabiad. The European delegations send their best Jewish athletes to compete against each other at this major event. More than 1.000 Jews from all European nations meet and fight for the coveted medals in a wide variety of disciplines. Makkabi Germany also sends the best athletes, who have been nominated after several selection courses, to the EMG.
In addition to the competitions, the EMG is a big, colorful festival where old contacts are maintained and new ones made. The equipment of the respective national associations is a popular souvenir among the participants. Reflecting on one's own identity and tradition is one of Makkabi's "special tasks" away from the sports venues.
The EMG are organized by the European Maccabi Confederation. More information about the EMG and the European Maccabi Confederation:www.maccabieurope.com
Milestones:
1929 in Prague
Czechoslovakia is hosting the very first European Maccabi Games.
1930 in Antwerp
Belgium hosts the second European Maccabi Games. Maccabi motorcyclists from Eretz Israel, led by Shlomo Arazi, ride to Antwerp as a propaganda ride for the Maccabiah.
After a 30-year hiatus, the Jewish Games finally returned to European soil.
1959 in Copenhagen
The third European Maccabi Games will take place in Denmark.
1963 in Lyons
The fourth European Maccabi Games will take place in France.
1979 at Leicester
The fifth European Maccabi Games will be held in Great Britain.
1983 in Antwerp
The sixth European Maccabi Games will again take place in Belgium.
1987 in Copenhagen
The seventh European Maccabi Games will again take place in Denmark. Yugoslavia and Hungary also took part for the first time.
1991 in Marseilles
The eighth European Maccabi Games will again take place in France.
1995 in Amsterdam
The ninth European Maccabi Games will take place in the Netherlands.
1999 Glasgow
The tenth European Maccabi Games will be held in Scotland.
2003 in Antwerp
The eleventh European Maccabi Games are taking place in Belgium for the third time. 1400 athletes from more than 30 countries compete in 13 sports disciplines.
2007 in Rome
The twelfth European Maccabi Games will take place in Italy. 1700 athletes compete in 15 sports disciplines.
2011 in Vienna
The thirteenth European Maccabi Games are taking place in Austria. The choice of the Austrian capital as the host city was highly symbolic, as for the first time since World War II, Jewish athletes from across Europe competed on the territory of the former German Reich.
June 2015, XNUMX in Berlin
The fourteenth European Maccabi Games take place in Germany. For the first time ever, the European Maccabi Games are taking place in Germany - 70 years after the end of the Shoah and the Second World War and 50 years after German-Israeli relations were established. In addition, host Makkabi Deutschland eV is celebrating its 50th anniversary since it was re-established after the war. The EMG2015 will take place in the Olympiapark in Berlin - the same place where German Jews were forbidden to participate in the 1936 Olympic Games.
2019 in Budapest
The fifteenth European Maccabi Games will be held in Hungary. More than 3.000 participants from 42 countries gathered, including delegations from Andorra, Moldova and Montenegro, who attended an EMG for the first time.