When the deadline for official bids ended, Russia was on the list, under the slogan We Can.[13][14] However, they made numerous changes to their bid compared to 2024, as Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar and Astrakhan were all axed from the bid. In an interview with the development director of the Russian Handball Federation, Olga Bugaenko, she confirmed that all three were taken out to reduce the number of cities involved and that it is much easier for foreign fans to travel to Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Specifically on Rostov-on-Don, Bugaenko said the uncertainty surrounding their arena was the main reason for leaving the city out.[15]
Having first stating an interest as two separate bids (Denmark and Norway and a Swedish solo bid) the Scandinavians decided to all bid for an EHF Euro together for the first time ever for EHF Euro, under the slogan Scandinavia Connect. Their bids' aim is to use innovation and modern-day technologies to help Handball have a bright future.[17][18]
The Swedish Handball Federation president, Frederik Rapp, stated “the commitment to finding sustainable solutions across all industries and areas of life is very clear in all of Scandinavia. To connect the Scandinavian approach and experience in sustainability with European handball is so valuable. Finding more sustainable solutions for future events could be a real game-changer for the future of our sport”.
While the Danish counterpart, Per Bertelsen said “We believe we can build on the positive momentum we see in our sport. Together, we can deliver a world-class event that will be a true celebration for European handball”.
The main round would be held in Oslo or Trondheim in Norway and either Copenhagen or Herning in Denmark.[19] The final weekend would be in the Telenor Arena in Oslo, marking the first time Norway has hosted the final of the EHF Women's Euro (they were going to host the final in 2020, but withdrew altogether due to Covid-19). Every other venue would host preliminary round matches.
However, they withdrew their 2026 bid to focus on their 2028 application, and ended up winning the hosting rights for 2028 unopposed.
These are the following 9 venues included in the Scandinavian bid:[20][21]
As only the Russian bid remained it was unanimously selected at the 14th EHF Extraordinary Congress on 20 November 2021.[22][23]Sergey Shishkarev called the awarding of the hosting rights as a historic moment.[24][25][26]
Czech Republic and Poland confirmed a joint letter of interest to bid.[31] Speaking after this announcement, Czech Handball president, Ondřej Zdráhala, noted that Poland was a experienced and reliable partner and also said that Spain is their biggest rival in the bidding process.[32]Czech Republic and Poland submitted an official joint bid for the event with the slogan Follow the way.[33][34]Polish federation president, Henryk Szczepański, saying:
"We are delighted to be bidding for the right to host the EHF EURO 2026 together with our partners from the Czech Handball Federation. Behind us is an intensive period of work on the preparation of a joint offer, numerous meetings and arrangements at the international, central and local government levels. Poland and the Czech Republic are connected not only by their close proximity, but also by their passion for handball. I strongly believe that this will be the beginning of our joint projects".
While the Czech counterpart, Ondřej Zdráhala, said:
"We want to offer our fans, who have always been fantastic, another range of emotions, top events are the pinnacle of handball. I believe that we have done our best in the organisational preparations and we will look forward to the decision".
In regards to venues, Ondřej Zdráhala had originally stated that the idea was to have Katowice, Ostrava and Wrocław as host cities.[32] However, when the EHF announced the official bids, the venues changed to Brno, Lubin and Katowice. The preliminary round would be held Brno, Lubin and Katowice, the main round in Brno and Katowice, and the final weekend in Katowice.[30]
After starting off as a solo bid, Romania teamed up with Slovakia for a joint bid.[33][35][36] Prior, it was rumoured that Romania would be given the hosting rights automatically, although this never materialised.[37] The final weekend would be in Cluj-Napoca.[30]
However, shortly after they announced proposed facilities, the EHF told Romania that the arenas in Pitești and Bistrita were too small and did not meet the requirements. While at the same time, the EHF reacted favourably to adding the Oradea Arena in Oradea instead.[38]
Another issue aroused when the arena in Bucharest was considered too old and did not meet requirements.[39]
The hosts were originally going to be announced on 28 January 2024 in Cologne, but the EHF decided to delay the announcement to April while also inviting every bidding nation to a meeting in mid-February.[42][43][44]
Potential alternative hosting plan
During the meeting in mid-February,[45] Romanian media reported that a possible five-country co-hosting plan was being negotiated by all five bidding countries and the EHF after it was reported that none of the three bids fulfilled all the requirements.[46][47][48] The reported plan entails that each nation would host one preliminary round group, with the exception of Romania who would host two, the main round would be held in Poland and Romania, while the Poles are considered the favourites to host the final weekend as they have the biggest arena.[46]
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