The 2nd European Games 2019 (, Jeŭrapiejskija huĺni 2019; , Yevropeyskiye igry 2019), informally known as Minsk 2019, was held in Minsk, Belarus, from 21 June to 30 June 2019. The games featured 200 events in 15 sports (23 disciplines). Around 4,000 athletes from 50 countries participated. Ten of the sports offered qualification opportunities for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The opening ceremony at the Dinamo Stadium was held on 21 June and the closing ceremony at the Dinamo Stadium was held on 30 June. The logo of the games was "paparać-kvietka"—a plant that plays an important role in the culture of the Slavs. The slogan of the event is "Bright Year, Bright You", which also makes reference to the national domain of the Republic of Belarus and the official international shortening—BY. Host selection A number of countries and cities expressed their interest to host the second European Games in 2019 but only the Netherlands submitted an official bid. At the meeting of an Extraordinary General Assembly on 16 May 2015, the Netherlands was unanimously approved as host of the second edition of the Games. The competition intended to be nationwide and based in seven cities, including Amsterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Utrecht. On 10 June 2015, the Netherlands announced their refusal to hold the second European Games after insufficient funding for the Games, projected to cost €57.5m. The European Olympic Committee president, Patrick Hickey said the news was "disappointing". Following this, a number of countries expressed interest in hosting the games: Belarus (Minsk), United Kingdom (Glasgow), Poland (Poznan), Russia (Kazan and Sochi), Turkey (Istanbul). In November 2015, Russia was announced as a future host country for the II European Games. At the same time, the WADA began its investigation of the doping scandal in Russia which led to the IOC's refusal to support the holding of major sports events in Russia, including the second European Games. During the meeting of the EOС General Assembly, held in Minsk on 21 October 2016, Minsk was selected as a host city for the second European Games. A contract was signed on 1 September 2017 by the chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Andrei Shorets, the president of the EOC Janez Kocijančič, the Minister of Sport and Tourism of Belarus Alexander Shamko, first Vice-President of the NOC of Belarus Andrey Astashevich, Director of the 2nd European Games 2019 Georgy Katulin,