The Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees -EOC- has approved the sports programme for the European Games Istanbul 2027, which will feature 26 sports and disciplines and further strengthen the event’s role on the road to the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028. The programme, approved on 13 March, was developed in cooperation with the Istanbul 2027 Organising Committee and the relevant international and European federations, and includes 22 Olympic sports aligned with the LA28 programme.

The significance of the decision goes beyond the size of the programme. The EOC itself has underlined that the European Games will offer broad Olympic qualification opportunities, both through direct quota places and ranking systems, although the final inclusion of each sport remains subject to the conclusion of agreements with the respective federations. In that framework, the approved programme not only increases the competitive weight of Istanbul 2027, but also helps shape a large part of the European sporting block with Los Angeles in mind.

Squash, weightlifting and beach sprint rowing are the main additions

Among the additions with the greatest strategic value, squash stands out. It will make its debut at the European Games Istanbul 2027 and will also make its first Olympic appearance at LA28. Its relevance goes beyond symbolism, as the official qualification system for Los Angeles 2028 specifically identifies the European Games in Istanbul as the European continental qualifying event, making the 2027 edition a direct step on the sport’s Olympic pathway.

Weightlifting will be another debut sport in the programme, and its inclusion also carries clear Olympic significance. The International Weightlifting Federation -IWF- presented the addition of the sport to the European Games Istanbul 2027 as a particularly important development for the discipline, through an agreement reached with the European Weightlifting Federation -EWF- and with a qualification function for LA28. At the same time, beach sprint rowing will also make its debut at the European Games at a moment of international growth for the discipline, which has already secured its Olympic debut in Los Angeles 2028 as one of the new additions to the rowing programme.

The programme brings back established sports and deepens its link to LA28

The approved programme also includes several returns with clear weight inside the European Olympic landscape. Gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling will return to the European Games after missing Kraków-Małopolska 2023, in a sign that Istanbul 2027 is not only adding new sports, but also rebuilding part of the event’s traditional core with three disciplines of strong competitive and institutional importance.

That block is joined by other sports whose presence gains value through their place in Olympic qualification systems or in the wider route to LA28. The approved programme includes disciplines such as shooting, archery, sport climbing, triathlon and modern pentathlon, while the EOC continues to stress that the European Games will offer qualification opportunities through direct quota places and ranking systems. In some cases, such as squash, that connection is already explicitly set out in the official documentation for the road to Los Angeles.

Istanbul 2027 gains competitive depth before announcing its venues

The approval of the programme also comes at a broader stage of organisational consolidation for the project. At the first EOC meeting of the year, held in Rome, the organisation reviewed preparations for Istanbul 2027 together with representatives of the Turkish Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the local organising committee, following the Coordination Commission’s first visit to Istanbul in January. As part of that process, the EOC officially incorporated the Istanbul 2027 Organising Committee into the event’s contractual framework through an amendment to the Host City Contract, a step that strengthened the governance structure of the Games with 15 months to go.

With the programme now approved, Istanbul 2027 is set to feature 26 sports and disciplines, 22 of them Olympic, with the debut of squash, weightlifting and beach sprint rowing at the European Games, and the return of gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling to the continental calendar. The next step will be to finalise the outstanding agreements with the federations and announce the distribution of competition venues at a later stage, within an edition that the EOC already presents as a key platform in the European cycle leading to Los Angeles 2028.