A media event in an unprecedented digital scenario, opening a new frontier for innovation in Italian sports. European Under-20 long jump champion Larissa Iapichino was interviewed in the Metaverse built specifically for the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships. The project developed by the EuroRoma2024 Foundation, together with Metaverse Partner XMetaReal, offers people around the world the opportunity to have an immersive experience in the environments – reproduced digitally – that will host the athletics competitions next year from June 7-12. From the Olympic Stadium to the avenues of the Foro Italico Park, athletics fans and beyond can begin to breathe in the atmosphere of the European Athletics Championships well in advance, find out in advance where the platforms for jumps and throws will be located and, soon, buy tickets directly inside the Metaverse.

“The Metaverse is a really cool experience, as they say in my neck of the woods it’s cool! It’s an innovative way to socialize, technology gives us these gems that I think are very interesting,” said Larissa Iapichino, who answered questions from Sky Sports reporter Federica Frola and other connected visitors.

“As a child, I never thought that athletics would become my job. I fell in love with the sport not so much because of the example my mom set, but because of Usain Bolt. Coming from a family of Jamaican descent, I remember us gathering on the couch at home to watch Bolt’s races and even my grandmother would jump in. Seeing him run was really exciting. With athletics you never get bored, it is very dynamic and varied, there are so many different athletes fighting to get as high as possible. During middle school I realized that I had a knack for athletics and I started practicing it in earnest,” Iapichino recounted.

Upcoming events in the Rome 2024 Metaverse will be announced on the official website of the competition.

The European Athletics Council unanimously approved the awarding of performance bonuses to athletes at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships during its 171st meeting of the Council held in Vilnius, Lithuania on Wednesday (18).

The format and the structure of the bonuses will be unveiled at a later date, but this is a landmark decision for European Athletics as it will be the first time since the European Athletics Championships were inaugurated in 1934 that financial rewards for competitors will be directly available.

“I am very pleased that we have been able to announce that for the first time there will be performance bonuses awarded at the European Athletics Championships. This is a historic decision,” said European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov. “Offering special bonuses for excellent achievements by our athletes in this important format will further incentivise Europe’s top athletes competing in Rome next summer but also it adds an additional point of interest for the fans and media which, in turn, definitely adds value to the championships.

“We will of course continue our very stable and sustainable investment in events, competitions and Member Federations and athletics development. However, this historic Council decision will further strengthen our position of always having the athletes themselves at the forefront of our thinking. European Athletics is now able to further enhance the attractiveness of the premier event in our competition portfolio without diminishing our other important commitments.” added Karamarinov.

“I, and the rest of the Athletes Committee, welcome this decision for the European Athletics Championships,” commented European Athletics Athletes Committee chair Lea Sprunger. “All of us on the Committee have been pushing for more financial opportunities for athletes and see this as a first good step in the right direction,” added the 2018 European Athletics Championships 400m hurdles champion from Switzerland.

“The Roma 2024 Metaverse will allow us to intercept a new target audience for athletics and engage the younger generation. Thanks to this project, everyone will be able to participate in the European Athletics Championships, transcending space-time limitations.” This was explained by Paolo Carito, managing director of the EuroRoma 2024 Foundation, during the presentation of the project developed together with XMetaReal ahead of the European Athletics Championships, to be held in Rome from June 7-12, 2024.

The new digital environment built especially for Roma 2024 was unveiled at the Centrale Nuvola Lavazza in Turin during the Metaverse Festival, organized by the National Association of Young Innovators, in collaboration with the European Parliament’s Italian Liaison Office.

“We are the only Italian sports event that has opened a space in the Metaverse,” stressed Paolo Carito, “and we should not talk about virtual reality because it is a real physical concept, which aims to overcome the limits of physicality itself. The Metaverse, in fact, will allow people from all over the world to experience the atmosphere of the European Athletics Championships at a distance and several months in advance of the start of the event.”

Project testimonial Larissa Iapichino has already inaugurated the Beta version of the Roma 2024 Metaverse with her avatar. Starting in the next few days on the Roma 2024 website, it will be possible to book to start exploring a preview of the digitally reproduced spaces of the Olympic and Foro Italico, accompanied remotely by animator-tutors who will guide people through the experience.

Roma 2024 also opens its doors to all those who wish to become active participants in the project, as animators. Task that will consist of guiding people in visiting the environments of the Metaverse. Applications can be submitted by emailing staff@roma2024.eu.

Selections have officially begun for the volunteers who will take part in the “Roma 2024 Volunteers” program and participate in an operational role at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships.

The EuroRoma 2024 Foundation program, with support of HR supplier Humangest, has already collected around 1,500 applications so far, which will start to be screened for the final selection.

The Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships will be one of the most important international sporting events to be held in Italy in 2024 and represent a unique opportunity to bring together the global community of sports and athletics. The enthusiasm for the event is evidenced by the global participation in the “Roma 2024 Volunteers” program: more than 400 applications were sent from European countries outside Italy and around the world, with applications from all continents.

Applications are possible until 31 December. People wishing to take part in the “Roma 2024 Volunteers” program should fill in the form available at www.eventi.humangest.it/job-seekers.php.

Humangest’s team of recruiters will contact all candidates individually for interviews. The volunteers selected will receive several exclusive benefits: free entry to the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships’ competitions, access to specific training sessions organized by Humangest and EuroRoma 2024, an official uniform that will be assigned to each volunteer and participation in the closing party.

Following the selection phase, the volunteers have to take part in an initial general training course and then will be assigned to specific functional areas related to the organization of the event: Accreditation, Spectator Services, Competition, Protocol and Ceremonies, Media & Communication, Medical & Anti-Doping Area, Accommodation, Logistics, Transport, Venues, Hospitality, Sponsor Services, and Marketing. Part of the volunteers will take care of information and cultural & tourist services related to the European Athletics Championships at strategic points in Rome.

The requirements to participate: 

a) to be 18 years old by 6 June 2024, i.e. by the start date of Rome 2024 (or in any case to have reached the age of majority at the start of the volunteer experience, in the case of side activities);

b) be Italian citizens with knowledge of English or citizens of other nationalities with knowledge of English and Italian, basic level;

c) enjoy civil and political rights;

d) guarantee a minimum availability to participate in the event based on the dates of the official calendar and/or side events.