INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

Just over three weeks remain until the Indoor World Athletics Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26. Thousands of fans, athletes, coaches, officials, and media representatives from around the world will arrive in Toruń. This is a great opportunity for the hospitality industry, but also a serious challenge—organizational, reputational, and environmental. Today (24 February), a workshop was held at the Marshal’s Office, where owners and managers of accommodation facilities could find answers to pressing questions.

“The next three weeks are the final moment to fine-tune details, train staff, ensure consistent communication, and implement environmentally friendly solutions,” said Marshal Piotr Całbecki. “Although the championships will last only a few days, their reputational impact can benefit a hotel for years.”

“Changes around the world are happening very quickly, especially in the area of sustainable development, so as managers of accommodation facilities we want to implement concrete solutions, including eliminating plastic and reducing waste,” said Piotr Różański, Director of Mercure Toruń Centrum and a participant in the training. “As a hotel operating under the Mercure brand, managed by the Accor Group, we have been implementing pro-environmental initiatives for years.”

“Your role during the Indoor World Championships is invaluable. It is in your hotels that post-competition conversations will take place; athletes will rest there, officials will summarize performances, and journalists will prepare reports for the world. Together, we create the atmosphere and the image of the entire event,” emphasized Beata Sawińska, Director of the Marshal’s Cabinet and the Marshal’s Plenipotentiary for HMŚ Kujawy Pomorze 26, opening the workshop.

Topics discussed included ways to reduce a facility’s carbon footprint, water-saving technologies, promotion of local suppliers, and the implementation of ESG strategies (E – environmental, S – social responsibility, G – corporate governance). A presentation on the tourism aspects of the championships was also delivered by Rafał Frąckiewicz, Director of the Office of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Tourism Organization.

The world’s best athletes will begin competing for top honors on 20 March at the Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena in Toruń. Morning sessions will start each day at 10:05, while afternoon sessions will begin at 18:35 on Friday and Saturday, and at 17:40 on Sunday.

Fifty days before the championships, we launched the “50 Relays of Kujawy and Pomorze” series. Every day until the event begins, sports activities are taking place across all counties of the voivodeship.

At Toruń Plaza shopping center, visitors can view free of charge an exhibition prepared by the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA). It is a journey through half a century of athletics history, featuring unique items from the MOWA collection—outfits, shoes, medals, and equipment with which the greatest athletics stars won titles and set records. Highlights include the spikes of Marcus O’Sullivan, the 1987 World Champion in the 1500 m; the outfit worn by Devynne Charlton when she claimed the 2024 World Championship title and set the world record in the 60 m hurdles in Glasgow; the spikes of the legendary Irena Szewińska, one of the greatest figures in the history of world sprinting; and the shoes of Robert Korzeniowski, four-time Olympic champion in race walking. Visitors can also enjoy interactive installations, including visualizations of world records in the high jump and pole vault, as well as a shot put zone.

Beata Krzemińska
Press Spokesperson, Marshal’s Office

24 February 2026