Vienna will host May's EOC Seminar ©EOC

Vienna has replaced Tirana as the host city for the upcoming European Olympic Committees (EOC) Seminar after the Albanian capital was stripped of the event for "multiple logistical reasons".

The EOC confirmed the Seminar, expected to focus on preparations for June's European Games in Minsk and the European sport model, would be held in the Austrian city from May 18 to 19.

The EOC Executive Committee meeting, which usually precedes the Seminar, will take place on May 17.

Tirana had been scheduled to host the annual Seminar from May 17 to 18.

It was initially due to run from May 10 to 11 but the EOC pushed the dates back a week owing to the logistical challenges in the city.

Preparations for the 2019 European Games in Minsk will be among the key topics at the EOC Seminar ©Minsk 2019
Preparations for the 2019 European Games in Minsk will be among the key topics at the EOC Seminar ©Minsk 2019

The European sport model will be among the key items discussed in the Austrian capital following extensive debate on the topic in recent months amid the emergence of independent organisers such as the International Swimming League.

In November, the EOC Executive Committee determined that National Olympic Committees were the right bodies to develop sport and that they should "oppose competing models that are primarily based on money and treat athletes as assets".

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach urged NOCs to work with their Governments to defend the current model from the perceived threat of commercial enterprises during a speech at the EOC General Assembly in Marbella.

Minsk 2019, the second edition of the European Games, will also feature heavily at the seminar.

The multi-sport event is set to run from June 21 to 30.