New Year's greetings of President of Belarusian NOC Viktor Lukashenko  

Dear athletes, coaches, veterans of the Olympic movement, sports industry workers, fans!

Dear friends! 

When we rang in the year 2022, we set certain goals and objectives. Then no one could imagine what trials we, first of all, you, dear athletes, would have to face!

At the same time, the outgoing year gave us a lot of positive emotions. Belarusian athletes successfully performed despite the bans by international federations, or contradictions in the international Olympic movement.

Thanks to the colossal work of a large team of our specialists, our athletes won two medals at the Games in Beijing. Belarusian sport once again proved its viability and competitiveness at various tournaments. We lived this year together, with dignity, as befits a close-knit team honoring the traditions of Belarusian sport.

2022 was a turning point and a historic year for the international Olympic movement: an increasing number of major international competitions had to deal with things incompatible with sport, its spirit and character. We repeatedly witnessed dubious, biased decisions and outright provocations. We saw how the ideas of Pierre de Coubertin were methodically distorted; the once sacred principles of the Olympic movement were eroded. There is no doubt that all these difficulties gave us an additional and very powerful charge of energy. They will help us to achieve the highest results and impressive records, to win in a fair and uncompromising struggle where the fundamental values and ideals of Olympism, free from political bias and any kind of discrimination, will prevail.

I am confident that absolutely all Belarusian athletes are interested in th successful and sustainable development of the Olympic movement, in preserving its humanistic potential. Further promotion of great sporting values that unite the world is one of the key tasks of our great Olympic family. We must address it together, relying on time-tested norms and rules, respecting and listening to each other and building constructive and benevolent dialogue. The Olympic movement tries to remain a powerful uniting force, a real resource for the development of our countries.

We are committed to cooperating in sport with all our neighbors and foreign teams. We are ready to share experience and welcome everyone at our modern sport centers to practice, compete and foster friendship, which is most important today. I wish all the difficulties of the outgoing year go away soon. I wish all that we have gained, all the good we discovered in ourselves stay with us forever. Today it is important to believe in ourselves, not to retreat in the face of difficulties, to cherish our unity: this is the basis of our common successes in the future.

I am confident that together we will overcome all the difficulties, restore justice, and, with renewed vigor, will continue to solve the tasks facing the Belarusian Olympic movement in the coming year. In these moments, let us dream of the most important things: peace and wellbeing, happiness and joy for all those who are close to us, who are dear to us. I would like to thank each of you for the contribution you make to our common cause. When we feel the reliable support of the people around us, we become one big family.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish you good health, faith, hope and love. May all your plans succeed and may you all achieve new victories in the coming year 2023!

Happy holidays, dear friends!