EuroBasket Trophy set to tour Europe

 In anticipation of EuroBasket 2015 being hosted by four countries for the first time in history, the Nikolai Semashko Trophy, which will be held aloft by the newly-crowned European champions in Lille, France on 20 September, is about to embark on a journey across Europe.

Beginning in Riga - one of the five host cities of the 39th edition of Europe's premier basketball competition - on 19 May, the trophy will travel across the continent, finishing its tour in Cologne, Germany on 30 August when two of this year's host nations - France and Germany - go head to head in a warm-up game ahead of the main event starting on 5 September.

Latvia is a befitting start for the Trophy Tour, with the Baltic nation the first team to win EuroBasket in the inaugural tournament in Geneva, Switzerland 80 years ago.

Named after FIBA Hall of Fame inductee Nikolai Semashko (1907-1976) in 1979, the second and current version of the trophy was first used in 1995.

Fabricated by German goldsmith Gunter Schoebel, it is a masterpiece of gold and sterling silver, with the upper rim decorated with 24 jewels.

At each stop, fans will have the opportunity to have their photo taken with the trophy as well as witness, and in some instances partake in a host of side activities which will accompany the trophy at each stop. Activities also include television spots and appearances by past and present national team players.

Keeping a close eye on the trophy along the way is EuroBasket 2015 official mascot Frenkie, who will also be only too happy to pose for photographs.

Fans will also be able to keep up to date with the official tour online atwww.eurobasket2015.org/trophytour and on social media via the hash-tag #EuroBasket2015.

The provisional tour dates are as follows:
19 May: Riga, Latvia
20 May: Tallinn, Estonia
3-4 June: Reykjavik, Iceland
7 June: Zagreb, Croatia
12-14 June: Athens, Greece
20 June: Burgos, Spain
26 June: Brussels, Belgium
4-5 July: Istanbul, Turkey
25 July: Berlin, Germany (TBC)
1 August: Tampere, Finland
4 August: Ljubljana, Slovenia
5 August: Warsaw, Poland
8 August: Ohrid, F.Y.R. of Macedonia
9 August: Antwerp, Belgium
11 August: Brno, Czech Republic
12 August: Belgrade, Serbia
16 August: Leiden, Netherlands
18 August: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
22-23 August: Israel
25-26 August: Milan, Italy
28 August: Strasbourg, France
27 and 29 August: Trieste, Italy
30 August: Cologne, Germany