Onesti

Onești is a city in Bacău County, in the historical region of Moldavia, set at the confluence of the Trotuș, Cașin, Oituz and Tazlău rivers at the foot of the Eastern Carpathians. Attested as a village in 1458 and renamed Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej between 1965 and 1996, it grew through the 20th century around the petrochemical industry of the Trotuș valley. Home today to around 34,000 people (2021 census), it carries a name that, beyond its chimneys, echoes around the world for one reason above all: sport.

Onești is the cradle of Romanian gymnastics. This is where Nadia Comăneci — born in the city in 1961 — was shaped, and where her path led to the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where at just 14 she scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics history. Under the school of coaches Béla and Márta Károlyi, the city gave rise to a tradition of excellence that reshaped world sport, carried on today by the Municipal Sports Club (CSM) Onești and by venues such as the multipurpose arena that bears the gymnast's name. That legacy makes Onești a symbol of perseverance and perfection far larger than its size.

In October 2025, following a visit by an evaluation panel, ACES named Onești European City of Sport 2026 — a recognition the city celebrates in a doubly symbolic year: 2026 is the 'Year of Nadia', half a century after that perfect 10. The programme brings a new wave of events and infrastructure — from the Nadia Comăneci 'Perfect 10' International Cup to an ambitious sports complex — driven by CSM Onești with the backing of the city council and the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. The designation places Onești within the European network of ACES cities that celebrate sport as an engine of health, community and inclusion.