Rijeka

Rijeka is Croatia's third city and its main seaport, looking out over the Kvarner Gulf in the northern Adriatic. A border city and a meeting of cultures — known for centuries by its Italian name, Fiume — it is today a port, industrial and university centre, and was European Capital of Culture in 2020. Home to around 108,000 people, it pairs a Central-European old town with a maritime front that defines its open character.

Sport is part of the city's pulse, and its emblem is HNK Rijeka. Founded in 1946 on roots reaching back to the early 20th century, the club is the third most decorated in Croatian football — after Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split — with two league titles and seven Croatian Cups, playing its matches at the Rujevica stadium. Alongside football, Rijeka sustains a network of clubs, facilities and sports programmes for all ages that formed the basis of its European bid.

In 2022, ACES named Rijeka European City of Sport, a title the city presented in 2020 in the medium-sized cities category, rewarding its sports infrastructure, its recreation programmes for citizens and its experience hosting international competitions. With that designation, Rijeka joined the European network of ACES cities that celebrate sport as an engine of health, integration and quality of life.