Poland, host to the first ever IAAF World Youth Championships, is a central European country, situated on the Baltic Sea. The ninth country of the Old Continent covers 312,685 km² and is inhabited by more than 39 million people. The capital is Warsaw. White and red in two horizontal parallel strips are the national colours of the Polish flag.

The landscape of Poland consists mostly of lowland country, and areas 300m below sea level constitute 91.3% of the total area. There are however several mountain ranges of which Rysy (2499m), located in the High Tatra Mountains, is the highest peak. The two main rivers traversing the country leading into the Baltic Sea are Vistula and Odra. There are many lakes situated throughout the country, particularly in the enchanted regions of Masuria and Pomerania. Poland is rich in raw materials with more than 70 different minerals mined, including hard and brown coal, sand, gravel and calciferous rocks. Forests cover much of the land, Dolnoslakie, Bialowieska, Augustowska, Tucholskie Forests are among the largest of them, the latter of which is located near Bydgoszcz.

The climate of Poland is very changeable and there are significant fluctuations of the seasons. The country is divided into two distinct climates – moderately warm with rain and cold with snow for most of the winter season particularly in the forest areas. Summer average temperatures range between 20° C and 23° C.

Poland is more than 1000 years old, and is very careful to preserve its history and its great monuments. Cities such as Poland’s capital, Warsaw, and Cracow, Gdansk or Torun (situated only 40km away from Bydgoszcz), are known throughout the world and are of great historical interest to tourists. Foreigners are also frequent guests of the spa-tourist cities such as Sopot, Miedzyzdroje, Kolobrzeg and many more.

Bydgoszcz, with a population of 400 000, is situated 250km to the North-West of Warsaw. It is the fifth largest city of Poland. The city lies at the site of the swift-flowing River Brda which, running north to south, enters the Bydgoszcz Valley and having reached the southern wall of the valley, turns east to flow into the Wisla (Vistula) River. The Brda (total length 238km), is linked to the city centre by the Bydgoski Canal, providing a connection to the River Notec. This system forms an ideal route for inland navigation from the Wisla to the Odra and then on to the waterway systems of Western Europe.

The city lies in the valley and since its early days has spanned both banks of the Brda. For many centuries the Old Town, an administrative centre for local settlement, has undergone expansion on the south side of Brda, at the same time remaining in close contact with hamlets and farms on the north side.

For over a hundred years Bydgoscz has grown equally on both sides, reaching the Wisla in the last twenty years. Thus, Bydgoszcz is a city on the Brda and Wisla, a city on two rivers. This has been true since 1975, when Bydgoszcz absorbed Fordon, now a large housing estate with an academic centre. The section between Fordon and the traditional area of Bydgoszcz has industrial and storage facilities with a river port.

Bydgoszcz is the provincial capital, one of the major centres for industry, commerce and culture, and an important junction of land and water transport routes. The city covers an area of 175km² and has a population of 386,000.