Europe's best rowers have converged on the lakeside resort of Bled for the European Rowing Championships. A total of 560 competitors from 33 countries will be vying for medals between 25 and 28 May. Slovenia has sent nine Slovenian boats into the race.

The top Slovenian contender for medals is Rajko Hrvat in the lightweight single scull, who won bronze at the World Championships last year and the opening race of the World Cup this season.

The double scull of Jaka Čas and Nik Krebs are also among the contenders, though they have said they are timing their peak performance for the World Championships in Belgrade in September, which will also determine who gets to compete at the Paris Olympics.

Overall rowing superpower Great Britain has the largest number of boats and will compete in 18 of the 21 events. Germany will compete in 17.

The organisers expect between 500 and 1,000 foreign visitors and many more Slovenians at the event. The first day schoolchildren from areas with rowing clubs have been invited to cheer for the competitors.

The European Rowing Championships is one of Europe's oldest competitions, having started in 1893.

However, the long tradition was interrupted in 1973, when the World Rowing Federation decided to stop organising European championships. It was not until 2007 that the event returned.

Bled has a long history as a host of major rowing competitions. It hosted the European Championships in 1956 and then the World Championships four times, most recently in 2011. It has also hosted World Cup events two times. The last major event was the 2017 World Rowing Masters Regatta, the championship for veterans.