The Baltic Sea Games was a multi-sport event between countries near the Baltic Sea. Estonia drove the creation of competition, organizing a preliminary meeting with other nations in 1988. An agreement was reached at the inaugural Sports Conference of the Baltic Sea Countries in 1989 that Tallinn would host the first games, with the intention of the competition being to use sport to promote understanding and friendship among young people. Despite the break-up of the Soviet Union in this period, ten nations of the Baltic region signed on for the first games in 1993, comprising the three post-Soviet Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the three Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), plus Germany, Finland, Poland and Russia.
The Latvian capital Riga intended to host the 2001 games, but it was abandoned due to lack of support among the competing nations.
Estonia
Lithuania