European Physics Olympiad

About the Program

The European Physics Olympiad (EuPhO) is an annual international physics competition for high school students, first held in Tartu, Estonia in 2017. It is modeled on the IPhO, with problems designed to mimic real research situations. The competition is open to countries from Europe and beyond — 54 countries participated in the 2020 online edition.

Competition format:

Round	Format	Duration	Points
Theoretical	3 problems (one very hard, one moderately hard, one less demanding)	5 hours	30 (10 each)
Experimental	1–2 laboratory tasks	5 hours	20

There is no discussion of problem texts between leaders and the Academic Committee (unlike IPhO). Instead of IPhO-style moderation, EuPhO uses an appellation system — students appeal directly if they believe their grading was unjust, with leaders present to translate if needed. Problem texts are short; leaders are expected to translate both theory and experimental problems within one hour.

Awards:

Medal thresholds are determined after appellation so that at least:

Medal	Minimum share of participants
Gold	8%
Gold or silver	25%
Gold, silver, or bronze	50%
Medal or honourable mention	67%

Thresholds are set based on European contestants' scores only. Non-European participants who score above the thresholds are awarded the corresponding medal.

Team structure:

Each country may send one team of up to 5 student contestants and one or two team leaders. The host country may send a second team as a guest team. Observers and guests are also welcome (at additional cost).

Costs:

Official teams from European countries pay a reduced fee of €350 per contestant, plus €350 for one team leader; a second leader, observers, and guests pay the full fee of €420 per person. Guest teams from outside Europe pay the full €420 fee per contestant. The host country covers accommodation, meals, and in-country logistics for all registered participants.

How selection works:

Students are selected through national physics olympiad processes. There is no direct application to EuPhO. Contact your country's national physics association for details on national selection.

Host countries (recent):

Year	Host
EuPhO 2026	Sweden (Gothenburg), Jun 12–16
EuPhO 2025	Bulgaria (Sofia), Jun 13–17
EuPhO 2024	Georgia (Kutaisi), Jul 15–19
EuPhO 2023	Germany (Hannover), Jun 16–20
EuPhO 2022	Slovenia (Ljubljana), May 20–24

Eligibility

Designed for high school students, similarly to IPhO. Students who completed secondary school in the year of competition may participate provided they have not commenced university studies. At institutions that cannot be clearly classified as a high school, a student is considered eligible if less than half of their lectures, averaged over the last two years, are on physics or mathematics topics. The competition is open to countries from Europe and beyond — 54 countries participated in the 2020 online edition. Selection is through each country's national physics olympiad. Contestants must not exceed 20 years of age (truncated to an integer) on June 30 of the competition year, and must not have commenced university studies.

Eligible Countries

citizenship, residency permanent: All countries Open to teams from European countries, plus guest teams from other continents accepted at the organizers' discretion. Results of participants from non-European countries do not affect medal thresholds, but all contestants scoring above the thresholds receive medals. Students cannot apply directly — eligibility is determined through national selection.

How to Apply

Students cannot apply directly. Selection is through each country's national physics olympiad or selection competition. Contact your country's national physics association for details. The competition is typically held in May or June. Countries wishing to participate officially must accept responsibility for organizing the competition themselves at some future point.