Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
Roll up, young people of Europe: the European Commission is giving away 60.000 free Interrail tickets in October! The lucky winners will bag themselves up to a month of free train travel across Europe.
The competition, which opened at midday on Tuesday, October 12 and continues through to Tuesday, October 26, will provide valuable travel opportunities to young people who missed out on formative experiences during the pandemic.
Entrants must be aged between 18 and 20 and have the nationality of a European Union member state (including the UK). To enter the competition, applicants will need to participate in a quiz with questions about the EU. You can apply on your own or as part of a group, if you wish to travel with friends.
If you are selected, you will receive an Interrail pass that allows for up to 30 days of travel between March 1, 2022 and February 28, 2023. You can apply via the DiscoverEU website.
Since it was launched in 2018, the DiscoverEU initiative - which seeks to provide travel and mobility opportunities to young people reaching legal adulthood at the age of 18 - has given away 70.000 Interrail passes. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the initiative had to be suspended in 2020.
This year it will launch again. Although it is usually only open to 18-year-olds, young people aged 19 and 20 will also be allowed to apply, since they missed out on their chance last year. The competition will also be open to applicants from the United Kingdom for the final time after Brexit.
In 2018 and 2019, over 350.000 young Europeans applied for the 70.000 Interrail tickets. 66 percent of participants said the ticket would allow them to travel abroad by train for the first time, while two-thirds also said they would not be able to finance the travel themselves.