40 member countries, partners, over 5,000 people to attend NATO summit in Vilnius

Around 40 delegations from NATO member and partner countries are expected to attend next year's NATO summit in Vilnius, with initial estimates indicating that around 5,000 people will attend the event and accompany the delegations.

The large number of delegations may lead to a shortage of hotels in the Lithuanian capital, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry says.

"Due to the large number of participants, there may be a shortage of hotels in Vilnius, so we plan to accommodate some of the people accompanying the leaders' delegations in hotels in other cities," the ministry' told BNS.

The ministry says the LITEXPO (the Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Center) center in Vilnius will host working sessions during the summit.

The Vilnius City Municipality is currently carrying out works in the area outside the LITEXPO center's perimeter. The Foreign Ministry says they are expected to be completed by July 1.

Vilnius is now working on the summit's logo in cooperation with the Alliance leadership, the ministry said. "We hope to be able to present it to the public early next year," the ministry said.

The Vilnius summit's budget stands at 38 million euros. The summit will take place in Vilnius on July 11-12.

Lithuania will host a NATO summit for the first time. It is expected to bring together top-level delegations from NATO allies and partners, as well as a large number of international media representatives.

Finland and Sweden are expected to attend the summit in Vilnius as full NATO members for the first time.