Pure anticipation
“It should be the most relaxed World Ski Championships ever”
Four weeks before the opening of the Alpine World Ski Championships from 4 to 16 February in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, the organization team is optimistic that this major sporting event will be a success. If Wolfgang Breitfuss, Director of the Saalbach-Hinterglemm Tourist Board, who is primarily responsible for the Fan Mile, has his way, it should be "the most relaxed World Ski Championships ever - that is our aim".
"The backdrop is wintry, the grandstands are there. We were able to realize everything we set out to do," said ÖSV Secretary General Christian Scherer, CEO of Saalbach 2025, at a press conference on Tuesday at the valley station of the Zwölferkogel, where all eleven races will take place.
With around 90,000 visitor tickets sold so far out of a total of 150,000, they are well on target. "We are very satisfied," said Scherer and predicted that interest in the tickets will continue to grow. Today marks the start of the final phase for the organization team. "We are generally a little ahead of schedule," emphasized Florian Phleps, Project Manager of Saalbach 2025. The goal of using as much of the existing infrastructure as possible and involving service providers and partners from the region has been achieved, as has the target of guaranteeing 100 percent of ski operations during the World Championships.
"Our slope team is going full throttle"
Phleps said that the period from October to the end of December had been used very well for preparations. The final construction phase of the stadium is now beginning and the official acceptance will take place at the end of January. Bartl Gensbichler, Head of Sport at Saalbach 2025 and President of the Salzburg State Ski Association (SLSV), also exuded optimism. "We are well prepared. The winter has started well and we are relatively advanced with snowmaking. Our piste team is working flat out and the weather gods are also helping us. We will start with high safety from January 20."
There will be a snow check on January 24, "we could already do that now," said Gensbichler in view of the good snow conditions and also made a promise: There will be another "World Ski Championships in the sun", like the 1991 World Ski Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. The number of registered racers is also satisfactory. There are 248 women and 382 men from 73 nations on the pre-entry list.
If Wolfgang Breitfuss, Director of the Saalbach-Hinterglemm Tourist Board, who is primarily responsible for the Fan Mile, has his way, it should be "the most relaxed World Ski Championships ever - that is our aim". The entertainment for the 10,000 day visitors he is expecting is "very high quality". As far as the booking situation and the gap in bookings during the World Championships that was still evident a few days ago is concerned, the price level is settling at the normal price and a lot can still happen, Breitfuss pointed to the snow conditions and the very good Christmas business.
Still few details about the opening ceremony
The organizers were still somewhat tight-lipped about details of the programme for the opening ceremony on 4 February. The opening ceremony with four acts and 37 artists involved will be combined with the team parallel competition and the focus will be on the athletes, said Scherer. "It will be an atmospheric start to the World Ski Championships." The program is exciting, varied and entertaining. Protocol elements have been shortened and there will only be one speech by a person physically present, namely the FIS President. As a sign of appreciation, the people of Saalbach-Hinterglemm will be invited to the opening ceremony.
When asked what the outcome should be on February 16th, it was said that they wanted "a great, accident-free World Championships with a successful Austrian team, and a World Championships that generates enthusiasm for skiing and winter tourism in Austria". Of course, the ÖSV also wants to earn money from it, and this wish can be fulfilled if there are enough spectators and good weather. Scherer assumes that it will be possible to break even in any case. The budget for the World Championships amounts to 50 million euros.
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