Positive balance

Peaceful race days reinforce Kitz’ party concept

45,000 ski fans celebrated a real party on the Streif on Saturday.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

The Streif and Ganslernhang attracted 77,000 spectators to Kitzbühel at the weekend. Those responsible are pleased with the calm course of events, so the party concept with an alcohol cap and shorter duration is to be retained. 

A town breathes a sigh of relief. It was a Hahnenkamm weekend just as everyone had expected - and according to those responsible, probably hoped for. Intense races, glamorous visitors, fans in a great party mood. On Friday and Saturday at least, the weather also played along. As a result, the "Krone" distributed over 1000 pairs of sunglasses to the ski fans in front of its World Cup building. The atmosphere was particularly boiling on Saturday, with 45,000 fans cheering on the downhill skiers along the course. On Friday there were 18,000, on Sunday 14,000 visitors. 47,000 ski fans took the ÖBB Hahnenkammexpress to the races.

On Sunday, 14,000 slalom spectators braved the sometimes heavy rain on the Ganslern slope.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

According to the organizers, the party in the fan zone in the city center was relatively orderly. Not serving hard alcohol, stopping drinks and music at 10 p.m. and closing at 10.30 p.m. once again proved its worth, summarized Alexander Gamper, the safety officer for the town of Kitzbühel: "We will continue to do so. There were more people than there have been for a long time, but everything went off peacefully and without any riots."

No major operations for rescue services and police
This is also confirmed by the police: during the races, the award ceremonies and in the fan zone, everything remained calm for the most part. Officers only had to intervene a few times on Saturday in the city center. These involved (minor) bodily injury, damage to property and disorderly conduct.

On all three race days together, the Red Cross and Samaritans had 175 paramedics and six emergency doctors on duty, with the control center located at the foot of the finish area.

(Bild: Pail Sepp/Sepp Pail)

The rescue services also reported a positive outcome: in relation to the large number of fans, things remained fairly calm, reports district rescue commander Markus Krenn from the Red Cross. The 175 paramedics and six emergency doctors mainly treated falls and cuts. "We had very few cases of pure alcohol, it was more the consumption that led to additional injuries." There were no serious injuries, and the rescue team completed a total of 119 missions over the three days of the race, 38 of which ended in hospital. The rest were treated at the operations center. This is also home to the lost and found office, where around 30 items were handed in.

Traffic concept project for next year
On Sunday afternoon, the city then set about returning to normal and the spectators made their way home - a final challenge for the weekend. "Next year, we will work on optimizing the traffic situation," explained safety officer Gamper.