Bansko is the current world capital of skiing. Within a week (between 18 and 26 February) Bulgarian fans of white sports will see live international stars of the calibre of Bode Miller, Ted League, Benny Reich, Aksel Lund Svindal, Lindsey Vonn and Maria Riesch. The Alberto Tomba skirun in our most popular winter resort will host the World Cup races for men and women. The first racing weekend is the men’s contest, the disciplines are giant slalom and slalom. Ladies will taste the difficult route a week later in downhill and Super-G. The good news is that the technical delegate of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Bernard Gallardo gave green light for the conducting of four races, having made compulsory for competitions of the highest rank snow control and was pleased with the specifics of the route.
For perfect organization of the event in Bansko about BGN8 million
will be spent, and the largest is the contribution of the state – BGN3.5 million. About BGN500,000 will be allocated by the local municipality, with the remainder expected to come from sponsors. This time organizers did not save resources to promote the top event, resulting in the resort welcoming at least four to five thousand visitors from abroad over the next ten days. Since the beginning of the year the most watched sports channel – Eurosport have been airing clips in which Lindsey Vonn, Ivica Kostelic and other top skiers promote our country as one of the best ski destinations in Europe.
It is Eurosport together with more than 25 television channels from around the world (including the Bulgarian National Television) will attract a record-high audience for the event that will be broadcast live from Bulgaria. Thanks to the Italian company Infront Media, which will perform TV translation on the air, it is expected that nearly 300 million people will be sitting in front of their TVs watching the battle on the track. The World Cup will be screened through 20 cold resistant cameras and a helicopter equipped with special shooting equipment preventing unwanted vibrations in the signal.
In the Banderishka Polyana area they will build a huge platform for 5,000 spectators. Each of the starts will likely be watched by twice as many people located around the track, who will not be asked to pay for the spectacle. The cost of daily ticket for races is BGN35 and the entire weekend pass costs BGN55, while children will enjoy a discount of BGN15. Only from tickets the organizers expect a revenue of about BGN450,000 and half of the proceeds will be
donated by the ski federation to the Red Cross and from there the sum will go to victims of recent floods in Bulgaria.
The biggest problem for the organizers is the constantly falling snow, limiting the processing of the track as well as areas for spectators. Around 550 people, including volunteers from Bulgaria, Greece and Britain, and 12 machines are working almost around the clock to ensure normal conditions for the forthcoming starts. Race Director Valentin Stefanov is convinced that the country will handle the event successfully after the dress rehearsal – the European Cup competitions in Pamporovo, that also took place under continuous snowfall and went very well.
DB Schenker Logistics is an official partner of the World Cup in Bansko and carries out all the logistics related to the organization. Specially for the event they transported 500-tone equipment from Austria, Germany and Slovenia to the Bulgarian resort. It includes facilities for separation of the VIP area, safety nets, tents for guests of the competitions and advertising materials for the sponsors. The World Cup is an event of great importance for Bulgaria and we appreciate the trust in us to assist logistics for conducting the competition, says Executive Director of the firm Helmut Schweighofer. The whole team that is looking after the competition reaches the impressive figure of 1,000.
Despite freezing temperatures on the ski run it is expected to be extremely hot. Four world champions from Garmisch-Partenkirchen will be watched live in Bansko by Bulgarian fans. The fight will be between Italian Krostof Inerhofer who won gold in Super G and two medals in the super combined and downhill; Ted Ligeti – giant slalom champion; the best slalomist Jean-Baptiste Grange and Thomas Fanara who triumphed in the team competition with the team of France. Adding to them the legends Miller and Benny Raich, one can certainly expect
extreme emotions in Bansko. The big absentee here is the winner of the Alpine Skiing World Cup Ivica Kostelic. The croatian received an injury to his right knee during a super combined slalom in Sochi. He already secured for himself the small World Cup in the discipline but may lose the big Crystal Globe after his advance to Beat Foyts (Switzerland) in the overall standings is only 70 points, as the Croatian will miss the starts in Bansko, Moscow (February 21) and Crans-Montana (February 24 to 26).
Bansko will welcome to its starts also five Bulgarian skiers. They are Nikola Chongarov, Georgi Georgiev, Svetoslav Georgiev, Zachary Yanakiev and Stefan Prisadov who have won World Cup points this season. Georgi Georgiev, who finished on the 11th place in super combined of the planetary championship, said he is hoping to get a front starting number to run in a better preserved track.
The off-ski run comfort of skiers will be taken care by 60 chefs from Bulgaria, Germany, Austria and Italy along with 140 bartenders, waiters and stewards. The menu for the athletes is composed of rapidly degradable foods rich in protein and carbohydrates, and the favourites are the pasta and risotto.
The local municipality whose residents are known for their hospitality, will not leave the thousands of guests bored. Last year, the starts of the World Cup for women were visited by over 10,000 people. Now we don’t expect fewer visitors, said Vice President of Bulgaria’s ski federation Georgi Bobev.
The weekend races are expected to be attended by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, the President of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Gian-Franco Kasper, Bulgarian ministers, prominent former and current athletes and show business stars. For the evening of 17 February, the hosts from Bansko plan a concert whose programme includes a DJ set, participation of famous performers, fire show and fireworks. In the days of competitions the Banderishka Polyana area there will be separate special entertainment zones with an open stage, music programme, ski shows and games.
The week between men’s and women’s starts will also be filled with interesting events and cultural happenings. On February 21, Georgi Hristov will sing at the Vaptsarov community centre and on the next day there will be a winter carnival, starting from the gondola lift and ending at the central town square. That evening, guests will be delighted by the culinary exhibition This is Bansko
at which local taverns will present the Bansko cuisine.
Bansko has already prepared the traditional 300-metre sausage, several tonnes of sausages and meatballs, spiced wine and brandy. VIP guests will enjoy lobster, roast pork and quail served in two tents near the finish line of the runway. Filipino chefs will prepare sushi, there will be spots with Bulgarian, German, Austrian and Italian cuisine. An attraction among the drinks will be the Chinese tea that blooms in hot water.
Folklore groups from Bansko will entertain tourists in the resort town on February 23 in a music festival under the motto: Tradition with a future.
Bansko municipality will do everything possible to be present itself well through the events we organize. We want foreign guests to see both the present and the past face of the town with its culture, traditions, songs, dances and cuisine. This combination of old, traditional and modern in the ski area of Bansko is what makes it so unique and special, said the mayor Georgi Ikonomov.
