The biggest sports event in Bulgaria for the year – three runs from the Alpine Skiing World Cup events for women – is taking place in the resort of Bansko from Friday till Sunday. Seven Olympic champions are toeing the line in the events super giant slalom and Nordic combined. We shall see 52 skiers from 20 countries vie with one another along the 3 km. long run at the foot of Todorka peak among them world stars like Anna Fenninger, Tina Maze, Lindsey Vonn, Viktoria Rebensburg. Interest in the races is running very high – it is highly likely that this year’s World Cup holder will be determined in Bansko. Three weeks before the close of the season the temporary standings are topped by Tina Maze, a hair’s breadth ahead of two time world champion from USA Anna Fenninger.

This is the fifth time that the most modern Bulgarian ski resort Bansko is hosting the events from the most prestigious Alpine skiing racing circuit. Bulgaria first appeared on the World Cup calendar way back in 1981 at the oldest ski resort in the country Borovets, a time when the entire country waited with bated breath to see the only Bulgarian world class Alpine skier Petar Popangelov. Alas, we no longer have skiers of this class, yet skiing is extremely popular in the country and the Bulgarian public is really looking forward to the forthcoming race. The stadium for the finals has a capacity of 5,000 with a big fan zone to provide entertainment to the thousands of viewers from this country and abroad who have already arrived in Bansko. Right after the official opening of the World Cup on Friday journalists are invited to the traditional gastronomic exposition of Bansko specialties. Another sideline event is Snow Cinema – a festival of skiing and snowboarding films, organized for the first time.

More than 300 journalists from all over the world are accredited to give coverage to the World Cup. Twenty-eight TV channels will be broadcasting the runs live in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. “This is the kind of publicity for winter tourism in Bulgaria that is a dream come true,” says Minister of Youth and Sports Krasen Kralev. One of the principal reasons why Bansko is once again hosting the World Cup runs – the top championship in Alpine skiing – is five time Crystal Globe holder Marc Girardelli. For years the honorary citizen of Bansko and one of the world’s top Alpine skiers of all time has been working towards the popularization of skiing outside the traditional ski resorts in the Alps. “The future of skiing lies in Eastern Europe and even Asia,” Girardelli said especially for Radio Bulgaria. “In Alpine countries like France, Switzerland or Austria skiing has reached its peak. That is why I think that skiing must turn to face East where there are so many fans and an inexhaustible potential. People here are thirsting for races of the highest rank like the World Cup and Bulgaria and especially Bansko are the perfect hosts for popularizing this wonderful sport in the country.”

English version: Milena Daynova