The countdown to a historic sporting event for Slovenia
From February 21 to March 5, Planica will become the center of winter sports and the venue of the largest sporting event in the history of the Republic of Slovenia, the Planica 2023 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Nordic skiers will compete for ski jumping, cross country and combined skiing titles in the valley in the shadow of the Ponce mountain range. The organizers promise an unprecedented sporting spectacle.
Planica won the 2023 Nordic World Ski Championships at the 2018 Fisa Congress in Greece in his fourth attempt to become a candidate. | Author 24K-Production/depositphotos.com
To date, 64 countries have registered to qualify for the World Championships in Planica. More than 2000 athletes and their teams as well as more than 2000 media representatives are expected to attend the competition. Planica, Kranjska Gora and Slovenia are presented to more than 500 million TV viewers around the world through live coverage of the Nordic World Ski Championships. Organizers are expecting up to 200,000 spectators in Planica over the two-week period, many of whom will be cheering on the 33 Slovenian athletes who will compete there. With high-level visits by state officials planned, Planica will also be a diplomatic and political event, serving as a platform for networking and business.
Sustainability is a key focus of the organization of the event. The aim is to create an event with almost zero waste and the lowest possible carbon footprint. To this end, the organizers have developed very detailed sustainability standards that will form the basis for national guidelines for sustainable outdoor sporting events in the future.
More than 1300 workers will be involved in organizing the championships, with a budget of almost 16 million euros. The championships are accompanied by four other events: the sports marketing and sponsorship conference Sporto, a management conference, a sustainability conference in cooperation with the NGO Umanotera and a business conference with the public agency Spirit. The sports events are rounded off by a rich supporting programme.