Krasnoyarsk to hold Winter Universiade 2019 supported by Nornickel
On 2 March — 12 March, Krasnoyarsk is hosting the XXIX International Winter Universiade 2019. Nornickel as the General Partner of the Student Games will play an active role in the event.
On 1 March, the Universiade’s fire will arrive in Krasnoyarsk to become part of the final phase of the Student Game’s Torch Relay. The fire will travel about 11 km through the city. The torchbearers will start from the library of the Siberian Federal University and finish in the Universiade Park on the Tatyshev Island, where a ceremony to light the city’s cauldron will take place. At the Krasnoyarsk phase of the Torch Relay, Nornickel will be represented by torchbearer Vyacheslav Shchukin, Polar Division’s Deputy Director for Regional Policy and Corporate Projects.
The opening ceremony of the Winter Universiade 2019 will be held on 2 March. The details of the upcoming colourful show directed by Ilia Averbukh are kept secret. It is expected to reflect the unique nature and industrial capacity of the Krasnoyarsk Territory as well as the warm hospitality of Siberians.
The first day of the Student Games will also see the opening of Nornickel’s pavilion in the Universiade Park. The Park is a bespoke event space that will attract participants and guests of the Winter Universiade 2019 with its distinctive Siberian flavour. It combines sports and entertainments, objets d’art, artistic locations, music, games, quizzes and workshops. Nornickel’s pavilion is the central point of the Park’s presentation zone. It is scheduled to offer various theme days throughout the Games. The guests will be able to attend a variety of interactive master classes, workshops, lectures and dialogues dedicated to the key values and events of the Winter Universiade 2019 as well as the Nornickel’s core lines of business. The pavilion will be open through 12 March. The entrance is free.
3 March 2019 will become the first day of the alpine skiing competitions to be held at the Bobrovy Log Fun Park, Nornickel’s sports facility in Krasnoyarsk. During the winter time, it operates as an all-weather sports and entertainment complex with over 10 km of 15 ski slopes offering various levels of difficulty. It was refurbished by Nornickel for the Student Games to meet the highest standards of international competitions. The Company equipped the Fun Park with artificial snow making and water injection systems for the ski slopes, sports-class lighting fixtures, new snow-compacting machines, a modern housing block for athletes and their coaches, a landing site for ambulance helicopters as well as with video broadcasting and security systems. The existing ski slopes were expanded, with nine of them certified to meet the international standards set by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The Bobrovy Log will host competitions to give out nine sets of medals in the following five disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, super-G, alpine skiing combined, and parallel team contests. It will also accommodate Nornickel’s second presentation site — a pavilion offering a range of interactive and VR attractions.
Bloggers from all over the world who have made it to the final of Follow Up Siberia! will come to Krasnoyarsk for the Student Games. The project’s key goal is to promote both Siberia and the Winter Universiade globally. It is based on an online contest called Siberia-Like Spot in Your City, which was open to anyone in the world. The participants were asked to find spots in their home city or country which reflect the essence of Siberia and to post a photo or video in social media hashtagged as #followupsiberia.
Those with the most creative entries were rewarded with an opportunity to come and see Siberia for themselves in the run-up to the Winter Universiade 2019. During the year 2018, the winners of each of the four selection rounds visited Norilsk, Dudinka, Krasnoyarsk, Chita and Altai. The best nine participants from India, Indonesia, Thailand, Greece, Germany, Serbia, Mexico, Canada and Australia, who were selected based on the results of the four rounds, will come to Krasnoyarsk for the Winter Universiade 2019.
“Nornickel’s operations are inseparably linked with the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory,” said Vladislav Gasumyanov, State Secretary — Vice President of Government Relations at Nornickel. “And so we fully supported the Student Games in Krasnoyarsk as their General Partner: from refurbishing the Bobrovy Log to meet the highest international standards as the facility that will host competitions in various alpine skiing disciplines, to personnel training and numerous projects to promote the Winter Universiade 2019 both in Russia and abroad. Nornickel’s efforts helped Krasnoyarsk to look more elegant, and everyone can now enjoy the illumination of the Kommunalny Bridge and the renovated Yenisei embankment. And during the Student Games, we will welcome our guests both in Nornickel’s pavilion in the Universiade Park and in the Bobrovy Log’s Fan House.”