On Sunday evening, the Winners' Square in Kranjska Gora was the venue for a new top-class and unforgettable music and dance performance, which officially opened the FIS Nordic World Junior Championships and the FIS U23 World Cross-Country Ski Championships in Planica.
The artistic spectacle, directed by Miha Krušič, provided an unforgettable experience for the visitors and a warm welcome for the 1170 participants who will compete for 24 sets of medals in the valley below Ponce.
Dancers, musicians, dancers and musicians took to the stage to showcase the best that Slovenia has to offer with their bodies and musical rhythms. From the Triglav to the accordion, and the rhythmic tones coming from the saxophone during the presentation of young athletes from 44 countries.
"Last year's event was a real success and a recipe for what makes an event successful. The concept is similar to last year. Last year's Planica still resonates today and we wanted to create a mirroring, an echo. In the 45 minutes of the show, the spectator gets the ecstasy of the music, of the dancing. You can't do without Triglav and the accordion," said Miha Krušič, who was also the director of last year's opening at the Planica 2024 Nordic World Ski Championships, about the idea of a music and dance performance.
The Acro Connection dancers made sure that their movements on stage were gentle but just the right amount of daring, defying gravity and depicting what Triglav means to Slovenians to the music of Laibach. "Instead of music or singers, we used two dancers who use their bodies to show what Triglav means, what the relationship between man and woman or man and nature is," Krušič said of the dynamic dance performance.
The presentation of the participating countries was accompanied by the rhythms of the Pantaloons, whose dynamic performance kept the audience in musical ecstasy for 18 minutes.
The event was graced by speeches by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, and the President of SZS and Treasurer of the International Ski Organisation, Enzo Smrekar.
The opening ceremony was closed to the sounds of the Slovenian rhythms with the accordion and the song Golica - by the Avsenik brothers.
