The Pontebba Ice Rink will host the International Ice Show on 5 January and Forni di Sopra will hand over the torch on Saturday 7 January.
Two events in the run-up to the EYOF2023 FVG mark the first week of the new year.
At the Pontebba Ice Rink on Thursday 5 January, national and international skaters will perform choreography and acrobatics at the International Ice Show organised by the Palaghiaccio Consortium, the Municipality of Pontebba and the Gruppo Sportivo Val Gleris in collaboration with Spettacolo Ghiaccio. The show will start at 6pm and will be introduced by a short presentation of the European Youth Olympic Festival, whose 16th winter edition will take place in Friuli Venezia Giulia from 21 to 28 January. The PalaVuerich in Pontebba will host all figure skating and short track competitions. Further information on Thursday afternoon’s event is available at www.ghiacciopontebba.it
On Saturday 7 January, the Flame, the iconic symbol of peace and sporting values of the 16th Winter Sports, Snow and Ice edition of the EYOF2023 FVG, will arrive in Forni di Sopra. At 5.30 pm, the ceremony in which the cauldron will be lit takes place in the village, with the participation of local institutions, ski clubs and representatives of the local sports movement.
Forni di Sopra, surrounded by the magnificent peaks of the Friulian Dolomites, which are part of the World Natural Heritage UNESCO, is the venue for the ski mountaineering competitions, a discipline that will be held for the first time at the Youth Olympic Games in Friuli Venezia Giulia on the occasion of the EYOF2023 FVG.
The EYOF2023 FVG, the multi-sport event for young people aged 14-18, is expected to attract 2,300 participants, including 1,300 athletes taking part in the 109 sports competitions across the 14 disciplines on the programme (21-28 January).
The Torch, a metaphor for Olympic values and a symbol of the ability to bring together, in the name of sport, people from different nations, cultures, languages and traditions, will arrive on board the ‘Io Sono Friuli Venezia Giulia’ lorry accompanied by the Mascot KUGY.
