Saalbach Gears Up for Ski World Championships

10th October 2024

Last modified on October 14th, 2024

The Austrian resort of Saalbach-Hinterglemm & Salzburgerland are promising an unforgettable experience for British skiers visiting the Alpine Ski World Championships next February.

It’s the second time the resort has hosted the championships, the last was in 1991.

This time the organisers say the event will be much more focussed on the experience of the tens of thousands of ski fans expected to attend, including it is hoped many from the UK.

Firstly, the races – which will be run between the 4^th and 16^th February – will all be held on one single hill, the Zwölferkogel.

We reported here as the resort was awarded the competition.

It means the Men’s and Women’s Downhill, Super G, GS, Slalom and the Team Parallel event will all start at different heights but will finish in the same stadium arena in the village.

This is in contrast to some previous world championships which have been spread across separate hills and even in different resorts – as they were in Méribel and Courchevel in 2023.

Saalbach also plans to operate its network of 270 km of slopes, one of the largest in Austria, at near 100% capacity for recreational skiers during the 12 days of races.

Speaking at the UK launch of the Austrian resort’s plans, Saalbach head of marketing Wolfgang Quas said; “This will be a special experience. Our visitors will be able to ski with friends and family and then stop next to the racetrack and watch world class ski racing before continuing on with their day.”

The Championships are also a big moment for the regional authorities in Salzburgerland, the area of Central Austria which includes Saalbach and its satellite resorts.

“We worked hard for this,” Julia Eder the Salzburgerland Senior Project Manager told the launch which was held at the Austrian Embassy in Belgravia.

“Ten years of preparations – and all the focus is on those two weeks.”

The former GB olympic athlete, Chemmy Alcott, was present.

World Championship GB winter launch. Image c/o PlanetSKI

For GB Snowsports, the event is being seen as a huge opportunity to win medals.

Chief Executive Vicky Gosling told the London gathering that there was a “special bond” between Austrian ski spectators and British competitors and she was confident this would inspire the team’s talisman, Dave Ryding, and his fellow racers to perform and do particularly well.

See here for more: https://www.saalbach.com/en/saalbach2025/saalbach2025

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