26th January 2012 02:50
With five-months to go to this summer’s 2012 European Athletics Championships, preparations are in full swing in the Finnish capital Helsinki that will host the Championships from 27 June to 1 July.
This week, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of Helsinki 2012 hosted the final co-ordination meeting of all stakeholders involved in the European Athletics’ flagship event, which will be held at the city’s historic Olympic stadium.
European Athletics Director General Christian Milz expressed his happiness with the preparations of the championships and lauded LOC for their impressive work.
“We are now in the final straight to launch the new concept of European Athletics Championships. I am very happy with the discussions we have had over the last two days and I am assured that everything is on the right track and well on schedule. We are looking forward to a great championship this summer,” he said.
Helsinki 2012 will present various new concepts such as victory ceremonies taking place outside the stadium for the first time in the history of the championships. Helsinki being named as the World Design Capital for 2012, it’s apt that design and technology are the underlying theme of the action-packed five-day event.
“The new two-year cycle will provide a greater shop window to exhibit our great European athletes,” Milz highlighted.
According to Milz, the best athletes from across the continent will line up for the European honours in Helsinki and he is confident that the athletics fans will witness a number of great performances at the Olympic stadium.
“We are convinced that we will have the best athletes competing in Helsinki,” said Milz.
“It will be the perfect opportunity for any athlete to gauge their performance against other international athletes leading to the Olympic Games in London,” he added.
Most of the best seats already sold out
With an increase in promotion activities over the Christmas and winter months, ticket sales have been on the rise and the demand is likely to increase leading up to the event.
Esa Honkalehto, General Secretary of Helsinki 2012, confirmed that the event is increasingly attracting fans from Finland in particular and the rest of Europe.
“Finnish fans have been very active and the best seats have already been sold out for most of the evening sessions. Anyone interested in securing the tickets to Helsinki 2012 should act now. Helsinki will be the destination to be for all the athletics fans around Europe,” said Honkalehto.
Milz also prompted all those who want to attend this summer’s mega event to get the tickets as soon as possible.
“Athletics has a strong tradition in Finland and with this we can expect both a great show and large crowds cheering on the athletes,” he added.