Ski WC 2017

St. Moritz was awarded the right to host the Alpine Ski World Championships 2017! This will be the 5th World Championships held in the Engadine, following championships in 1934, 1948, 1974 and 2003.

On the third attempt, success has been achieved! On Thursday 31st May 2012, shortly after 12.00 noon Swiss time, members of the St. Moritz delegation and the Candidature Committee were able to let their emotions run wild as they embraced in joy at the decision.
 

On its 3rd successive candidature, after an impressive campaign, and presentation at the FIS Conference in South Korea, the team from the Engadine was selected to host the Championships in preference to its rivals Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy) and Are (Sweden). This major event will be held in 2017, 14 years after the last Ski World Championships were staged in Switzerland (also in St. Moritz).
 
Hugo Wetzel, the President of the Candidature Committee, spoke shortly after the announcement of the decision: "I am overjoyed! My team, with determination and persistence, has worked incessantly for six years to achieve this great result! The decision is important, not only for St. Moritz and the Engadine, but for the Canton of Graubunden and all of Switzerland. We will show the world once again that we are able to organize a fantastic event." 

 

Sigi Asprion, the Mayor of St. Moritz, was beside himself with joy: "We are absolutely delighted. For St. Moritz this also means that we again have a common goal, for which all our residents will join together and do their part to achieve. The feeling is indescribable!"


Urs Lehmann, President of Swiss-Ski: "The moment of the announcement was a magnificent and remarkable instant, and one that was liberating for us all. And when one looks back, it is a reward for six years of highly professional work by the Candidature Committee. The decision also gives us motivation and energy to undertake the entire organization before us – but it is naturally also an obligation that we should be ready for 2017 with a strong team."

Matthias Remund, the Director of the Federal Office of Sport, who was also present at the Conference to support the Candidature, could also not hide his delight: "This is great for St. Moritz, the Engadine, Graubunden, indeed for the whole of Switzerland. We will host a World Championships in a sport that is very important in our country. This is a tremendous opportunity for alpine skiing in Switzerland - not only for the best, but also for the juniors and at grassroots level. We have to grasp this opportunity!"

The announcement of the victory, which attracted many locals and guests to the public viewing in St. Moritz, is not the end of a successful story, but the start of a new chapter. The St. Moritzers will work together with Swiss Ski to develop and expand the project of the Championships using the experiences of recent years.