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The Winter Universiade will be postponed until December 2021
The Winter Universiade should have taken place in Central Switzerland and Lenzerheide in January 2021. Now those responsible have found a postponement date.
The Wuli mascot in its presentation last January.
(stg) The Winter Universiade will take place from December 11 to 21, 2021 in Central Switzerland and Lenzerheide. The organizers will announce this on Friday afternoon.
The organizing committee and Swiss sport are very happy with the decision. “Especially in times of crisis, Switzerland needs lighthouse projects more than ever. With the postponement of the Winter Universiade, Central Switzerland is setting an example ”, is convinced Matthias Remund, Director of the Federal Office for Sports. And Swiss Olympic President Jürg Stahl adds: For many young people, sport means perspective.
“The Winter Universiade offers a platform for important topics such as top sport and study. These issues should not be forgotten in the pandemic. “
In evaluating deferral, evaluation of epidemiological development was also central. The organizing committee called Daniel Koch, former head of the “Communicable Diseases” department at the Federal Office of Public Health. “I am convinced that the Winter Universiade can be held in winter 21/22,” says Koch. This belief is based on the assessment that the pandemic can be handled much better in one year. On the one hand, because this winter, thanks to rapid tests, testing capacities will increase and a vaccine will probably be available next summer. On the other hand, the Summer Olympics in Japan would also bring a lot of experience on how the games can be carried out with protection concepts and certain precautions.
The event is important for tourism and the hotel industry.
According to a study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, the added value of the multi-sport event for the region amounts to more than 70 million francs. “That shows the importance of the event in the current crisis,” says Winter Universiade general director Urs Hunkeler. Tourism, in particular, sees the Winter Universiade as an important showcase. Around 35,000 overnight stays were generated only during the eleven days of the event. And: “With images from competitions in major tourist destination markets, the region can position itself as a winter sports destination for the future tourism business,” says Marcel Perren, Lucerne tourism director.
Friday’s decision is also an important signal for the hotel industry: «The decision of the cantons of Central Switzerland and the city of Lucerne to postpone the Winter Universiade with global coverage is an important message for our hotel industry and for the entire chain of tourism value Motivation in this challenging situation ”, explains Conrad Meier, President of Luzern Hotels.
The event decision should give the athletes perspective.
Christoph Böcklin, Head of the Winter Universiade delegation at Swiss University Sports, is also very happy: “Team Suisse 2021’s dream of the Home Universiade lives on. Even if we have to be patient a bit longer, this decision gives athletes perspective for a major sporting event under, hopefully, standardized framework conditions. “
The Winter Universiade is the largest winter multi-sport event after the Olympics. The thirtieth edition was originally planned from January 21 to 31, 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the international university sports association FISU, together with the organizing committee and Swiss University Sports, decided in late August this year to halt preparations for a deployment in January 2021.
