Tickets are now on sale for Weltklasse Zürich – EAA News

The annual scrabble for Weltklasse Zürich tickets opened this morning at 9am and tickets never last long for this IAAF Golden League event known as ''the Olympics in two hours" because of the high quality of the event and the stars that it attracts.

The immediately follows the Beijing Olympics and is known as ''the Olympics in two hours" because of the high quality of the event and the stars that it attracts.

Four months prior to the 2008 edition of Weltklasse Zürich on 29 August (the first major event to follow the Beijing Olympics), a host of top athletes have already confirmed their participation, and in the area of logistics and infrastructure, preparations are also well under way,

"Things are progressing according to plan. Compared to last year, we are even ahead of schedule in all areas," Meeting Director Patrick K. Magyar informed media representatives at the event press conference yesterday at the Letzigrund Stadium.

"One year ago, the Weltklasse Zürich team was faced with the countless challenges of a brand-new stadium. Now, we can benefit from our experience of last year's premiere. Together with the stadium management, we have been able to eliminate any weak points," Magyar, who is very pleased with the preparations for the meeting, explains.
 
"Although the official ticket sale is just starting, all hospitality packages for sponsors are sold out already. The co-operation with our mostly long standing partners has been excellent"

Ticket package campaigns with Swiss Athletics and LCZ club members, too, have been extremely successful: "One of the decisive quality features of Weltklasse Zürich is its knowledgeable and enthusiastic stadium crowd. We would like to take this aspect into account by reserving part of the tickets for athletics fans."

However, tickets in all categories will be on offer for everyone,
"Last year, the tickets were sold out within a matter of a few hours. Therefore, those interested in following the action live at the stadium may want to secure tickets as quickly as possible" warned Magyar.

Numerous Top Stars Confirmed
As usual, the Letzigrund audience will be treated to star-studded fields and athletics at its best. Only five days after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, Weltklasse Zürich will offer an extraordinary get-together of high-calibre stars.

"We are in close contact with the athletes and their representatives. Just before the season gets under way, many athletes have not yet decided on their planning for after the Olympic Games," explains athletes' manager Bettina Borner. She expects to finalize the majority of the agreements in July and during the US Trials.

Numerous stars, however, have already confirmed their visit to Zurich, with a number of exciting duels and tough competitions expected, such as Javelin's to Scandinavian super stars World Champion Tero Pitkämäki against Olympic Champion Andreas
Thorkildsen, European Athletic's Rising Star of 2007 Andrew Howe contesting the Long Jump against World Champion Irving Saladino and the men's 400m will be another special highlight of the evening, with Olympic and World Champion Jeremy Wariner facing tough competition from the likes of Swedish Sprint star Johan Wissman.

In many events, last year's top stars have already been entered. Among them are World High Jump Champion Blanka Vlasic, Pole Vault World record holder Yelena Isinbayeva, and indoor World record holder Susanna Kallur.
 
After successfully introducing the Zürich Trophy in 2007, the 4x100m men's relay, which will again include the young Swiss team, will once again conclude the Weltklasse Zürich 2008 programme of events.

Promoting Swiss and European Talents
Andreas Hediger, Technical Director of Weltklasse Zürich, presents an innovation for the national programme: In an U23 match, teams from the Golden League countries, an U23 squad from Jamaica, and a team from the canton of Zurich (no age limit) will compete in six events. For the women, the events will be 200m, 100m Hurdles, and Long Jump. The men's programme of events will include 1,500m, 400m Hurdles and a medley relay race.

"We would like to offer a very special platform to young talents from Switzerland and abroad, and we are convinced that our audience will be more than happy to motivate and support them" Hediger said as he explained the new layout of the national programme.

Tickets
Tickets are now available at: www.weltklassezuerich.ch or by calling +41 44 495 80 90.  Just as in 2007, family tickets at a reduced price will be on offer at Migros City in Zurich.