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Unforgettable moments of the Festival
Thursday February 24 2011 10:59 AM
The European Youth Olympic Festival is over and the organisers have to evaluate the whole event. We now offer you some of the funny moments and interesting facts from behind the scenes.
The organisers were sometimes faced with difficult tasks that needed to be sorted out in a very short time. On Thursday, 17th February, the NOC Department, which took care of all the sporting delegations, had 30 minutes to find a cake for the Czech gold medallist Ester Ledecká. Overwhelmed by the Czech triumph, the responsible member of the Czech delegation forgot to bring it. Fortunately, the Catering Department operatively helped out and caused a small miracle.
Throughout the week, there were several items which ended up among the Lost and Found. Apart from the frequently lost accreditation cards, the most extraordinary item found was the wallet of a Ukrainian athlete, which was literally packed with bank notes. It was returned to the lucky owner immediately and with the full contents.
The delegation from the Chinese city of Nanjing, which took part in the Observer Programme for hosts of youth sporting events, caused some hard times for the organisers and the staff of the Hotel Zlaty Lev. Their accommodation request stated that they require "extra-large beds". Everyone expected officials with the statures of basketball players and manoeuvres with special beds were being prepared. Everybody gave a sigh of relief, when the "standard-size" Chinese arrived in Liberec and apologised for leaving the requirement in the application form, which they primarily use during their travels in Asia.
The Transport Department was one of the busiest during EYOWF 2011. The most demanding moments were the two ceremonies, when 1.600 people were successfully transported to and from in only 45 minutes, using 25 shuttle buses by Bus Line Semily company. There were 429 bus rides altogether, which provided transport between the venues, the city centre and the Olympic Village for members of the Organising Committee, their colleagues, volunteers, sporting delegations and school children from the region. Forty thousand kilometres were travelled and ten thousand people were transported. The 50 cars provided by the official partner Škoda Auto made it a total of fifty-five thousand kilometres.
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