Previously, there were thousands of Russian spectators at the Biathlon World Cup in North Karelia. Now let’s prepare for an attack coming from the east.
In the last decade, thousands of Russian fans arrived at Kontiolahti biathlon grandstand. In the photo, Anton Shipulin is throwing passes at the 2018 World Cup. Kimmo Brandt / EPA / AOP
The organizers of the Kontiolahti World Cup have made serious preparations for possible attacks from the east during the competition week.
– This situation has gone crazy, states the director of the competition Kimmo Turunen.
Even in the last decade, Russians formed a significant source of income in North Karelia, when 5,000–6,000 eastern visitors arrived per World Cup or World Cup week. That meant about a quarter of all customers.
Now the Russians are shut out of almost all international top sports, and Russian tourists have no interest in Finland either.
– It is known that there are dual citizens in North Karelia. They are of course welcome in the stands. For example, we don’t ban Russian flags in the stands, because everyone has freedom of speech. The Russian situation has been thoroughly reviewed with the International Biathlon Union (Ibu) in the event’s risk plan, says Turunen.
One serious safety issue is the humming backup power machines in the Kontiolahti stadium area. Three diesel-powered devices guarantee that the electricity will not run out, even if the national grid goes dark.
– If the national network were to fall out, we would be able to carry out the competition with backup power. The most important items are the TV image, timing and the lighting of the tracks and the stadium.
Turunen says that, at Ibu’s request, the backup engines have been in use since at least 2015.
– In previous years, backup generators had to generate more electricity. Now the electrical infrastructure has been improved so that there is enough electricity in the national grid. Backup engines are now true to their name.
This year, due to the Russian threat, backup engines play a particularly important role.
Snow production worked
Three diesel-powered back-up power devices guarantee electricity for the Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti in the event of a power grid failure. Santtu Silvennoinen
Kontiolahti is skiing with cannon snow. The longest run is four kilometers and there is a total of about 6.5 kilometers of snow covered track. Athletes can get to the “highway”, because the widest part of the snow on the track is 12 meters.
There are still 15,000 cubic meters of cannon snow made last winter and stored over the summer in the warehouse, so the organizers succeeded in snow production excellently.
– The loss of snow during the summer was about 20 percent, says Turunen.
For comparison, the snow loss of the organizers of the Ruka World Cup during the summer was more than 33 percent.
In North Karelia, competitions are held from Tuesday to Sunday. Friday is a break day. The audience goal is moderate: a total of 10,000 people.
– A challenging competition program when we start with the weekday competitions at 2:15 p.m. It is not easy. Let’s hope for Finnish success, because it will certainly get people moving.