Just after 8 PM on Tuesday evening, and after a festive opening ceremony that lasted close to two hours, the time had come to finally say: “Let the games begin”. The well-attended opening ceremony took place on the Tyrol State Theater’s forecourt in the center of Innsbruck, with the highlight being the parade of the 68 participating nations and a total of 1,290 athletes who have come to compete for medals in Tyrol. The atmosphere was a festive one, setting the tone for the women and men who are going to race on four different courses in the Vertical, Trail Short, Trail Long and Mountain Classic competitions. “Mountain and trail running is coming home,” as Austria's Vice Chancellor and Sports Minister Werner Kogler put it before adding that he hoped all athletes would be able to enjoy “injury-free World Championships and fulfill their dreams.”
As the motto of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships is to “leave no trace”, Austrian athlete Johanna Hiemer and her Norwegian colleague Stian Angermund took an oath on behalf of all participants to protect the environment and leave nothing behind but their footprints. The element of water was also strongly present at the ceremony. Water from the glacier, from Tyrolean springs, waterfalls, a mountain lake and the Inn river was carried to the forecourt in five spheres that were then formed into a fountain.
In the show part, the dance and acrobatic group “Zurcaroh” from Vorarlberg provided entertainment with a spectacular performance. 40 dancers between the ages of seven and 30 whirled and literally flew across the stage. Their act was followed by singer Sara de Blue from Salzburg, who presented the official World Cup song “Run, run, run”, and the German singer and songwriter Gregor Meyle, who brought the evening to a close. Let the Championships begin.
