Sauna images go global, attendance target exceeded, conditional ticket sales opened for the 2031 World Championships

The event exceeded its attendance target.

“Over four days, more than 18,600 spectators attended the event. Our target was 13,000–14,000. The number of tickets sold per day was clearly higher than at any point earlier in the 2020s,” says event director Sami Leinonen.

He explains the change with two factors.

“The success of Finnish athletes and the positive atmosphere increase interest. Another factor is that we were able to organise the event with a broad and active partner network, which clearly increased visibility. It is now a pleasure to say, both on our own behalf and on behalf of our partners, that we exceeded our target,” Leinonen says.

Conditional ticket sales opened for the 2031 World Championships

The event was also an important showcase for Finland as the country is applying to host the 2031 IBU World Championships.

“Full grandstands and an active audience provide the best possible support for the bid process when the host is selected,” Leinonen says.

The event organiser has now opened conditional ticket sales for the World Championships planned in five years’ time. If the championships are awarded to Finland next autumn, the tickets will become valid. If the event is not awarded to Finland, the tickets will not be invoiced.

“Through the tickets sold, we can demonstrate to the decision-makers that the grandstands will be full. At the same time, this is a practical way to activate the home crowd as an ‘extra player on the field’ already during the bidding process,” Leinonen says.

He says he is not aware of anything similar being done elsewhere.

“This is an exceptional way in which we want to influence the World Championships bid.”

Sauna stand attracted attention

The sauna stand built at the Kontiolahti biathlon stadium also proved popular.

The sauna area consisted of a sauna, a hot tub, a cold plunge pool and a terrace with chairs.

“Finland and sauna belong together. We wanted to bring a smile to people’s faces and offer genuinely Finnish content both to spectators at the event and to audiences around the world through the media,” Leinonen says.

Groups using the sauna during the event included athletes, partners and spectators. Public sauna sessions were raffled among the audience.

“The sauna attracted a lot of interest. Numerous TV crews came to see it, and the athletes themselves even asked for an additional sauna session on Sunday evening.”

This was the first time a sauna stand had been built in Kontiolahti.

“The feedback has been entirely positive. The goal is to make the sauna stand a tradition at every World Cup event. The next sauna session at the stadium will take place in November,” Leinonen says.