“ISU events lack excitement. Filling the arena for seeing just jumps and spins is much more challenging.” head of the Lithuanian Figure Skating Federation about the organization of the 2024 European Championships
Translation of the comments made by the head of the Lithuanian Figure Skating Federation about the organization of the 2024 European Figure Skating Championships.
original source: matchtv.ru by Maya Bagriantseva
The head of the Lithuanian Figure Skating Federation, Vytautas Jasutis, shared insights into the organization of the 2024 European Figure Skating Championships.
“With 25 years in the event business, I know that there is no significant difference between organizing an Andrea Bocelli concert, the EuroLeague basketball, or the European Figure Skating Championships. The key is knowing how to do it.
We all know the usual problem with ISU events – spectators lack excitement. Going to the arena should be an entertainment experience for the whole family. When the ice resurfacing is happening – organize something lively for the audience, don’t let them get bored. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel: in America, they excel at engaging the audience in hockey or basketball.
We celebrate sold-out events, but think about how many people before us didn’t get involved because they expected the usual dull and boring event. You can watch that at home on TV. So, you have to offer the audience something that can only be experienced in the arena. That’s the whole point.
And we showed that in one evening you can dance, sing, create waves in the arena, and participate in games. In short – have fun. This is a key point; there must be entertainment. Filling the arena for seeing just jumps and spins is much more challenging,” said Vytautas Jasutis.
“No, the state did not allocate any funds for us. The municipality helped us – they covered the arena rental, and that’s a substantial amount. Kaunas knew that such an event would attract many tourists to the city and worked with a long-term perspective. We could rely only on a fairly limited ISU budget and ticket sales.
Did we take risks? Certainly, as it’s not basketball that always sells out in Lithuania. But you know, those who don’t take risks don’t drink champagne – we closed the event with a profit.
From the very beginning, we told ISU: we know how to organize everything, just don’t interfere. All these official memorandums and regulations only make things worse; this bureaucratic dust leads to nothing.
Yes, we were somewhat audacious, but it’s tiresome when we’re constantly being lectured. We have a super-professional team; we know how to organize such events. It’s strange: we grew up in the USSR, but I haven’t encountered so much ‘Soviet’ anywhere as I see in ISU,” said Vytautas Jasutis, as reported by Sports.ru correspondent Maya Bagriantseva.
Related topics: European Championships, ISU
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