HELSINKI, Finland-- October 11, 1999--The city of Warsaw will be the scene for theng of the Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup season this year. The Nokia Warsaw Takeoff is the biggest ever city festival in Poland, under the patronage of the mayor of Warsaw. More than 25,000 people are expected to gather in the surroundings of the Warsaw Youth Palace on the 23rd of October for an event covered by MTV and Eurosport.
Nokia will build a spectacular 20-meter snowboard ramp on the grounds of the Youth Palace. The world's top snowboarders have been invited to compete in Big Air Jump on the ramp. The competition will be held according to FIS rules and judged by FIS-approved judges. Last season's overall champions Mathieu Bozzetto and Manuela Riegler and snowboard cross champion Ursula Fingerlos from the Nokia Riders Team will also be present in the event. Nokia Riders Zach Horwitz, Aleksi Litovaara and Pasi Voho will give performances on the ramp. Jagna Marczulajtis from Poland, European Champion and World Cup winner, who recently joined the Nokia Riders Team, will also join the event.
Alongside the ramp, a continuous performance of bands, including Reef and Countermine, and DJs will take place on the stage. The show will start at 2 pm on 23 October and finish at 11 pm with a massive fireworks display and a light show.
"The city of Warsaw provides an excellent setting for the spectacular takeoff of the Nokia Snowboard season. In essence, snowboarding is an urban sport, and we wanted to bring it downtown and mix it with other elements of current pop culture, music and mobile phones. Snowboarding and Nokia share the same values of creativity, freedom and individuality. We enjoy doing things differently. We are happy that the city of Warsaw is enthusiastically working with us on this unique event," said Anssi Vanjoki, Senior Vice President, Nokia Mobile Phones, Europe and Africa.
In just over a decade, snowboarding has become one of the most popular winter sports in the world. The roots of snowboarding can be traced back to southern Californian surfers looking for thrills away from the beaches. Today snowboarding is much more than just a sport. It is a lifestyle and has an ambience of its own. The snowboarding culture affects millions of participants and fans, from the clothes they wear to the music they listen to.
The Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup consists of Halfpipe, Parallel Slalom and Snowboard Cross, Giant Slalom and Parallel Giant Slalom.
Nokia is paving the way to the mobile information society with its innovative products and solutions. Nokia is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks including related services. It also supplies multimedia terminals and computer displays. In 1998, net sales totaled EUR 13.3 billion (USD 15.7 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK), Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more than 51 000 people.
The Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup 1999/2000 events:
19-22 November Tandadalen Sweden 27-28 November Tignes France 30 November Sestriere Italy 3-5 December Zell am See / Kaprun Austria 10-12 December Whistler/Blackcomb Canada 18-19 December Mt. Ste. Anne Canada 8-9 January Avoriaz/Morzine France 14-16 January Berchtesgaden Germany 19-20 January Gstaad/Schonried Switzerland 28 January Madonna di Campiglio Italy 4-6 February Ischgl Austria 18-20 February Makomanai Japan 26-27 February Nagano/Shigakogen Japan 3-5 March Park City USA 10-12 March San Candido/Sexten Italy 15-18 March Livigno Italy
