Summer is approaching and Split is busy preparing for the European Water Polo Championships, which will take place from August 27 to September 10. It is a big event for the town at the foot of Marjan, the biggest in the last few years, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.
In addition to the tournament, the city is also preparing for the spectacle of drawing the groups. If there is a reason to use the term ”spectacle’, it is precisely because there is a lot of expectation for this event, since it will be held in nothing more and nothing less than the imposing Peristil, inside Diocletian’s Palace. Especially for this occasion, the organizers made an effort to turn one of the symbols of the city into a real water polo stage.
This is how the Peristil will look for tonight’s group draw for the European Water Polo Championship. (Image: Slobodna Dalmacija)
As the organizers pointed out, this symbol of history will be, this time, in the service of sports. The stage will be located at the foot of the main Protiron and the arch under which the emperor appeared in the past. Under the stone columns, there will be an auditorium for about 200 guests, and among them numerous dignitaries from sports and social life.
This new and special image of the Peristil will serve as a great advertisement for Croatia. Tourism, which has long been a cornerstone in our country, will get another boost. During the championship, as many as 28 national teams (12 women’s and 16 men’s) will be in Split with more than 600 athletes and support staff, along with 100 judges and representatives of the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN). More than 300 journalists and 600 people are expected to take part in the organization as well.
These are numbers that speak for themselves. A massive spectacle is being prepared in Split, and its first act is scheduled for tonight at 8 pm when the Water Polo Euro group draw begins on the “new” Peristil. A dynamic entertainment program has also been announced, with numerous audiovisual effects that will give a new glow to the centuries-old stone square.
Drawing groups is a great overture to everything that awaits us in the competition itself. The tournament will be accompanied by a series of entertainment events, concerts, museum exhibitions, congresses … Guests, both domestic and foreign, will be able to enjoy the varied offer, and all together will once again see what kind of host Split always is.
The whole story about holding the European Water Polo Championship in Split started in 2018. Two pools will be temporarily set up inside the Spaladium Arena, the main one for competitions and the auxiliary one for warming up.
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