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Statement of April 16 2009
The
city of Tromsø, backed by the Norwegian Chess
Federation, is committed to become the host city for
the 41st Chess Olympiad in 2014.
With its 75.000 inhabitants, including 10.000
university students, Tromsø has all the amenities of
“a small large city”. Chess players around the world
will discover a friendly and open-minded population
with hotels of excellent international standard, an
attractive restaurant scene and a diversity of
cultural activities. Tromsø has a very active chess
environment, and hosts an annual international Chess
festival, Arctic Chess Challenge, in August every
year. The tournament will be further upgraded in the
coming years in order to prepare for the potential
Olympiad in 2014.
“Being
elected as the host city of the Chess Olympiad in
2014 is a major ambition for our city”, says Tromsø
mayor Arild Hausberg. “We promise the chess world a
unique experience combining competent and
experienced organizing skills in a friendly and
exciting environment. And the event, if we succeed
in winning the bid, will engage the whole city to
the pleasure of the participants and the population.
A comprehensive cultural program will be an
integrated part of a Chess Olympiad in Tromsø”,
concludes the mayor.
The
preparation for the bid is well under way, and the
bidding committee has been actively engaged for most
of 2008. Active working relations with the Norwegian
government will secure sufficient support. The
bidding committee brings a committee of Olympic and
chess expertise. Its chairman is the former managing
director of the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing
Committee, (17th Winter Olympics 1994), Mr. Henrik
Andenæs, a business professional, working alongside
the President of the Norwegian Chess Federation, Mr.
Jøran Aulin Jansson, as vice chairman. General
Manager is Mr. Børge Johan Robertsen.
What makes Tromsø exceptional is its magnificent
nature. Located north of the Arctic Circle, Tromsø
is blessed with midnight sun all through the summer,
and has more polar Northern lights, “Aurora Borealis”,
than anywhere else in the world. Being referred to
as the entry-port to the Arctic, Tromsø still has a
relatively mild climate, and lies a limited 3 hours
flight away from London and Frankfurt, and less than
2 hours flight from the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
This will give easy access to chess participants
from all over the world.
For
more information, please contact:
Henrik
Andenæs, chairman, +4795143830,
henrik.andenas@dht.no
Jøran Aulin Jansson,
vice chairman, +4791332242,
jj@sci-group.net
Børge Johan Robertsen, general manager, +4791647329,
borge.robertsen@tromso2014.no
A bit more on our candidacy
A 100th ANNIVERSARY: The Norwegian Chess Federation,
Norges Sjakkforbund, was founded on July 20th 1914, and its
2004 congress decided to nominate a committee to work on the
100th anniversary of the federation, in 2014.
AND A 200th ANNIVERSARY: The committee soon decided
to recommend that a Chess Olympiad in our country would be
the perfect manifestation of this big occasion, which by the
way also coincides with the 200th anniversary of the
Norwegian constitution itself.
NOT YET IN NORWAY: The Chess Olympiad has never been
held in Norway and not in the Nordic countries either for a
very long time since Stockholm 1937 and Helsinki 1952.
WISH, STRENGTH AND SUPPORT: For some time we worked
on four Norwegian candidate sites for a 2014 Chess Olympiad.
The northernmost candidate city of Tromsø however seemed to
show both the strongest desire, strength and support for the
whole idea, and was thus clearly selected to be our
candidate.
THE CHESS CITY TROMSØ: For the last ten years chess
players and enthusiasts of Tromsø have shown a strong
ability to give a good chess offer to children and youth,
and has become one of the leading Norwegian producers of new
chess talents.
SUCCESSFUL TOURNAMENTS: Tromsø chess club has already
earned a reputation as an experienced
organizer of several successful national and international
chess tournaments, and the city of Tromsø has in fact got
two chess clubs which both compete on a very high level in
Norway.
By Øystein Brekke, chairman of the
anniversary committee 2004-2006.
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