Lausanne, Switzerland, October 9, 2014 - With a little under nine months remaining until the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in the Netherlands, preparations for the tournament were presented to a meeting of the Beach Volleyball World Tour Council in Lausanne on Monday.
The Beach Volleyball World Championships in 2015 will take place in the Dutch cities of The Hague, Apeldoorn, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, from June 26 through to July 5. The Hague will host the competition’s opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the finals. A temporary stadium with seating for 5500 spectators will be the venue for pool round matches starting on June 26, which will be followed by knockout round matches through to July 5. The venues in Apeldoorn, Amsterdam and Rotterdam will each be able to seat 2000 fans and will host pool and knockout matches, up to the quarterfinals.
Daily coverage will be provided by regional television and radio channels. A total of 4000 hours of television coverage in 124 countries worldwide is expected, while provisions for over 500 media accreditations will be put in place. Each venue will have its ambassador. In The Hague, Tournament Director and Ambassador Bas van de Goor, who is an Olympic gold medalist from 1996, will be a familiar face. Olympic athletes Bram Ronnes, Rebekka Kadijk and Richard Schuil will represent Apeldoorn, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
Fans in the Netherlands can expect a true festival of beach volleyball, with numerous activities being organised before and during the event. A 10,000 square metre Beach Club will be set up in The Hague for the duration of the event, featuring live matches on giant screens and entertainment for both children and adults. Other treats to look out for include a Trophy Tour around different cities in the Netherlands and numerous local and school beach volleyball tournaments in the months preceding the World Championships.
Forty-eight teams per gender will participate in the World Championships in the Netherlands, including a maximum of six host country teams and four foreign teams per country. The winning pairs in the men's and the women's competitions will qualify for the Olympic Games in 2016.
The World Tour Council also heard a report on the advancement of preparations for the beach volleyball tournament at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, which is set to mark an important new milestone in the history of the sport. A temporary beach volleyball stadium will be located at Copacabana beach, with seating for 12,000 spectators. The venue, which will be located on one of Brazil’s most famous landmarks, is sure to play a central role in the image of the 2016 Olympic Games, and is conveniently situated for athletes who will be staying at the Olympic Village.
A review of the Beach Volleyball World Tour Council meeting on Monday is available
here.