EXCELLENT ATMOSPHERE AT THE SEASON OPENER IN ISCHGL
Optimum snow conditions in the Silvretta Arena and 8,000 enthusiastic visitors at the Ronan Keating concert: fully booked hotels, snowfall on Saturday, a top-class open-air concert with around 8,000 exuberant listeners, sunshine on Sunday, more than 12,000 enthusiastic guests in the ski area - that is the summary of the winter opening in Ischgl from 29 November to 1 December 2002.
It wasn't just the 8,000 visitors to Ronan Keating's open-air concert on Saturday 30 November 2002 who were in an exuberant mood: the star himself was also in a great mood in view of the impressive Ischgl backdrop. In addition to older songs such as "When You Say Nothing At All" and "Life Is A Rollercoaster", he also played "If Tomorrow Never Comes" and "I Love It When We Do", the hits from his new album. Numerous celebrities from Germany and Austria were among the enthusiastic audience that packed into the square in front of the SilvrettaSeilbahn AG and on the balconies of the neighbouring hotels: speed skater Claudia Pechstein, four-time Olympic champion, joined in, as did boxer Daisy Lang, the GBU bantamweight world champion, and German TV commissioner Leonard Lansink. Christoph Gottschalk, known to many from the joint commercials with his brother Thomas, also had a great time. Also in the audience: Sturm Graz president Hannes Kartnig; Michael Höferer, former head of Österreich Werbung and now back in the airline business; Tim Lobinger, multiple German pole vault champion.
The weather gods also meant well with the Ischglers: favoured in terms of snow anyway - the snow depth in the Silvretta Arena has been at 90 cm for some time - it snowed again just in time for the start of the winter season in the Tyrolean Paznaun. Snow sports enthusiasts can now look forward to around 200 kilometres of perfectly groomed pistes in Ischgl.
