The Exhibition Gala concluded on Sunday the 79th European Figure Skating Championships hosted in Bratislava. According to the Head of the Championships Organizing Committee, Martin Letenay, the International Skating Union (ISU) gave the organizers an excellent evaluation. One visible minus was the grey spots on the main ice rink, which appeared when the rink underwent the change from hockey ice to figure skating ice. According to many observers, it was the audience at the Ondrej Nepela Arena that made this tournament special. During the 5 days, the arena welcomed around 35,000 visitors. Martin Letenay:
"It is important for the International Skating Union to see that figure skating tournaments can be organized in this country. It is a demanded product, people are interested in it. So both the organizational and viewer aspect are good."
The championship will most likely end up with a financial profit, mainly thanks to the sale of tickets. This extra money should then go to support the activities of the Slovak figure skating union. The good evaluation of the tournament by international officials might result in Bratislava applying to host either a European or a World championship already in 2020.
