August 26, 2005 – The Opening Ceremonies are definitely moments of great expectations at each World Championships: everybody looks forward to them. Expectations are getting higher and higher. The official inauguration of the UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships in Livigno starts at 8.45 p.m. on Wednesday 31st August.

Livigno’s warm greetings to the world will accompany the athletes from fifty countries taking part in an adventurous and multi-coloured journey in this corner of Valtellina. The choreographies and the performances of the athletes will highlight the marvels of the outdoors that surrounds Livigno and the strong connection of symbols. A totally perceptive multimedia system and in several dimensions, made up of sounds, dances, images, acrobatics and surprising acts.

Just like all shows, the opening ceremony of Livigno World Championships will also have its guest star: “Dangerous Dan”, more than a biker, he is the prince of the new frontier of mountain biking, the “North Shore style”, an exciting and daredevil expression of the mountain bike taken to its greatest extreme. The set will be the Mountain Bike World Village, an exhibition area for the partner companies and sponsors, but also a meeting point for all the enthusiasts who will flock to Livigno in the week of the World Championships.

The ceremony is directed by Tiziana Bezzi who has twenty years’ experience as director of international events in dance, sport and numerous cultural expressions. Her creations include the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Downhill Skiing World Championships in Bormio 2005. Alongside her are Federico Chigbuh Gasparini and Giancarlo Carraio, the production assistant and multivision designer respectively.

And the closing ceremony? In most classic tradition “made in Livigno”, the epilogue of the cycling event will not be lacking in entertainment. At the final party, the protagonists will be all those who have contributed to the success of the event.

It won’t definitley be a farewell, but rather a “see you soon” because Livigno will hand over the baton of the relay to its New Zealander friends from Rotorua, the organizers of the 17th Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships from 22nd to 27th August 2006 under the aegis of UCI.

Right up to the very end, it will be a world championship to remember.