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August 01 - 05
Summer 2007
li E L- hLe C L li E h
Beach Volleyball Grand Slam 2007
You wouldn't expect it, but one of the most popular
events on the Beach Volleyball World Tour takes place
each summer in a rather unusual location: Austria.
This beach event on the shores of a Carinthian lake,
the Wörthersee, is the last of four annual Grand Slam
tournaments. It is therefore one of the most
important beach volleyball events anywhere on the
international scene.
This year the A1 Beach Volleyball Grand Slam will be
celebrating its eleventh anniversary. It is staged on
the country's largest outdoor sand pit in Klagenfurt,
and it has become a summer event that is eagerly
looked forward to in Austria - and beyond - after
more than a decade on the scene. Fans of the game
appreciate the heart-stopping action on centre court,
and there is also a variety of official side events with
non-stop entertainment for sports buffs.
Brau Union, Heineken's operating company in Austria,
will be a lead sponsor of the Grand Slam this summer,
for the seventh year running. Austria's number-one
premium beer brand - Zipfer - will be at the centre of
a range of activities throughout the five-day event.
"Beach volleyball and Zipfer's sponsorship philosophy
have a lot in common; motion and meeting, pleasure
and fun, dynamism and aesthetics," says Brau Union
General Manager Markus Liebl. "We've been using this
trendy sport as an opportunity for Zipfer since 2001."
The A1 Beach Volleyball Grand-Slam attracts more
than 100,000 spectators every year.
During the event, spectators from the crowd will be
invited to take part in a unique dance event, called
'Dance4Zipfer - Be a Star'. Those willing to take the
challenge will be given the opportunity to
demonstrate their dance skills to top choreographer
Alamande Belfor, who will offer training and
instruction in the lead-up to a spectacular
performance on centre court on the event's final day.
Zipfer's support for the dynamic beach volleyball duo
"feliXandi" (Felix Blauel and Alexander Huber) is a new
element this year. In 2006, the two were the first
Austrian team ever to win the gold medal at the U23
European Championships. And this year Zipfer will
have other new successes to celebrate, including the
Grand Slam in Klagenfurt and the European
Championships in Spain this August.
Brau Union will also be opening the Zipfer Lemon
Lounge, which offers the best view of centre court.
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