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From Vision to Icon: Planica Nordic Centre Celebrates Its First Decade

From Vision to Icon: Planica Nordic Centre Celebrates Its First Decade

A decade of excellence at one of Slovenia’s most iconic sports venues was celebrated on Thursday, 11 December 2025, as the Nordic Centre Planica marked its 10th anniversary. Under the banner “Ten Years of Pride. For the Pride of the Future,” the ceremony showcased the centre’s remarkable contribution to Slovenian sport, tourism and international recognition. Among the distinguished guests was the Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board, MSc. Maja Pak Olaj.

Planica stands as Slovenia’s premier Nordic sports hub, bringing together world-class infrastructure for ski jumping and ski flying, cross-country skiing and Nordic combined. With a wide range of training facilities, dedicated children’s areas, a museum, educational programmes and year-round sports and recreational opportunities, it offers a comprehensive environment for developing young talent and supporting elite athletes at the highest level.

Looking to the future, the anniversary placed strong emphasis on the continued development of the centre, which remains one of Slovenia’s most important sports venues and national promotional landmarks. Strategic development directions were presented by Dr Franci Petek, Director of the Institute of Sport of the Republic of Slovenia Planica, together with his colleague Jelko Gros, while architect Matej Blenkuš unveiled the concept design for the future expansion of the Gorišek Brothers Ski Flying Hill, signalling a new chapter in Planica’s evolution.

The ceremony was further enriched by striking video highlights that captured landmark sporting moments alongside the unmistakable sense of unity, passion and fan spirit beneath the Ponce mountains.

Pride in Planica was also expressed by leading athletes in video messages, including ski jumper Domen Prevc, former ski jumper Jernej Damjan and Nordic skiing coach and former Norwegian Olympian Ola Vigen Hattestad. From a tourism perspective, the centre’s outstanding significance was highlighted by Katja Hartman of Tourism Kranjska Gora.

Guests gather inside the Nordic Centre Planica during a ceremonial event, watching an athlete simulate ski flying inside a vertical wind tunnel. The scene captures a festive atmosphere with lighting, decorations and a crowd assembled across multiple levels of the modern interior, highlighting the centre’s blend of sport, innovation and public engagement.

 

Extending beyond sport and tourism, the Nordic Centre Planica also plays a prominent role in science and research. Since 2021, Planica has hosted the so-called human centrifuge. The most recent study, conducted by the Jožef Stefan Institute in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), focused on monitoring and evaluating exercise-simulated Earth gravity in the otherwise weightless environment of space.

Photo: Tadej Kreft / MGTŠ

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e-mail address: press(at)slovenia.info

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