Postojna Cave to host the EuroBasket 2013 Draw Ceremony

The Postojna Cave, the greatest Slovenian tourist attraction and the most visited cave in Europe, will be the venue of the 2013 EuroBasket draw ceremony on November 18. The draw, in which 24 national teams, including Slovenia, will be divided into groups, will be the first in history to take place completely beneath the ground at an extremely attractive location, while the ceremony will also be enriched with a programme and numerous prominent names from the basketball world, which will additionally contribute to the uniqueness of the event.

In 200 years, the Postojna Cave has been visited by over 34 million visitors, including many presidents, prime ministers, emperors, kings, scientists and artists from worldwide, and has been attributed numerous primacies and superlatives. On 18 November 2012, the Cave will host representatives of FIBA Europe and national basketball federations as well as other important guests.

In a rather cold environment, with a constant temperature of 8 to 10°C, an underground train will take the delegates of the 24 participating countries and other invited guests towards the spectacular Concert Hall, where the draw ceremony will take place and where a basket will be set up for the first time ever.

The hall, with a surface area of 3,000m² and a volume of 50,000m³, can hold as many as 10,000 visitors. It has already hosted many events, including concerts performed by the Symphony Orchestra of RTV Slovenia and the renowned Orchestra della Scala from Milan. At one time, the same location was also the only working underground post office in the world. A postcard sent from there today will bear a special postmark.

Prior to the official part of the draw ceremony, guests will be entertained by a special programme directed by Goran Vojnović, a renowned director, former basketball player and, still, basketball enthusiast who, in cooperation with Slobodan Maksimović, organised the event upon the 60th anniversary of the Slovenian Basketball Federation in June 2010 as well as the presentation of Slovenian candidacy for EuroBasket 2013 in Munich in December 2010.

The 24 participating countries will be drawn into four groups of six teams, which will then be allocated to their first-round venues, i.e. Jesenice, Koper, Celje and Ljubljana, while the second round and finals will be hosted by Ljubljana.

Two lucky winners of a Facebook competition entitled ‘Facebook Draw Predictor’ will also be invited to participate in the event. More information here.

Those media seeking to cover the EuroBasket 2013 Draw Ceremony at the Postojna Cave on Sunday, 18 November, at 6 p.m. can submit their accreditation applications via the sample form posted at FIBA Europe. The deadline for application is November 12.

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