The Swiss mountain resort of Gstaad will this week host the beach volleyball world championships for the first time, the official Swissinfo website reported on Monday.
The event, which will begin on Tuesday and finish on Sunday, is expected to draw more than 100,000 spectators to Gstaad to see the 48 men's and women's teams competing for 1 million U.S. dollars in prize money, according to the report.
The championships, held every two years, will be the most important test for the top teams ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Swissinfo quoted the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) as saying.
"With a year to go before the Olympic Games, it's also an opportunity for the pairs to collect the maximum number of points in order to qualify for Beijing," said tournament director, Ruedi Kunz.
And even though none of the teams will win a direct ticket to Beijing, beach volleyball fans should expect to see the most successful in Gstaad competing in the Chinese capital.
This is the first time the world championships have been held in Switzerland since the event's inauguration in Brazil 20 years ago.
The organizers expect to sell around 100,000 tickets and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation will broadcast the event live around the world.
Source: Xinhua
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