After months of preparations, planning and more than a week of construction and building, we look back on two sunny race days and a highly attended and appreciated sustainability forum. Once again, we’ve seen volunteers, staff and partners do their outmost to make sure athletes and guests of this unique event get the best possible conditions.
This year’s World Cup Weekend kicked off on Friday with a full Nordic Sustainability Arena conference day, moderated by former heptathlon athlete and Olympic gold medallist Karolina Klüft. Among the keynote speakers were Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu, Sectoral Engagement Lead at UN Climate Change, Rishi Jain, Director of Impact at Liverpool Football Club, and Richard Brisius, Race Chairman of The Ocean Race. With an ecclectic mix of visitors and keynote speakers, this second edition of Nordic Sustainability Arena has shown its strength as a catalyst for action.
“We’ve been able to present a great range of speakers with deep knowledge in their respective fields, and they have shared interesting cases where we’ve learned more about the psychological aspects of the transition towards sustainability. We’ve also gained a more international perspective than last year, and we’ve seen the first signs of how different cross-sector collaborations that started at last year’s NoSA are beginning to take shape,” said Titti Rodling, Project Manager at Nordic Sustainability Arena.
It is also clear to the local organisers that Åre and the mountain are a perfect centre for thought-provoking conversations, both at the conference and in the chairlift. The World Cup Weekend, combining NoSA with the Audi FIS Ski World Cup races, shows that sports really can be a powerful catalyst for change.
“The NoSA initiative stems from an ambition to make winter sports events more sustainable and to protect the winters on which we depend,” said Olle Danielsson Klippinge, CEO of the local organising committee Svenska Skidförbundet Events.
NoSA merging naturally into Audi FIS Ski World Cup
On Saturday, NoSA continued and later merged into the Audi FIS Ski World Cup at the Swedish Alpine National Arena, which was bathed in sunshine after 24 hours of less favourable skiing weather. Thanks to the hard work of around 250 volunteers, local business representatives and others involved in the race production, both the slope and the arena were in top condition.
The day started on the hill för the NoSA guests and keynotes as well, when over 50 people teamed up with local ski area operator and world cup partner Skistar for some much-appreciated early skiing, while the world cup athletes, teams and volunteers prepared for one of the final Giant Slalom races of the season. The NoSA party then continued in the Lounge with breakfast and keynotes, while the final arena preparations went on outside, and the launch of Snösäkringsfonden – a collaboration between the Swedish Ski Association and partner Vattenfall to facilitate climate action for Swedish clubs.
One Crystal Globe Secured and Swedish Crowd-pleasing
Norwegian Thea Louise Stjernesund was the first athlete of the day to hit the slope and the 2026 edition of Audi FIS Ski World Cup in Åre, which has hosted World Cup races since 1969, was on. In front of a strong home crowd, Julia Scheib secured the Giant Slalom crystal globe after her fifth win of the season, ahead of Paula Moltzan of the USA and Alice Robinson of New Zealand. The Swedish crowd were delighted to see. Hilma Lövblom claim a personal best after setting the fastest second run in the giant slalom, closely followed by World Cup debutant Sophie Nyberg, who made the biggest climb of the day with 16 positions.
In Sunday’s slalom, American Mikaela Shiffrin showed why she is the best skier of her generation. After claiming a solid lead in the first run, she extended it to almost a second in the second run and secured her 109th World Cup victory ahead of Emma Aicher of Germany and Swiss veteran Wendy Holdener. Czech skier Martina Dubovská repeated Nyberg’s performance on Sunday, while the best home skier was Cornelia Öhlund in seventh place, followed by Hanna Aronsson Elfman in ninth.
The World Cup moves on
As the World Cup circus moves on to Lillehammer, Norway, staff and hard-working volunteers are resetting the arena before it is put back into use as offices and a training arena. The CEO of the local organising committee, Svenska Skidförbundet Events AB, is proud of a World Cup Weekend that has proven Åre to be a great place for spectators and teams alike. He also thanks the volunteers for their hard work, without which the event would not have been possible.
“We’ve had a fantastic organisation with many volunteers whose dedication and hard work made it possible to carry out this event. We’ve also had great support from partners and local businesses who have really stepped up and helped out where needed, ” said Olle Danielsson Klippinge.
