February 18, 2015 (Falun, Sweden) – FIS President Gian Franco Kasper and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Wednesday night at Falun’s Lugnet Arena, in the heart of Dalarna in Sweden – listen to Kaper at the press conference here. Over the next 11 days, athletes from a record 58 nations will compete for 21 gold medals. Events get underway Thursday with classic sprints

In a press conference to kick off the Championships, Falun 2015 leader Sven von Holst predicted crowds of over 200,000 during the course of the championships, including a sellout crowd of 50,000 expected for this Saturday’s men’s and women’s skiathlons in the cross country fanatical country. Neighboring Norway is expected to challenge for the lion’s share of medals along with the Swedes.

Kasper hailed Falun for creating one of the best cross country and jumping stadiums in the world. The trails and jump are closely intertwined, with spectators able to witness both cross country skiing during the afternoon and ski jumping late afternoon on many days. Jumping starts on Friday with the women’s HS100 meter competition where Sarah Hendrickson is defending World Champion. Nordic combined also starts on Friday.

It’s the fourth time Falun has played host, with past Championships in 1954, 1974, 1993 and now 2015. The most spectacular part of the Opening Ceremony was the appearance of Mando Diao, the world-famous band who have their roots in the neighboring town of Börlänge and performed their World Championship song “Love Lasts Forever” while a LED-lit ski jumper flew off the small hill with flaming skis. The finale grande included a beautiful display of fireworks by Eje Berglund as the words “Falun 2015“ were formed on a mountain wall next to the ski jumping arena.

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships will include 12 medal events for cross country, five medal events for ski jumping (including a new mixed gender team event) and four medal events in nordic combined. In total, 21 gold medals will be handed out when the Championships officially end on March 1.

In total, 59 nations will take part in this year’s edition of the World Championship, including a record 58 nations in cross country. Men’s ski jumping will feature 25 different nations, while both women’s ski jumping and nordic combined have entries from 16 nations. All in all, just over 700 athletes have entered to participate in the 2015 World Championships. Cross country tops the list with 483 athletes, while ski jumping will enter 149 and nordic combined bringing 69 athletes to central Sweden.

All 21 medal competitions, in addition to the qualification events, will be held at the newly renovated Lugnet Arena. The medal ceremonies will be held each evening in downtown Falun, followed by a full entertainment line-up.

The host broadcast operation is being carried out by SVT (Swedish Television) with all races produced in HDTV. EBU (European Broadcast Union), the media and marketing rights holder, reported that the World Championships will be broadcast in more than 20 countries with nearly 800 representatives across television, print and online media present on site in Falun.

A full schedule of medal events will be streamed live to the USA. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, in partnership with presenting sponsor L.L.Bean, has announced the full schedule of events to be live streamed over the next 11 days of competition.

It will mark the first time U.S. fans have had comprehensive free access to an English language broadcast of World Championships. Each event will stream live here, with parallel transmission on Universal. Video highlights will also be available on the USSA Network on YouTube. Fans in the USA and Canada can also follow the action live on the Falun2015 Live Arena mobile app for iOS devices.

FIS NORDIC WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS
LIVE STREAMING SCHEDULE (all times EST)

Thursday, Feb. 19
9:15 a.m. – Men’s and women’s classic sprint

Friday, Feb. 20
4:00 a.m. – Nordic combined HS100 jump
10:00 a.m. – Nordic combined 10k cross country
11:00 a.m. – Women’s HS100 jump

Saturday, Feb. 21
7:00 a.m. – Women’s 15k skiathlon
8:30 a.m. – Men’s 30k skiathlon
10:30 a.m. – Men’s HS100 jump

Sunday, Feb. 22
4:00 a.m. – Nordic combined HS100 team jump
8:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s freestyle team sprint
10:00 a.m. – Nordic combined 4x5k relay

Tuesday, Feb. 24
7:30 a.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle

Wednesday, Feb. 25
7:30 a.m. – Men’s 15k freestyle
11:00 a.m. – Men’s HS134 jump

Thursday, Feb. 26
4:00 a.m. – Nordic combined HS134 jump
7:30 a.m. – Women’s 4x5k relay
9:15 a.m. – Nordic combined 10k

Friday, Feb. 27
7:30 a.m. – Men’s 4x10k relay

Saturday, Feb. 28
4:00 a.m. – Nordic combined HS134 team jump
7:00 a.m. – Men’s 30k classic
10:00 a.m. – Nordic combined 3×7.5k team relay
11:00 a.m. – Men’s HS134 jump

Sunday, March 1
7:30 a.m. – Men’s 50k classic