Two stops in Sweden
© FIFA.com
The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca Cola reached its most northern point over the weekend when it made two memorable stops in Sweden. Following an event in Stockholm on Friday, the Trophy then travelled a further 1,200+km to the beautiful town of Kiruna, situated with the Arctic Circle.
Welcoming the Trophy to their town, hundreds of Kiruna residents put on a Brazilian themed carnival in the snowy town centre to show their excitement ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. Local youth football teams had the chance to demonstrate their skills to FIFA Ambassador Christian Karembeu, with freezing temperatures not dampening their abilities or enthusiasm for the game.
The following day marked another historic moment on the journey of the Trophy with a visit to the world famous Icehotel. Situated in the village of Jukkasjärvi, about 17 kilometers from Kiruna, the entire hotel, including the chairs and beds, is constructed from snow and ice blocks taken from the nearby Torne River. Since it was first opened in 1990 as world’s first ice hotel, the structure is re-built from December to April each year and remains at an approximate temperature of −5 °C.
A slight rise in temperature is expected of the next leg of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca Cola, with the team currently in Romania before visiting Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina and France.