„This exceptional event where young people from all over the world meet to compete and celebrate was a great experience for me. The World Sports Festival is definitely a place to be for sport interested youngsters.“

“Last year was my third at the World Sports Festival. 3.000 young athletes from over 20 nations once again made it a spectacular event. The atmosphere was breathtaking. It was an incredible feeling to be part of the World Sports Festival. The unique spirit of the games can’t really be described. You had to be part of it and witness the feel of the individual competitions, the Opening ceremony and the entry of the participating nations into a full stadium as well as the Players’ Party. This atmosphere reminded me strongly of one of my most successful journeys – to the Peking 2008 Summer Olympic Games in the Middle Kingdom. I had the unique opportunity to play in the table tennis final of the Paralympics and I even won the gold medal. I found these special moments, the spirit and the atmosphere that “led” me to my victory in Peking, could be felt at the World Sports Festival in Austria... In my opinion every athlete, professional or recreational, trains hard to prove their talent to an international audience and to experience this atmosphere. I can only recommend this unique youth sport festival warmly to all athletes, so that they too can live and see a bit of Olympia up close.”

“In the eyes of the Austrian Federal Sports Organisation (BSO) it is extremely important to encourage sports among young people. Today’s children, teenagers and adolescents are the future pillars of professional and popular sports. Supporting them is of great importance for Austrian sports, not only in the light of healthcare politics. The World Sports Festival not only promotes sports and exercise to youngsters, but also encourages team spirit among them. The international line-up offers an opportunity to meet like-minded people from all over the world. This initiative takes a clear stand against racism and marginalization in sports.”

“A tournament like this is educational for anyone who takes sports seriously. You learn about discipline and competing, always considering fair play. I believe sports require a great amount of skills and values that are important for everyday life. It is a great achievement if we can convey these to today’s youth.”

“It’s all about young people meeting others, becoming familiar with other languages and cultures, and even forming new friendships that will last a lifetime. I still have friends from my younger years myself and am very grateful for that.”

“Lots of different countries come together here, which in itself is very appealing. An Olympic atmosphere is created by having everybody live together and organising non-sports events, with activities for everybody. All in all, this event is definitely capable of creating a strong bond to sports.”

Maxim Podoprigora, Swimming, European champion 200m breaststroke 2001

“Young people seem to disregard exercise more and more these days. This is closely associated with parents’ careers; Families where both parents choose to work become more and more commonplace, and there is less time to encourage children to do sports. From this point of view, the World Sports Festival is pointing towards the right way, promoting exercise and sports to young people.”

“Intuitively I would say the issue is far more important today than it used to – back then there weren’t so many possibilities of recreational activities. With me it was very similar: my parents didn’t want me to sit at home all day, so they sent me to do sports – any sport. Today the situation is hardly better – to the contrary: computers and the world of the internet keep becoming more and more interesting. An event that shows the public and its youth that there is more – and exercise is a great activity to be enjoyed with others – can only be complemented."

“We heard it more than once at the press conference ‘where there is no width, there can be no peak’. That is exactly what this event is predestined for. Additionally the World Sports Festival has its focus on bringing people together, with almost 30 countries from all continents participating. I am excited about the course of this event and am happy to be part of it – it is definitely not to be missed.”

“I am very pleased to be football mentor for the World Sports Festival 2011. This international tournament for young people has distinguished itself in the past years by its clear statement to encourage sports among young people, irrespective of religion, skin colour or nationality. It impresses me every time to see how many young people from all over the world take part to show their talents. I know from experience how motivating it can be to compete internationally in younger years – thumbs up for all competitors!”

David Alaba, TSG Hoffenheim

As world champion and winner of Olympic Gold Medals in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, I’ve participated in many national and international swimming competitions. As representative of the US swimming delegation I have also joined the World Sports Festival in Vienna twice – 2008 and 2009. It was a great experience for me and I can highly recommend this event to anybody committed to swimming and sports in general. At the World Sports Festival young people not only have the unique possibility to compete with athletes from all over the world but can also form lifelong, international friendships.

Lenny Krayzelburg (2 times World Champion, 4 Olympic Gold medals)