2009 SU Update: Belgrade is ready to Host

Between June 24th and the opening of the Universiade on July 1st, some 13,000 athletes, international sport organizations officials and media representatives will come to Belgrade. Accommodation for all of them is ready in the Universiade Village and nine Belgrade hotels.
The accommodation of the Universiade Belgrade 2009 participants and guests has been the topic of yesterday’s regular press conference at the media center.

‘This has been an enormous undertaking because never before has Belgrade organized accommodation for ten thousand people at once. The Universiade Village will provide accommodation for delegations, athletes and officials’, Universiade Belgrade 2009 venues sector assistant director Milos Milenkovic said.

The largest hotel in Belgrade has 415 rooms. That is a good intimation of the complexity of the whole accommodation problem. During the Universiade, the Village will provide 3,870 rooms.

‘During those 20 days, the whole complex must function as a well run hotel. We have been given newly built buildings with nice apartments. The Universiade team had to create everything – from check in to checkout procedures and everything in between. We had to make an extensive organizational scheme, to engage and train the reception desk staff, coordinate cleaning services, maintenance, laundry etc. At present all these procedures are being tested and coordinated.’

As for Belgrade hotels, the network of official Universiade hotels consists of nine hotels that Company Universiade Belgrade 2009 has signed contracts with. The Continental Belgrade Hotel will be the official seat of FISU, and The Hyatt Regency is for VIP guests. The IN and Rex Hotels are for media representatives who have Universiade accreditations, while judges and technical delegates will reside in the N and Moskva Hotels. The “Swiss timing” team will be in the M Hotel.

‘These hotels have been chosen upon FISU recommendation, requests of certain groups, their capacity and amenities, and the distance from the Universiade Village and sports venues’, Milos Milenkovic added.

The Continental Hotel manager Zivorad Vasic stressed that they have excellent working relations with the Universiade team and are prepared to satisfy all sorts of requests from their Universiade guests.

‘The most important thing for our guests is good service. We have already begun with the preparations. We have redecorated the reception desk and lobby areas, so that our hotel looks completely different, a welcome surprise for our Universiade guests, but also for all future guests, as well’, the manager said. He added that his hotel was ready for Universiade guests. They have prepared offices for this event and can provide conference halls and organize meetings.

‘For our Universiade guests we have prepared two conference halls, capacity 800 seats, and two more, capacity 150 seats. These halls will be in full use during the Universiade for cocktails, meetings and conferences. Our hotel pays great attention to customer satisfaction. In that respect we have organized a training seminar for our employees. Whoever comes to Belgrade is sure to get a bed and a TV set, however, excellent service is something that guests remember. This is our chance to reconfirm that we can be good hosts. I am sure that our guests will be satisfied and will wish to come back to Belgrade’ Zivorad Vasic said.

Accommodation for volunteers who are not from Belgrade or Serbia is provided in the Student’s City.