http://www.insideskating.net/2014/10/10 ... t-this-wasKings on Ice Olympic Gala in Bucharest: what a night this was!
Let me tell you just that: the Romanian public is so very lucky, having the privilege to live, for the fifth time since 2007, the joy and the enthusiasm of a truly wonderful figure skating gala. “Kings on Ice” comes regularly to Romania, starring a group of elite skaters – and this is definitely a miracle, given the fact that, at this point, Bucharest does not have an ice rink suited for competitions. Actually, it does not have an ice rink at all, the young Romanian skaters having to train, day by day, in a mall.
In spite of all that (or precisely because of that, trying to make a point through their presence…), top skaters like Evgeni Plushenko, Stephane Lambiel or Brian Joubert keep coming to Romania – a proof that the public’s warm response compensates for the lack of skating facilities. Hats off to the organizers, who keep doing the impossible for us to be able to experience galas like that – this time, the ice installation was brought from Italy – but, to me, this particular edition of “Kings on Ice” was one of those moments that emphasized, more than ever, the need for a proper skating rink in Bucharest. As Evgeni Plushenko puts it bluntly in an interview for Inside Skating, “I have skated everywhere in the world – and I think I have to show the people and also the government that they need to build ice rinks to push figure skating, to bring kids on the ice…”.
by Florentina Tone