The Hypo-Meeting shines far beyond Austria’s borders: This family-friendly event showcases top sporting performances in an inspiring atmosphere.

“When you run hurdles in Götzis, you’re always one or two tenths faster. It’s as if the audience carries you over the hurdles,” says Siegfried Wentz, a German decathlete. At the Mösle Stadium, visitors come more closely into contact with top-level athletes than at any other comparable event. “Both sides enjoy the situation. Audience members become part of a grand sports show,” says Konrad Lerch of Bregenz, who founded the event with three friends in 1975 and was president of the organising committee until 2010. “Götzis provides the athletes the perfect stage for top performances,” says Lerch. Importantly, athletes here don’t have to worry about technical or organisational errors. This is due in no small part to the thoroughness and prudence of the Alemannic culture!

In peace
Apart from the exuberant atmosphere and direct contact to the sports stars, what makes this event special for families is a sense of security. “In more than forty years, there hasn’t been a single fight,” recalls Lerch. Only a single policeman will be on site during the weekend and that will be sufficient.

In contrast to other international events, Hypo-Meeting is not commercially oriented. According to Lerch, this fact makes it somewhat of “an anachronism in our time.” In Götzis, any profits are instead used to promote local athletics. After the Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbühel, Hypo-Meeting boasts the longest tradition of any major sporting event on Austrian soil.

International Broadcast
In the 1990s, the decathlete Michael Smith from Canada made a name for himself. As a result, the Canadian TV broadcaster CBS sent a camera team to accompany Smith in Götzis for the first time. “Canadians continue to be regular guests here,” Lerch reports. The same applies to visitors from Estonia and Sweden, who have attend in the past to witness live performances by eventual Olympic champions Erki Nool and Carolina Klüft. Since the event’s first edition, over 800 athletes from around 60 nations have participated.

Vorarlberg hospitality
“The popularity of the event has served to introduce the region to athletes and their countrymen,” says Lerch. “The world has gotten to know Vorarlberg.” A student from Mainz estimated in her diploma thesis that visitors travel a remarkable 280 kilometres to visit Hypo-Meeting. The fact that many fans return is not to the meeting’s optimal organisation alone: “Local hosts really look after the guests and athletes. All experience true Vorarlberg hospitality.”

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