Igor resort, which has become a tourist and sports cluster, celebrated its 20th anniversary

The All-Union ski resort "Igora", located in the Leningrad Region, celebrated its 20th anniversary — it took half as long as the so-called "tourist Mecca", the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to become an entire tourist and sports cluster. Correspondent Maxim Prikhod told in more detail in the "Final program with Peter Marchenko" in the REN TV story.

In addition to hundreds of skiers, actor Dmitry Nagiyev, figure skater Evgeny Plushenko and then Governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko attended the opening ceremony of Igora 20 years ago.

"You know, the track is wonderful, a real European ski resort. This, of course, is amazing," said the ex-governor of St. Petersburg.

Over the years, the resort has hosted meetings at the highest level, as well as sports camps, hockey matches, and performances by renowned figure skaters. During these events, the staff involved in the recreational facility demonstrated the peaks of Russian hospitality.

Currently, the complex includes nine full-fledged ski trails and one specialized canvas designed for tubing. In addition, comfortable slopes are equipped on the territory of Igora, which are treated daily with snowmobiles, and chairlifts and tow lifts allow you to reach their top.

Alexander Sosin, chief engineer of the technical service of the Igora resort, said that the mountain along which the trails were laid was initially much lower, and its current size was provided by an artificial embankment, which also led to the formation of a small artificial lake in the lowlands, which became a unique engineering solution.

"The excavation for the lake that was dug, we are now using the water for the snowmaking system, for making artificial snow. The whole system has been around for 20 years, it's native," he added.

Ilya Skotnikov, General Director of the tourist complex, stressed that he and his team brought in some solutions upon returning from travel or after finishing conversations with some guests who gave their advice on landscaping.

One of the most significant international events that took place on the territory of Igora was the gathering of the heads of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokay, Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, participants of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, and with them the heads of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev within the framework of the informal summit. The CIS. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, justifying the venue for the forum, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to demonstrate it to the guests.

Russians who visited the resort, in turn, noted that they liked both the condition of the trails and the entire infrastructure, which includes restaurants, hotels and public areas.

The Igora Drive motor racing circuit also belongs to Igora. It is a highway—ring racing track, its length is 5183 m, with two dozen turns ranging from 12 to 15 m wide. It also serves as the main country festival venue, which was appreciated by the visitors of GARAGE FEST and Baltika Fest.

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On January 31, the General Director of Igora, describing the festive program prepared for the guests on the occasion of the anniversary of the project, announced the opening of a new SPA complex with a panoramic pool. He specified that the guests who found the celebration on the territory of the complex could see a show of drummers and dancers, take part in the solemn descent and listen to the compositions of invited DJs.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.