23° WORLD FESTIVAL ON THE BEACH
Mondello - 10th - 18th May 2008
www.wwfestival.com

WORLD FESTIVAL ON THE BEACH
ALWAYS THE SAME BUT ALWAYS DIFFERENT

For the 2008 edition of the World Festival on the Beach the dates were choosen by taking in account the first round of the Tour of Italy, an important event promoted by the Sicilian Regional Council. The tour will begin in Palermo on the 10th of May 2008, the cyclists will come through Mondello's beach front, the heart of where the World Festival on the Beach will be held.
An event that will be richer than ever, well known for its sport and entertainment, this is the 23rd edition that takes place as always every year in May in Mondello. The Albaria Club as always is organising the event along with the local council and the Sicilian regional tourism department, who this year have brought the famous Tour of Italy to Sicily.
There will be plenty of surprises in this years program of events. New events will take place along side the more classic events of the festival, all of which are aimed at an audience of all tastes, put together in Mondello in a place which is closed off to traffic and becomes an area only for pedestrians for the occasion, giving free and easy access to those who want to come and go. The organizers behind it all have once again been able to get together and make this mission impossible into something real, along with the guarantee towards the public of a great event that sets of the beginning of the summer season in Mondello.
Mondello is where the event is to be held, a lovely golden beach with the sea water and its tropical colours. All of this is only seven kilometres away from Palermo, and only a few hours away from many treasures in which Sicily is full off.
There will be a step back in time with fencing, and seaplanes, this is the second time that a fencing match will take place, fencing took place in Mondello as far back as the early 1900's, with battles being held in the 20's. The seaplanes will be back this year after the success they had in last years edition, more than eighty years ago they were assembled for their first test drive here in Mondello, up until the "Targa Florio Aeronautica", the first European race held after the great war.
The event wouldn't be complete without the windsurfing, there will be the European "open" Championships for teams who compete in the RS:X Olympic Class, teams from New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Greece, Israel, France, Germany, Poland, China, Hong Kong and Thailand will compete. The teams will be made up of two men and one woman, they will battle out against each other in a race that will be a kind of America's Cup themed race. The Sicily Grand Prix will also be held during the event and other races for the various kinds of surf boards.
The weekend will be dedicated to the classical tall ship race from Palermo to Mondello. There will also be the sailing/golf combination again this year, with a skin game contest on the green and a spectacular Driving Contest.
Not to be missed is the beach volley tournament with matches of two against two in the arena set up on Mondello's beach. From the 10th to the 18th of May the international beach volley tournament will take place after the students tournament, the last two editions had a good success with more than 450 students from in and around Palermo taking part.
To give even more adrenalin to the festival on Mondello's beach there will be shows from parachute jumpers and acrobatic aeroplanes.
In the evening people can enjoy a peaceful walk along the beach without having to worry about cars and smog, they may want to assist at the many shows that will be held each evening, as every year at the festival are held, such as the jazz concerts, classical and pop music from artists known in the music world and who are all waiting to experience another fantastic edition of the Festival.

www.wwfestival.com - Tel.+39 91 6844483  Fax+39 91 6843785 - E-mail: albaria@tin.it
Sede mare:Viale Regina Elena, 89 - 90149 Mondello-Palermo - Tel./Fax +39 91 453595