Benvinguts! Human tower builders welcome Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final to Barcelona

Barcelona’s most celebrated “human tower” builders, the Els Castellers de Barcelona, have pulled out all the stops to welcome the world’s best Jumping athletes to the €2.3 million Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Final 2015, which starts in their legendary city this Thursday (24 September).  

Gathering in Barcelona’s Plaça Sant Jaume in the middle of the Gothic Quarter, home to the most important buildings in the lives of the people of Barcelona and Catalonia, the Els Castellers de Barcelona built a human tower wholly dedicated to the prestigious Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Final.

A total of 120 members of the Els Castellers de Barcelona between the ages of six and 70 built the symbolic human tower to showcase a shared set of deep rooted values.

“The team concept, and the understanding that together we’re stronger, applies just as much to the teams competing at the Furusiyya Final as it does to the Castellers when they’re building their incredible human towers”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.

“The Castellers literally embody the concept of team building, and that team spirit is equally important in equestrian sport. It’s all about trust. There’s the team of human and horse, one of the oldest and strongest partnerships in the world, and then there’s the national team, the four riders and their horses that come together to represent their nation with pride at the Furusiyya Final in Barcelona. It’s a really powerful combination.”

“The Castellers are core to the fabric of Catalonia and especially to Barcelona, which is world-famous for its football, food, architecture, energy and of course horse sport,” explained Daniel Garcia Giró, Event Director of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Final 2015, which takes place this week at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, venue for the equestrian events at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992.

“By their very nature, the human towers are striking, powerful, emotive, and the relationship between the tower members is critical for success, exactly like horse sport.

“Here in Barcelona, human towers are in integral part of our cultural identity, and here at the Real Club de Barcelona, horse sport is just as central to the fabric of our community.”

“It has been a great honour for the Castellers of Barcelona to take part in this event as our personal and most sincere tribute to the CSIO Barcelona, a popular event that goes beyond sports and represents values shared with our community, and to the FEI which brings us to a global audience,” said Daniel Dávila Montes, President of the Els Castellers de Barcelona.

Castellers photo book

To celebrate the countdown to the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Final 2015, and the incredible Castells, or human towers, which have been on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List since 2010, the FEI has specially commissioned a stunning online photobook: http://fei.org/reportage/castellers

Download, enjoy and share images using dedicated hashtags #FEINationsCupFinal, #Furusiyya, #SupportYourNation

The striking series of 19 human tower images are available for download here http://goo.gl/RRPrbA using password FEI2016. 

Castellers on video

Watch and share the “Making Of” of the human tower dedicated to the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final 2015: https://youtu.be/pRZTHNhqbKM and trailer here: https://youtu.be/CLWQzSQin60

About the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final

A massive line-up of 19 countries have qualified through leagues all over the world to compete at the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final 2015, targeting a total prize fund of €2,362,500.

Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA and Venezuela will be bidding for the title of Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015 champions

The Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping series was created by His Highness Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and a four-year €16 million sponsorship package was agreed with the FEI in December 2012.

The FEI’s top partner, Swiss watchmakers Longines, are Official Timekeepers.
 

Notes to Editors

For further information on the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final 2015 visit www.csiobarcelona.com.

About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org

The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in 1921. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since the 1912 Games in Stockholm. The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining. The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para-Equestrian Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para-Equestrian Dressage and Para-Driving.  

Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015 Final Media Contact

Isabel Suter

isuter@rcpolo.com

+34 760 258 222