The European Basketball Championships are officially open! Welcome to Ljubljana, tournament host!

The European Basketball Championships EuroBasket 2013 offer those attending matches much more than just a top sporting experience. In addition to the basketball, the Slovenian capital Ljubljana will offer you the chance to discover many memorable sights and have fun enjoying the beauty of our lovely, friendly, green capital.

The programme of events accompanying the championships will be particularly varied and lively.

Ljubljana is to be the venue of matches in Group A, the latter stages of the tournament featuring the best 12 teams with the semi finals and final, as well as events in the Fan Zone plus all kinds of free open-air events in the heart of the Old Town.

Throughout EuroBasket, we are preparing a fine accompanying programme and opportunities to watch matches on a big screen. During the tournament, the is also to be a special traffic regime, and those going to games will be able to do so on city buses free of charge, and two additional circular bus routes will operate to the two match venues in the city.

EuroBasket flags flying on City Hall

On 8 July 2013, Ambassador Peter Vilfan and Mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Janković raised the EuroBasket 2013 flags outside City Hall. The Ambassador Peter Vilfan of EuroBasket 2013 was for many years a Ljubljana Olimpija player and a Yugoslav international, winning a gold medal at the World Basketball Championships in Manila in 1978.

Four flags are also flying in Congress Square, where the Fan Zone is to be during the tournament. The flags will remain in place until the end of the competition.

House of Sport

At Breg 2 in downtown Ljubljana, a House of Sport is to open prior to EuroBasket 2013, which is to be an information centre for all sporting events in Ljubljana.

The House of Sport will gather together in a single place comprehensive information about sport in Ljubljana, plus promotional material, tickets, season tickets for matches and events organised by individual clubs in Ljubljana , a reservations and booking system for sports facilities, a calendar of upcoming sports events and much more. This is going to be a place to bring together and to link all those at various levels of sport in Ljubljana – sportsmen and women, fans, sponsors, tourists, participants in sport for leisure and pleasure and so on.

The House of Sport is to intertwine sport, tourism, business, health, transport, arts and culture. Through the story of sport in Ljubljana, visitors will be encouraged towards tolerance, solidarity and fair play.
 

Traffic arrangement in place in Ljubljana during EuroBasket 2013

During the EuroBasket 2013 European basketball championship, a special traffic arrangement will be in place in Ljubljana.

Car parking

From 4 to 9 September, when the EuroBasket matches will be held at the Dvorana Tivoli sports hall, some of the parking space in front of the venue will be reserved for visitors to the championship. Please note that the number of parking spaces will be limited. It is recommended that you leave your car at the parking facilities in the surrounding area of the Stožice Sports Park Arena and take the free LPP city bus to Dvorana Tivoli.

In the surrounding area of the Stožice Sports Park Arena, free parking will be available in the parking garages and car parks managed by the JP LPT public company. Parking will be limited to up to two hours before and one hour after the EuroBasket matches.

Car parking facilities managed by JP LPT

• Garažna hiša Stožice (parking garage with 766 parking spaces)
• Kranjčeva ulica (car park with 118 parking spaces)
• Žale I, II, III, and IV (car parks with altogether 360 parking spaces)
• Nove Žale (car park with 300 parking spaces)
• Hipodrom Stožice (car park 1,400 parking spaces)

Other (charging) car parking facilities in the surrounding area of the Stožice Sports Park Arena

• Ekonomska fakulteta (car park with 350 parking spaces)
• Fakulteta za družbene vede (parking garage with 436 parking spaces)
• Modri kvadrat (parking garage with 396 parking spaces)
• WTC (parking garage with 750 parking spaces)
• Dunajski kristali (parking garage with 239 parking spaces)

Motorhome parking

During the EuroBasket championship, motorhome parking will be free at a number of parking facilities.

• Stanežiče (motorhome parking and facilities)
• Ježica (motorhome parking and facilities)
• Tbilisijska (motorhome parking and facilities)
• Žale (motorhome parking only)
• Hipodrom (motorhome parking only)
• Avtosejem (motorhome parking only)

You can also leave your motorhome at the centrally located NUK II charging motorhome park.

View the locations of car and motorhome parks (PDF).

For more information on parking in Ljubljana, please visit the website of the JP LPT company.

LPP city buses

The Ljubljana venues for the EuroBasket 2013 matches, the Dvorana Tivoli sports hall and the Stožice Sports Park Arena, as well as their surrounding areas are well served by the LPP city bus routes. During the championship, several free services will be operated between the two venues, the car parks in their surrounding areas, and other parts of the city.

Throughout the championship, all LPP buses will be running to regular timetables from 5 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. Special night services will be available throughout the night.

Free city bus travel for visitors to the EuroBasket 2013 matches

Within three hours before and after the matches, visitors to the EuroBasket championship will be able to travel for free on all city buses operated by the LPP bus company. Free travel will also be available on the suburban LPP buses to the villages of Škofljica, Brezovica, Dobrova-Polhov Gradec, Medvode, and Dol pri Ljubljani.

On the day of the match, simply show your match ticket to the bus driver and you will be allowed to ride for free.

Special city bus services, available for free

From 4 to 9 September, when EuroBasket matches will be held in the Dvorana Tivoli sports hall, a special free city bus service referred to as Krožna will be connecting the parking facilities in the surrounding area of the Stožice Sports Park Arena with Tivoli Park, the site of the Dvorana Tivoli sports hall.

View the Krožna bus route map (PDF).

Another two special city bus services will be available from 11 to 22 September, when the EuroBasket matches will be held at the Stožice Sports Park Arena. The one called Hala Tivoli will connect the Dvorana Tivoli sports hall with the parking facilities in the surrounding area of the Stožice Sports Park Arena. The other one, called Dvorana Stožice, will be running between the Stožice Sports Park Arena and the parking facilities in its surrounding area.

View the Hala Tivoli and Dvorana Stožice bus route maps (PDF).

You can find more information about the LPP city bus services at the following link.

The Dvorana Tivoli sports hall is connected to other parts of the city by the LPP city bus services nos. 1, 3, 3B, 5, 7, 7L, 8, and 25. During EuroBasket 2013, it will also be served by two special bus routes, Hala Tivoli (4–9 September) and Krožna (11–22 September).

The Stožice Sports Park Arena is connected to other parts of the city by the LPP city bus services nos. 13 and 20. During EuroBasket 2013, it will also be served by two special bus routes, Dvorana Stožice (11–22 September) and Krožna (11–22 September).

  

EuroBasket 2013 on postage stamps

In partnership with EuroBasket 2013 and the Philatelic Union of Slovenia, the Slovenian Post has already issued commemorative stamps.

The first copy of the stamp was handed to EuroBasket 2013 Ambassador Ivo Daneu by Slovenian Post General Director Boris Novak MSc and was then used to send an invitation to EuroBasket 2013 to one of the all-time best coaches and former Yugoslav national team manager, the legendary Ranko Žeravica, with whom Daneu won a gold medal at the 1970 World Championships in Ljubljana. Daneu observed "It is an honour for me to be chosen to receive the first stamp so that I can use it to invite my good friend Ranko Žeravica to EuroBasket 2013. I’m sure he will accept and be our guest of honour. I’m pleased that the tradition of basketball stamps is continuing; the first was issued to mark the 1934 World Championships in the Philippines, the 1970 World Championships in Ljubljana had one, and now EuroBasket 2013 too."

The EuroBasket 2013 commemorative stamps are already on sale at post offices.

The stamp, which includes the characteristic graphic elements of EuroBasket, was designed by Ariana Noršić. The face value of the stamp is €1.33, and is printed on a small sheet of six stamps and three vignettes.