Snowsport GB revealed that the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup will start its Northern Hemisphere season with a World Cup Big Air in the heart of London at Battersea Power Station on the banks of the River Thames on October 25.

 

It will be the headline event of a new winter sports festival, Free Sports On 4 Freeze, which will run from October 23 to 26 in South West London.

 

The LG London Big Air will be staged on a specially constructed ramp (pictured), with real snow, and will attract the world’s best snowboarders, including a number of the British team trying to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

 

Britain's number one Dan Wakeham said “It is amazing news about the London Big Air, and I really look forward to competing against the world’s best in front of a home crowd.

 

"This is a huge boost as I begin my preparations for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010.”

 

Mark Simmers, the chief executive of Snowsport GB said: “To stage a Snowboard World Cup in the UK for the first time, is a massive boost for the sport, and will bring a huge amount of profile to our British Snowboard athletes when they compete at home against the world’s best."

 

The event will be promoted and staged by Sportsvision, who have a strong pedigree in staging adventure sports festivals.

 

In addition to the central event, the LG London Big Air, Free Sports On 4 Freeze will include a 7,000 plus music auditorium featuring live bands, an Alpine village with a wide range of interactive entertainment for all visitors, and a number of other competitions and displays on the huge snow ramp at Battersea Power Station.

 

Marcel Looze, the Snowboard director of the world governing body FIS, said: "This is exactly the way we would like to go with the organisation of our LG FIS Snowboard World Cup Big Air events.

 

"Great sports events held in urban surroundings combined with lifestyle elements such as music, gaming and fashion, but most importantly events where everybody has fun.

 

"The best riders in the world competing on a huge and exciting ramp with spectators who will be entertained in a multitude of ways."

 

The main media partner for the LG Freeze will be Channel 4 Television, who will be broadcasting the event in the UK, and the television pictures of the LG London Big Air will be distributed globally by the FIS.