ZAGREB, 27 March 2022 - The 23rd edition of the Pannonian Challenge extreme sports festival will take place in Osijek from 15 to 19 June and will bring together the best national and regional sportspeople, its organisers have said.

"The coronavirus pandemic is winding down, so the 23rd edition of the Pannonian Challenge could be strong again", festival director Jurica Barać said at a press conference, adding that the focus this year would be on accompanying cultural and musical events, which had not taken place in the last two years.

According to State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Tomislav Družak, the Pannonian Challenge has outgrown Osijek and Croatia.

"New sports are being created today, and that's good for the development of sports on a global level because young people bring new ideas and extreme sports with cycling are today becoming much more attractive than classic sports," said Družak.

Asked about the funding provided by the Ministry for this project, Družak said that in the past three years, the Pannonian Challenge has received between HRK 300,000 to HRK 500,000.

Osijek-Baranja County Prefect Ivan Anušić said that Osijek had become recognisable for this exceptional extreme sports festival.

"This isn't just a sporting event, it also has a tourist dimension because it will make Osijek visible in the whole Europe and the world, which is an added value of the Pannonian Challenge," said Anušić.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

December 6, 2021 - The 22nd Pannonian Challenge in Osijek was attended by more than 200 athletes from 24 countries, and more than 15,000 visitors attended the event during the five days of the festival.

For 22 years, the Pannonian Challenge, a festival of extreme sports and urban culture, has successfully withstood all challenges and imposed new standards year after year, both in sports results and organization, reports HRTurizam.

Over the years, the Pannonian Challenge has become one of the most key events in Osijek and the whole of Slavonia. Moreover, due to its international character, it has crossed the borders of Croatia. Therefore, the importance of this event is unquestionable for Osijek, as the Drava river city is positioned in the world as a center of sports, entertainment, and team spirit.

The 22nd edition of the Pannonian Challenge was attended by more than 200 athletes from 24 countries, and more than 15,000 visitors attended the event during the five days of the festival.

"We are happy that the Pannonian Challenge, despite the corona crisis, managed to continue and for the 22nd year in a row promoted our city, county, and state and brought positivity among our fellow citizens. These figures and data best show the impact of Pannonian on all of us and the community we live in, and thanks to our partners and understanding of the authorities, we have survived the worst and plan a strong return - hosting the BMX World Cup as part of the 23rd Pannonian Challenge! We have a big job ahead of us. Still, we believe that with the support of all our partners and associates, we will succeed, just like in all previous years," said Jurica Barać, director of the Pannonian Challenge.

More than three million kuna was invested in the organization of the event, facilities, and the event's promotion, and thus in Osijek and the whole of Croatia. In addition, viewers from as many as 93 countries worldwide had the opportunity to see Pannonian Challenge footage.

Namely, the media platform Icarus Sport broadcast the show "The Outdoor Sports Show," which was partly dedicated to the Osijek event and shown on 53 sports channels, with a media reach of more than 1.3 billion households worldwide. In addition, the video is shown on flights of Air China, Air Canada, Qatar Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Oman Air, TAP Air Portugal, and many others. Through October 2021, it was seen by tens of thousands of people, with the important note that the video is also shown during November.

The sporting significance of the Pannonian Challenge was further confirmed this year when for the first time, BMX freestyle became an Olympic discipline. The Osijek team led by Igor Vukadinović Poki and Zdenko Liška, president of the Pannonian Association, set up a skate park in Tokyo at the Olympic Games.

The Pannonian Challenge has become a unique brand of its city and the entire country. For years, it has achieved a high global promotion for Osijek, Osijek-Baranja County, and Croatia. 

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