The President of the European Handball Federation, Tor Lian, arrived in Larvik on Friday ahead of the final matches of the European Beach Handball Championships.

After a busy week, which saw him preside over the 2009-2010 Champions League and EURO 2010 draws at a Gala dinner at the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna, arriving in Norway to blue skies, sunshine and temperatures above 25 degrees, after the cold weather and heavy rain currently hitting central Europe, was certainly a welcome break for the EHF’s Norwegian President, who lives in Oslo.

He could not fail to be impressed with the Beach Euro, which has been organised so well by some 250 staff and volunteers from the Norwegian Handball Federation, and so well supported by handball fans from the local area.

“I think the organisers have done a great job,” he told eurohandball.com ahead of Norway women’s crucial quarter-final match with Switzerland on Saturday.

“They’ve created a superb beach arena, a good infrastructure and their concept of a main show-court with room for 2,500 spectators close to two additional courts really seems to have worked.”

EURO 2010 host

Tor Lian was also keen to praise the Larvik Commune for their support for the event.

He said: “The mayor of Larvik is a great supporter of handball, and I think both he and the local commune need to be thanked for the contribution to the event.”

”We’re coming back to Larvik in 2010 for the women’s European Championship and we know handball fans will be made very welcome again, especially as the town is building a brand new, state of the art, 4,500 seat arena just for the event.”

Olympic sport

The European Handball Federation and its President clearly sees the potential for Beach Handball.

“I can see a place on the Olympic programme for Beach Handball alongside indoor handball in the future,” he said. “The Olympic programme needs more variety and Beach Handball would certainly provide that.”

He continued: “The development of Beach Handball will also help us compete better with other sports, which can be played throughout the year.

“I can see much more potential in Beach Handball than Beach Volleyball for example, we have more players on court, more technical possibilities and much more spectacular action,” he said.

Finals day in Larvik

Tor Lian, the EHF President, will be in the Larvik Beach Arena to watch the final matches of the European Beach Handball Championships.

The action starts from 10.00 am (CET) with men’s and women’s play-off matches, culminating in the finals at 3.00 pm for women and 4.00 pm for men.

The closing ceremony will take place at 5.00 pm.

Watch the finals live thanks the TV2'S live streaming service.