Meet the hosts Edit and Frano
Edit Szalay is the traditional host of the Women’s EHF FINAL4, while Frano Ridjan is a newcomer to the event but a well-known ’brand’ in handball nevertheless.
What is your main role and mission as host of the EHF FINAL4?
Edit Szalay: My role is to keep the fans updated on everything that is happening over the two days and also to share some ’backstage’ information with them that they can only get live in the arena. My mission though is to make sure everyone feels being taken care of.
I always try to pay equal attention to the fans of all four teams, to make sure everyone coming to Budapest feels warmly welcomed and equally involved in everything.
This year you will have a new partner in crime, Frano. Does this require another kind of preparation for the event?
Edit Szalay: Frano is open-minded, funny and a very enthusiastic person. I was lucky to work with him at the Women’s EHF EURO 2014 in Hungary, and was very happy to hear that he is joining us at the Women's EHF FINAL4. I will miss my former co-host, Áron, very much, but it is good to know we have someone like Frano to entertain the fans.
How have you and the show evolved over the three years that the EHF FINAL4 is played in Budapest now?
Edit Szalay: The event is living up to the standards of world-class handball. The people working in the background give their heart and soul for it, and you can feel and see this. The first year we planted a seed that has developed very strong roots and is becoming more professional year by year.
Frano, how challenging is it to entertain a foreign crowd?
Frano Ridjan: It is always a challenge to stand in front of any crowd, but especially a foreign one. But I’m not worried because I have a good partner and a great professional next to me - Edit, who will be the boss, so it will be easier. I learned while working with handball fans at EHF competitions that you just need to give all you can, and they respond to you in the best way possible.
It is a great pleasure and honour to entertain the fans who are coming to the Women’s EHF FINAL4, and it is a great responsibility as well. Because of that I now have to practice my Macedonian, Montenegrin, Romanian and Hungarian language skills a little bit, so that everybody will feel like home in Budapest.
You got to know the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna at the EHF EURO 2014. What do you remember about the atmosphere?
Frano Ridjan: l love the Papp László Sportaréna so much! The Hungarians accepted me as if I had been one of them. I remember the great atmosphere, lots of fun for the spectators, hanging out with other teams as well, cheering with the audience to put a smile on their face.
A great sport venue it is. Warm and cosy on the one hand, huge and monumental on the other. It’s a perfect place for big things such as the Women’s EHF FINAL4 and the EHF EURO. It was a privilege to work there and I'm happy that I have the opportunity to return.
TEXT: EHF / es
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