Joensuu’s Power Cup 2024 started in good, sunny weather, with the area full of happy volleyball players. Let’s keep it up!

Tents were already set up next to the playfields and the games started energetically! Many came to watch how things were going, and parents and team members cheered for their own and each other! Many were practicing and preparing for their own games and were ready to take victory into their own hands! Cheers echoed on the field, with one team’s cheer being the loudest: TURBOS!

At the Power Cup marketplace, you can enjoy food from around the world and various activity points. You might also spot the Loimaa tent, where eyes are already turning to next year’s Power Cup. At the Jungle Juice Bar stand, you can refresh yourself with a Power Up smoothie.

“A sweaty and positive, yet excited crowd! It’s hot, but with the help of a smoothie, you’ll make it through!” echoes from the Jungle Juice Bar stand.

In the afternoon, playing and training continued just as efficiently as in the morning, until 5 PM. When asked, the teams’ feelings were good, and everyone was happy that the weather was favorable. When interviewing the D-series girls’ team from Savonlinna’s Ajo, they said: You can’t drink too much water, but you can definitely drink too little in this kind of weather.

 

Ahti and HUGO excited the audience at the opening

The Power Square filled up with young athletes who came to listen to and watch the opening ceremony and the concert.

At the Power Cup opening, the Power Square Anyday-Nuts stage featured discussions with:

– Jere Penttilä, Mayor of Joensuu

– Karri Virtanen, CEO of the Volleyball Federation

– Johanna Tanninen, Coach and Communications Manager of Joen Juju

After a brief introduction and discussion, a competition for filling a volleyball began, and the winner, possibly with home-field advantage, was the Mayor of Joensuu, Jere Penttilä.

After the competition and discussion, the stage was taken over by the artists requested by the youth: HUGO and Ahti. During the concert, the atmosphere was electric, and the young people who had been playing sports all day still had the energy to party throughout the entire opening ceremony.

The energetic atmosphere of the opening ceremony will propel the young athletes towards the next game day!

Text: Timi Mehiläinen and Nico Karjunen