Sawt Falasteen - Vienna wins on home turf as it hosts first tram driver world cup

From early Saturday, spectators had gathered in front of the Austrian capital's neo-Gothic city hall to witness the competing teams from as far as Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong and San Diego show off their driving skills.

"We are celebrating a very special anniversary today -- 160 years of trams in Vienna," said Elias Natmessnig of Vienna public transport, which organised the contest.

"To mark the occasion we decided that we would host the World Championship instead of (just) the European Championships and bring teams from six continents to the city."

Tram drivers faced off in eight challenges testing their ability to operate the heavy vehicles -- which weigh 30 or 42 tonnes depending on the model -- with precision, including braking and accelerating smoothly.

Audience favourites were tram bowling, featuring a giant ball that is used to knock down inflatable pins, and tram curling, where a bicycle trolley is pushed with such precision that it comes to a halt at a specific spot.

Many fans' eyes were on the reigning European champions from Budapest, who have serious pedigree after securing their third win in 2024.

But the Hungarian team could not defend the title, dropping to fourth place, as their Viennese competitors took home the crown. Poland came second and Norway secured third place.

Winning on home turf left Viennese entrant Florijan Isaku "overwhelmed" and "speechless".

"I don't know what to say. It's just great, and the Wiener Linien (Vienna's public transport operator), they're a family, and it just shows that," he said.

- Next stop: Poland -

Spectators from across the globe had come to Vienna to see their favourite teams and cheer them on.

"I read Hungary is going to participate in this competition so I thought I should definitely come to support them," Richard Gerebenics told AFP.

The 33-year-old public transport enthusiast said he travelled all the way from Budapest to see the world championship after reading about it online.

Already in the first round, Hungary's defending European champion Krisztina Schneider said that "curling was the most challenging task for me and I didn't really succeed as I would have liked".

"I thought my speed would be enough but in the end it wasn't."

On Friday, the drivers familiarised themselves with the controls of the Viennese trams used in the competition.

The Brazilian team -- professional tram drivers Lisamar Rodrigues da Silva and Rogerio Oliveira do Nascimento Filho -- told AFP through a translator that the outcome of the challenges would come down to "staying focused".

But they stressed that they had "trained a lot in Rio de Janeiro" and were positive they would ace the contest.

Organisers said they expected about 50,000 visitors from all over the world to attend the championship, which was being livestreamed.

Next year's European championships are due to take place in Warsaw, Poland.

A.Suleiman--SF-PST