Excitement is building in Bansko, Bulgaria’s leading ski resort that has a large contingent of British property-owners, as it prepares to host World Cup skiing events early in 2012.

On 18th and 19th February, the world’s best alpine skiers will compete in the men’s Giant Slalom and Slalom races, while a week later the ladies will compete in the Downhill and Super Giant Slalom races. The events are expected to put the leading ski resort in the Balkans in the global spotlight, with the Bulgarian Ski Federation expecting more than 500 million viewers around the world to watch the events.

The two races were originally scheduled to take place in Japan, but were cancelled due to the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country in March. Transferring the events to Bansko means the Bulgarian resort will become one of only 11 resorts in the world that has had the privilege to host both men’s and women’s World Cup races in one season.

Bansko has been described as the fastest developing winter centre in Eastern Europe, having had more than €40million invested in it during the last four years. Situated in the Pirin mountain range, it has more than 70 kilometres of ski runs.

For details of property in Bulgaria, visit the Bulgarian listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in Bulgaria is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into euros or Bulgarian levs, to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

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