Author | Yi Yang
Image source | Official website of EUROPA CUP 2022
Florint.org
Florist lovers across Europe look forward to this gathering every four years, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The EUROPA CUP 2022, which was scheduled to be held in June 2020, has been postponed to August 26-28 in the Polish city of Katowice. In the midst of three consecutive days of bright sunshine, Hanneke Frankema from the Netherlands won the championship after six rounds of competition. Hungary's Gábor Nagy and Germany's Michael Liebrich finished second and third.
Hanneke Frankema from the Netherlands won the championship
▲The scene of the competition
A total of 16 florists represented their countries in the competition. They play with their talents in themed competitions inspired by "music and dance". There are 6 competition formats, including table flowers, hand-tied bouquets, human floral art and mystery boxes. Germany, Belgium, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy and Romania, who finished in the top 6 of the first five rounds, opened a mystery box at the awards gala, and in the end, after the judges scored live, Dutch Hannick Frankma won first overall. The Dutchman opened a florist in the Netherlands in his early years and is now involved in floriculture activities throughout Europe as a freelance florist. She has also taught classes in China several times.
▲ The top three finishers, Hungary's Gaber Naci (left), Dutch Hannik Frankma (center), Germany's Michael Librich (right)
▲Total grades
Although the main body of the event is a high-level competition, it is also a flower exhibition and a star-studded flower art event for the public. On the 26th, on the main stage of the competition, the Latin American floral education institution EIF, floriculture promotion agency Floral Fundamentals and two Polish florists Zygmunt Sieradzan and Tomasz Max Kuczyński performed wonderful performances. In the evening, the famous German florist Klaus Wagener shook the audience with a floral show called "Through The Time and Space of Floral Art".
On the 27th, after the tense competition, the floral works were publicly displayed, and in addition to marveling at the ingenuity and craftsmanship of the works, people could also see Polish fashion models wearing the most exquisite flower dresses paraded in the venue, while children were taken to a fun workshop to experience floral works and watch small performances. For professionals, the tournament's sponsors OZ Export, Centrum Florystyczne Rekpol, JMP Flowers and Smithers-Oasis held business workshops.
▲Polish fashion models wear floral dresses
▲The jury was composed of 6 judges
▲16 contestants represented their countries
Item 1: Table flowers
Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Theme: Every life has an audio track
Designed for an evening party of 6 people, this work should be inspired by the contestants' favorite hometown music, and the soundtrack of the song is sent to the competition organizers at least a month before the start of the competition. The length, width and height of the arrangement must not exceed 2 meters, and the organizer will provide all plant and flower materials.
▲1st place: Hungary
▲2nd place: Germany
▲3rd place: Netherlands
The second item: flower mud application
Competition time: 2 hours
Theme: Dance in the Rain
This work is intended to express the beauty of dance movements. It is required that at least 50% of the active material must be placed in oasis® flower puree. The arrangement length, width and height are 3 m x 2.5 m x 2.5 m.
▲1st place: Hungary
▲2nd place: Romania
3rd place: Austria
Item 3: Tie a bouquet of flowers by hand
Duration: 40 minutes
Theme: Life is like a song
The piece needed inspiration from a piece by Polish singer Maanam called "Espana Forever". It is required that 1 person of the finished product can be carried independently. Contestants bring their own flowers, as well as vases and containers for display, and vases will also participate in the scoring.
▲1st place: Germany
▲2nd place: Netherlands
3rd place: Hungary
Item 4: Human body ornaments
Competition time: 2 hours
Theme: Prom Queen
The work is completed on the mannequin, and the creativity should reflect the reference of the dance trajectory given by the organizer. The finished product cannot restrict the dancer's movements. Contestants must bring their own floral materials and can bring the clothing required by the mannequin.
▲1st place: Netherlands
▲2nd place: Hungary
3rd place: Belgium
Item 5: Mystery Chest
Duration of the game: 1 hour
Theme: Musical surprises
▲1st place: Belgium
▲2nd place: Hungary
3rd place: Germany
Item 6: Mystery Chest
Duration: 45 minutes
Theme: Inspired by the tropics
▲1st place: Netherlands
▲2nd place: Germany
3rd place: Belgium
The competition is organized by Florent International Florists and SFP, the Polish Florist Association. Founded in Germany in 1956, florint international florists has 22 association members worldwide, representing a group of 100,000 florists, dedicated to the global promotion of the floral and floral industries. The next Edition of the European Floral Championships will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands, from 26 to 31 August 2025. In addition to the European Championship Floral Championships, they will host eurofleurs 2023, the European Young Florist Championship in Slovenia in August 2023.