2009 Guest Star Awards

The first of this year’s delights was the venue: Kino Šiška, with its modern, spacious and accessible hall in the heart of Ljubljana, was the perfect spot for such a wonderful evening.

The second treat: it is safe to say this year’s event brought with it the most entertaining on-stage candidate presentation ever, thanks to interviews by host Igor E. Bergant, otherwise known as a sports journalist and editor for RTV Slovenia. Bergant’s interviews provoked many interesting and above all humorous reactions from the guests as he challenged them to comment on the newborn football superpower – Slovenia.

To add to the special occasion, there was an interesting dance performance by Igen, live music by a string “Inquartet”, and outstanding catering by Vivo featuring a delicious bograč goulash.

Diplomacy – a tight result The vote count was tight but finally pointed to H.E. Dr Villur Sundararajan Seshadri, Ambassador of India. Economy – it all stays in the Mediterranean The winner Bahaa Abdallah, an Egyptian by origin, has proven both the importance of his work in one of Slovenia’s hi-tech companies as well as the loyalty of his subordinates. Culture – two Juliets and an absent Romeo Ballet dancer Lukas Zuschlag was, at the time of his win, rehearsing for a stage performance and so unable to collect his prize personally. But this Romeo materialised in time for the after party, hurrying to Kino Šiška from a dress rehearsal to catch some of the banquet. Sports – the art of Coaching Ivan Hudač, the coach of the Olympic heroine Petra Majdič, stands behind the most outstanding achievement Slovenes witnessed in sports in recent years. Hudač didn’t miss the opportunity to say his award is actually a shared achievement of the entire team.