Ed Leigh is appointed Verbier Ambassador – Winter sports star to launch new film series
Verbier is delighted to announce the appointment of Ed Leigh as its new resort ambassador.
Widely respected as one of the premiere winter sports and off-piste ski resorts in the world, Verbier offers 191 runs of varying difficulties and is no stranger to playing host to some of the biggest names in skiing and culture. From Richard Branson and Hugh Grant, to the British and Nordic Royal Families, the facilities truly are fit for a king.
Keeping with the theme of the Swiss resort, ski and snowboard guru Ed Leigh is himself regarded as winter sports royalty and his appointment brings a wealth of experience and knowledge.
In fact, Ed is regarded as one of the foremost authorities on winter sports in the world. A well-known presenter of the BBC show Ski Sunday in the winter months, he has also commentated on three Winter Olympics and London 2012. In the summer he stars alongside mountain biking star Rob Warner presenting the famous Red Bull X-Fighters series as well as a host of other live events for Red Bull TV.
Add to that work with Channel 4’s award-winning Freesports on 4, The BBC Series High Altitude, live work at Air and Style, The US Open and World Snowboard Championships and it’s clear to see that Ed has one of the most diverse portfolios in winter sports – and we haven’t even mentioned his time as editor of Whitelines Snowboard Magazine or his work with Extreme Sports.
In his new ambassadorial role Ed will bring together his expertise to help further establish Verbier’s image across a range of media – not least in dreaming up ideas and producing videos for the “action sports Youtube channel” MPORA. And no-one is more excited than Ed himself.
“Verbier’s central location makes it the perfect touch base in the Swiss Alps for snowboarding, skiing and resort culture,” he says.
“It has a reputation as arguably the best spot in Europe for freeriding and pushing the boundaries of snow sport in the winter months and I’m excited to bring all this together and add a new dimension to the sports on show at the resort through new digital media.”
The resort itself is thrilled by the appointment, Pierre-Andre Gremaud, Director of Verbier Promotion SA (marketing entity of the Tourist Board) commenting: “Ed Leigh is a well-known figure in the UK and European winter sports communities and we’re proud to have him working with us. This appointment is exactly indicative of Verbier’s commitment to promoting and raising awareness of the world-class facilities and activities available at the resort across a range of media.”
The Mountain of Knowledge
Ed’s work will begin with the production of a web series to be launched this month. It will take an informative, laid-back and tongue-in-cheek look at life in Verbier. A proposed five-part series, “The Mountain of Knowledge” will run from mid-January to April and cover a broad variety of subjects and activities from the resort.
Alongside reports on conditions and detailed animated weather forecasts for the area, the series will also include insights from the likes of Mark Shapiro, Xavier de la Rue and Geraldine Fasnacht, as well as comments from some less-recognisable but equally as interesting faces from the world of skiing. To be launched through the exciting extreme sports platform MPORA, it is the first big challenge for one of skiing’s most recognisable stars – and given his amazing history in winter sports, Ed Leigh wouldn’t have it any other way. For further information visit: www.verbier.ch/en
