A major event in the European sporting calendar, the World Handball Championship starts today in Poreč, Istria. Taking place over nearly three weeks until February 2, the competition is being hosted in three cities around Croatia and two in Scandinavia.
Fans from nearby Austria will be descending on Poreč, supporters from major handball nation Hungary will be nipping over the border to Varaždin, while Slovenians have an easy hop across to Zagreb to see their team in action at the Zagreb Arena, now facilitated by the re-introduction of the tram there.
Croatia, too, play their group games in the capital, which also stages two quarter-finals and a semi.
Handball is a fast-moving indoor sport involving two teams of seven and plenty of goals. Popular around Europe, it holds a world championship every two years, most recently won by Denmark.
For details of matches, teams and venues, see here. You can buy tickets on the Croatian-only portal here.