Casa Fiat in the Sponsor Village at Torino 2006 is a structure covering some one thousand square metres housing the Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Light Commercial Vehicle brands.

The Sponsor Village in Piazza Solferino opened its doors to the people of the Olympic Winter Games on Thursday. Entertainment, games, music and shows offered by the main Sponsors of Torino 2006. Every day from 10.00 to 24.00 the square will be transformed into a games park to experience an Olympic day. Apart from the skating rink, a curling pitch has been set up to discover this special discipline. After the sporting activity, at the Sponsor Village visitors can also enjoy a moment of relaxation: at the Sanpaolo Olympic Lounge, tasting aperitifs, or in the original Lancia Ice Bar where they can have a cocktail in an ice glass in an 'igloo' car. Coca-Cola, Eurosport, Fiat, GE, Johnson&Johnson, Panasonic, Samsung and Sanpaolo have created a village that, apart from entertainment will also be a sort of pulsating heart of the Olympic Winter Games.

Casa Fiat, in the heart of the Sponsors Village, is open every day from 10 am to midnight to allow visitors to take time out to enjoy the host of events Fiat have organised. For example, three big screen TVs allow visitors to watch all the Olympic races live, all the official Olympiad videos and many candid backstage shots of the athletes sponsored by Fiat Auto: including Carolina Kostner, Giacomo Kratter and Giorgio Rocca. Besides the big screens, the general public will also be able to get to know some of the latest Fiat Auto models at close hand: including a Doblò Cargo customised in the colours of the Italian national ice hockey team, a Grande Punto in the colours of the Fiat Freestyle Team, an Alfa Brera, a Panda sporting the Jamaican flag, a Lancia Ypsilon Ice ‘06 and the Fiat Sedici (mascot of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games).
 

Casa Fiat will be awash with music and entertainment thanks to Play Radio – the RCS MediaGroup radio station. The radio will broadcast many live programmes (produced in conjunction with Gazzetta dello Sport), featuring DJs, Olympic stars and many other guests from inside and outside the world of sport. Not to mention the fact that the Play Radio presenters will involve visitors in the Play Club programme (Monday to Friday at 9 pm) and will seek out new Dot Players by holding trials.

The Fiat brand will also celebrate the Olympics together with Budweiser, the well-known American beer and official sponsor of the 20th Olympic Games in Turin. Both brands, thrown together by the Olympic spirit and their sponsorship of the Freestyle events, have organised shared events for all entertainment and winter sport aficionados. The Casa Fiat lounge will also be holding a happy hour to the accompaniment of music and Budweiser beer. Every day, from 7 pm to 9 pm, the Bud Crew will keep the good times rolling by involving members of the public in entertaining games and stunts.

The public will also be able to buy Fiat, Lancia or Alfa Romeo merchandising items on Winter Olympic themes at Casa Fiat and also admire the host of items used by the Olympic athletes during the Games warm-up races: the skis of Giorgio Rocca, who won 5 slaloms in a row in the world championship; Cristian Ghedina’s helmet; the ski boots Karen Putzer wore when she won the bronze medal in Salt Lake City; Carolina Kostner’s ice-skates; a hockey stick from the Italian national team and the famous Jamaican bobsleigh. And more: visitors to Casa Fiat will also be able to challenge world table football experts or get stuck into thrilling contests with radio-controlled Panda Cross Contest Big Foot cars.

As if that wasn’t enough, Fiat's partner Kodak has set up a special station inside Casa Fiat where visitors can print digital pictures downloaded from their mobile phone, memory stick or CD-ROM straight onto photographic paper. Lastly, every day journalists from the national daily La Stampa will interview the athletes who star in the Olympic Games in a special area of Casa Fiat. A detailed programme of the numerous events will be published in a special Olympics section of the paper every day. Casa Fiat will be opened on 9 February at 8.30 pm.