Evgenj Plushenko during the Lancia-sponsored Kings of Ice show two years ago (top) while the Delta will be on hand at this latest prestigious appointment on October 10 as the Official Car of the Gran Galà del Ghiaccio - Golden Skate Awards.

Lancia is once again, for the third consecutive time, the Presenting Sponsor of the Gran Galà del Ghiaccio - Golden Skate Awards which is scheduled to take place on October 10 at the Palavela in Turin. International stars of skating will take part in this extraordinary event featuring music, light effects and sport lasting 120 minutes, skating individually and in pairs. The atmosphere of the entire show will be made even more stimulating by one of the most unique and beautiful voices of the Italian music scene, that of Mario Biondi, who will accompany the choreographies of the skating champions.

The athletes who during the season have distinguished themselves the most in terms of results, thrills and passion conveyed will be given awards during the evening event. In fact, in addition to their sports results, the stars of the ice will also be assessed in other fields– for example, elegance, creativity and music - established by a special committee made up of celebrities of the worlds of skating, sports and communications.

Lancia Delta will also be on hand at this prestigious appointment as the Official Car of the Gran Galà del Ghiaccio - Golden Skate Awards.

The show falls within Lancia' sponsorship strategy that in the field of sports singles out figure skating as a natural expression of the brand's values: Elegance and Temperament. "Lancia Ice" emerged from this community of style. With this project, Lancia has collaborated with the Italian men's and ladies' ice skating teams. The bond between skating and the brand is therefore becoming increasingly tighter, as the Italian champion Carolina Koster demonstrates. Kostner will be Lancia's spokesperson up until the next World Skating Championships (scheduled to be held precisely in Turin in 2010).

The cast of athletes taking part in this third edition of the Golden Skate Awards starts with the Italian team consisting of Samuel Contesti (2008 and 2009 absolute Italian champion and 2009 European silver medalist), Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali (Italian multi-medal-winning champions of ice dancing, 2009 European silver medalists), Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte (Italian ice dancing silver medalists since 2007, 5th place at the 2009 European championships and 10th place at the 2009 world championships), Nicole Della Monica and Yannick Kocon (absolute Italian title-holders and ranking sixth at the 2009 European championships), Francesca Rio (2009 Italian silver medalist, 15th place at the 2009 European championships and gold medal at the 2007 junior championships). Then there are the fascinating choreographies of the Hot Shivers, the synchronized skating team holding the Italian title since 1993 and ranked as one of the top 10 in the world.

Completing the Golden Skate Awards cast are the foreign stars of this sport: the Swiss Stéphane Lambiel (2006 Olympics silver medalist and world champion in 2005 and 2006, as well as the winner of the 2008 ISU Gran Prix), the Bulgarian pair Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev (gold medal at the 1998 Olympic Games), the Swiss Sarah Meier (five-time national champion, European silver medalist in 2007 and 2008, bronze medalist at the 2007 Grand Prix, ninth place at the 2009 world championships). Then actual skating legends will be at the Turin show: the Russian Irina Slutskaya (bronze medal at the 2006 Turin Olympic Games, silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games, world champion in 2002 and 2005 and seven-time European champion), the Bulgarian ice dancing pair Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski, (ice dancing world champions in 2006 and 2007) and the unforgettable Ukraine Viktor Petrenko (Olympic and world gold-medalist in 1992).