Ice Hockey: Latvians plan bears show

RIGA - Latvian organisers of the 2006 icehockey world championship are considering opening the event with a troupe of iceskating polar bears.

Riga Circus today said it had proposed that the Baltic state's government help fund the prancing polar bears for the event -- and Prime Minitser Aigars Kalvitis said it was a "brilliant" idea.

Riga Circus deputy director Lolita Litinska said it would be a spectacular show and the first of its kind, but that government money was needed to fund it.

"It is possible for the polar bears to iceskate if they have been trained at a very early stage and have proper size boots," she said.

Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis' spokesman said the government planned to listen to the proposal from the circus and take it into consideration in the next few days.

"The Prime Minister said that it could be a wonderful show to have polar bears skating at the opening ceremony," the spokesman said.

The world championship is in May in Riga.

- REUTERS