The best sportsmen from all around the world arrived at the 53rd athletic meeting, the Golden Spike (Zlatá tretra), in Ostrava. Thanks to its convenient location close to the City Stadium Vítkovice, facilities were provided by Clarion Congress Hotel Ostrava, which was recently named the best hotel in the Moravian-Silesian region of 2014. Although the main meeting programme was not to start before Tuesday 17 June, the hotel had been immersed in the sports event for a number of days before the start; athletes started arriving with their teams on Friday. The Hotel Clarion accommodated over 200 sportsmen and organizers including stars such as sprinter Justin Gatlin, record holder in the long jump Mike Powell, French pole-vaulter Renaud Lavillenie or famous miler Sebastian Coe.
