The prestigious and well sought after Snow Queen Trophy held at Zagreb-Sljeme has always been the highest earning women's competition with a staggering $ 165,000 US dollars up for grabs for the first top thirty finishers. Janica Kostelic achievements in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games helped Croatia and Zagreb gain the race and as a result the race which was originally know as the "Golden Bear" was changed to the Snow Queen in the Croatian star's honor.

The winner receives a crystal crown which has the names of the previous winners imprinted, along with a cloak and the chance to sit on a throne like a real queen.

Debuting in 2005, the race piste starts at 985 meters and ends at 785 meters, and is the biggest women's race of the World Cup attracting some fifteen - twenty thousand spectators.

In February 2008, Zagreb hosted its first ever men's World Cup slalom event, Austrian racer Mario Matt claimed first place. In the women's domain Tanja Poutiainen and Marlies Schild have held the number one title between themselves with Poutiainen winning in 2005 and 2008 and Schild's claiming the wins of both 2006 and 2007.

The capital city of Croatia has a continental climate of an average temperature in summer of 20 °C (68 °F) and a winter average of 1 °C (34 °F), located on the Sava River, 170 kilometres from the coast, and 122 metres above sea level, Zagreb has a population of approximately 1.2 million.