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The completed starting lists provide the first comprehensive overview of what spectators at the Štiavničky arena can expect. In the men's starting list, 11 out of 14 participants have a personal record of 230 or more, while among the women, all (with one exception) have jumped at least 192.

Among the confirmed participants, the list includes names from the most sought-after category. The absolute leader of the lineup is Mutaz Essa Barshim from Qatar. The Olympic champion from Tokyo and four-time world champion indoors and outdoors will compete at the BBL meeting for the fourth time, having claimed victory here in 2013 and 2015. His personal record of 243 cm places him second in the historical world rankings. Barshim's main challenger will be Woo Sanghyeok from Korea, the 2022 winner, who also secured the world indoor champion title in the same year, breaking the heights of 236 indoors and 235 outdoors.

Furthermore, Ukrainian Andriy Protsenko, who narrowly missed victory last year, will aim to stand atop the podium for the first time after securing two second-place finishes. Among the legends, we can also highlight Donald Thomas from Bahamas. The 39-year-old veteran, world champion from Osaka 2007, boasts a personal record of 237 cm. This year's BBL participation will be his tenth in his career, and as he indicated, probably the last one. The legend will seek to wave goodbye to the Banská Bystrica audience in a grandiose way.

Another familiar face is Mexican athlete Edgar Rivera, who has participated at the meeting seven times. Joining him in the battle for the podium are Cuban Luis Enrique Zayas, who consistently performs well in Banská Bystrica, German Tobias Potye, Pole Norbert Kobielski, Italian Marco Fassinotti, and the surprising European indoor champion from 2023, Douwe Amels from the Netherlands. We must not forget another Asian jumper, Naoto Tobe from Japan, the winner of the BBL in 2019.

A particularly captivating duel will stare two sons of famous fathers. Nineteenyear-old Melwin Lycke Holm from Sweden, the son of the legendary Stefan Holm, who claimed his first triump in Banská Bystrica in 2003, is often seen as the successor of his father´s legacy. He cleared the height of 218 cm at the age of just 17 and is currently the reigning European under-20 champion. Against him stands the local hope – Robert Ruffíni Jr. Also of the same age, Ruffíni is a bronze medalist from the European under-20 championships and will have the opportunity to avenge his defeat from the championships final. The ambitious son of the Slovak record holder, Robert Ruffíni Sr., has a personal best of 215 cm. The list of upcoming-generation participants ends with the 22-year-old Ukrainian Oleg Doroshchuk with a personal record of 228 cm.

In the women's competition, the fans will witness a trio of high jumpers who already broke the magical 200 cm mark. Australian Eleanor Patterson is wellknown to local spectators. The 2022 world champion and silver medalist from last year's World Championships in Budapest won in Banská Bystrica in 2022. Her attempt at the BBL last year was hindered by an injury during warm-up, so she will seek redemption in the 30th edition.

Another familiar face making a comeback is Ukrainian Yulia Levchenko. Despite not securing a victory in the meeting yet, her best result is a secondplace finish in 2017. Representing the strong Ukrainian high jump tradition, Iryna Gerashchenko, who claimed victory in the mentioned year, aims to repeat her success this year after finishing fifth at the recent World Championships.

Experienced jumpers will face a formidable challenge in the form of young Angelina Topić. The 18-year-old Serbian, holder of the prestigious European Athletics "Women's Rising Star" award for 2023, is considered one of the biggest continental hopes. This season, we can expect an improvement of her indoor personal record of 194 cm as she regularly cleares the height outdoors. An interesting fact is that in 2003, her father, former European champion Dragutin Topić, also competed in Banská Bystrica, finishing eighth with a 228 mark.

Another contender for victory is the British Morgan Lake, with a personal record of 199 cm. This will be her second appearance in Banská Bystrica, having made her debut in 2016 finishing seventh. Among the favorites is also Ukrainian Kateryna Tabashnyk, the bronze medalist from the 2023 European Indoor Championships. The lineup also features Asian representative Safina Sadullayeva from Uzbekistan, Slovenian Lia Apostolovski, and Venla Pulkkanen from Finland. The youngest competitor in the field will be 17-year-old Croatian Jana Koščak. Last year, she broke the national under 18 record set by the legendary Blanka Vlašić and improved her personal best to 193 cm. Koščak is also a successful multi-event athlete, holding the European pentathlon record in the under 18 category.

Both competitions will also provide athletes with a great opportunity to achieve the entry standards for the World Indoor Championships 2024 in Glasgow (234 and 198), the European Championships 2024 in Rome (226 and 192), and the Olympic Games in Paris (233 and 197), as well as to earn crucial points for the qualification rankings
The ticket sales commenced on January 15. As of today, the competition is sold out. The live broadcast is being prepared by RTVS Šport. European Athletics will stream the event via their broadcasting platform.

So far, men from 47 countries and women from 35 countries have competed in Banská Bystrica, totaling 54 countries represented. In the last edition, Jamaica and Estonia were added among the women, and New Zealand, the Netherlands, Australia, and Switzerland among the men. 

The participants of the BBL 2023 secured gold and silver in men´s and gold and bronze in women´s competition at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul. At World Championships in Budapest, there were five male participants from the BBL 2023 in the final, as well as four female participants.