Olympic Games organising committees, Asian cities, international rightsholders and experts are all lining up to speak at the second Host City Asia conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beijing on 11th April.

The conference will once again open with the Beijing Olympic welcome. Other great speakers confirmed so far include:

• Hiromi Kawamura, Public Relations Secretary, Tokyo Organising Committee of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games
• Laszlo Vajda, Senior Operations Advisor, Minsk 2019 European Games; Senior Expert, Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
• Zhao Xiaochun, Director-General of Shanxi Provincial Sports Bureau
• Kate Han, Producer, Riot Games
• Li Yidong, Director, Tanggangzi New Town Conference and Exhibition Centre, Anshan
• Tim Briercliffe, Secretary General, International Association of Horticultural Producers
  (The International Horticultural Expo is set to attract 16 million visitors to Beijing this year)
• Kelvin Fang, Senior Media & Marketing Manager, FIBA China
• David De Behr, Head of Global Events, Aggreko
• James Patterson, Director, MI Associates
• Li Jiang, Executive Director, Yutang Sports
• Hailiang Chen, Principal Architect, Wanda Cultural Tourism Planning & Research Institute
• Daniel Cordey, Chairman, Association of Global Event Suppliers
  ...and many more.

The first Host City Asia conference last May was hailed as a “complete success” and its return to Beijing in 2019 is set to surpass all expectations.

View the agenda and speakers' biographies and register your participation here.

The organisers of Host City are delighted to announce that the Host City 2019 Expo & Conference will take place in Glasgow across two floors of the Technology & Innovation Centre for two full days on 26th and 27th November, with a welcome reception on 25th.

Now with full run of the entire venue, Host City Expo & Conference has greatly expanded the marketplace of stands and number of attendees.

Extending the programme to two full days gives delegates even more business and networking opportunities around the world class international conference for which the event is famed.

Rights holders and destinations now have even more opportunities to meet, display and present to one another.

Suppliers have greatly increased opportunities to meet, display and present to event organisers, including organising committees and other future event hosts.

- Cities & Destinations: Why should cities host? How do cities attract and bid for events? How do they best engage with their citizens?
- Rights Holders: Discover new hosting opportunities and learn best practice from other event owners.
- Opportunities for suppliers to engage with events organisers, project managers, decision makers, and each other.
- Event Organisers: Learn about successful event hosting from a range of different events of many sizes and profiles

We look forward to welcoming you to Glasgow on 25th November at the largest international meeting of sports, business and cultural events.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Host City organisers if you have any questions.

SPONSORSHIP & DELEGATE ENQUIRIES:
Adam Soroka
Group Managing Director
+44 (0)203 675 9531
adam.soroka@cavendishgroup.co.uk

SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES:
Ben Avison
Editorial and Conference Director
+44 (0)203 675 9530
ben.avison@hostcity.com

International Sports Broadcasting (ISB), the host broadcaster for the Minsk 2019 European Games, said it had reached agreements in more than 106 territories on 28^th January, with 150 days to go to the Games.

The organisers of the multisport megaevent say the agreements with top broadcasters in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and New Zealand will enable them to reach more than 500 million viewers.

“This is excellent news not only for the success and longevity of the European Games, but especially for the athletes, who deserve to have the biggest possible viewership while competing at Europe’s premier multi-sport event,” said European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Janez Kocijančič.

“We look forward to welcoming the world to Minsk this summer, be it in person or via our strong network of broadcasters.”

The second edition of the European Games runs from 21-30 June in the capital city of Belarus.

More than 4,000 athletes will participate in 15 sports: 3x3 basketball, archery, athletics, badminton, beach soccer, boxing, canoe sprint, cycling, gymnastics, judo, karate, sambo, shooting, table tennis and wrestling. Eight of these will act as qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while four sports will also count the Games as their official European championships.

ISB is set to produce an estimated 500 hours of live coverage and daily highlights over ten days of competitions plus Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

The company was established in 1996 by Manolo Romero, former Managing Director of the IOC’s host broadcaster, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and has served as the host broadcaster for seven Olympic Games, six Paralympic Games, numerous World Championships, World Cups and continental Games.

“We are very pleased with the agreements reached so far and expect to announce a number of other key deals soon,” Romero said. “Our ultimate target is more than 120 rights holding broadcasters and we are confident that we will achieve it.”

The European Athletics Executive Board has invited Göteborg in Sweden, the region of Silesia in Poland, and Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to proceed with bidding for the 2024 European Athletics Championships. 

The seven-man board made the decision based on their review of an Evaluation Panel’s report and discussions with the prospective bidders.

“An important topic of the individual discussions was the presentation by each bidder on the overall concept of their project for the event focusing on the key aspects of event organisation,” European Athletics said in a statement.

The next stage in this revised bidding process is for the Member Federations and bidding destinations to sign a bid undertaking by March 2019. The submission deadline for the full bidding application is in June 2019.

The pool is set to be reduced further still at that stage. “The goal is to select the two strongest bids, based on the strategic, financial and operational evaluation criteria,” said European Athletics.

The bids will then be presented to the European Athletics Council in April 2020 to decide on where to allocate the hosting rights.

This Council comprises European Athletics President and three Vice Presidents and 13 other elected members, plus the CEO of European Athletics and IAAF President.

All future European Athletics Championships that take place in Summer Olympic years will follow this new process. “This new strategy focuses on individual discussions and a continuous interactive evaluation from the first step of a bidding process between the bidders and European Athletics in order to achieve a common goal of delivering a successful event,” said European Athletics.

The next European Athletics Championships will take place in Paris on 26-30 August 2020, after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Bids for the following European Athletics Championships will take a different route, as it falls outside of a Summer Olympic Year and forms part of the multi-sport European Championships.

The second European Championships takes place in the summer of 2022. For information about bidding, visit https://www.europeanchampionships.com/become-host-city

Host City Asia returns to Beijing’s luxurious Four Seasons Hotel on 11^th April 2019 for an even greater gathering of stakeholders in hosting major sporting and cultural events.

Host City Asia is building on the “complete success” of its 2018 launch, with 200 event owners, hosts, organising committees and experts set to participate under the 2019 conference theme “Faster, Higher, Stronger: Growth through Event Hosting”.

Who attends?

• International event rights owners
• Asian event hosts
• Local Organising Committees
• Investors, sponsors, suppliers, marketers etc.

Agenda topics include:

• Impact of AI, big data and blockchain on the events sector
• Integrating event infrastructure planning into city plans
• Nurturing your city culture
• Growing engagement

• Creating healthier cities
• Growth through brands

View the full agenda and register your participation here.

[Source: EventScotland] Edinburgh is set to host the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s (IFSC) European Championships 2019 for Lead and Speed after being awarded the Championships by the international governing body.

The Scottish capital was successful in securing the event, which is held biennially, following a joint bid by EventScotland, City of Edinburgh Council, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), Mountaineering Scotland and in conjunction Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA):Ratho, Europe’s largest indoor climbing arena.

Wolfgang Wabel, IFSC European Council President, said: “Edinburgh put on a fantastic show of climbing and paraclimbing in 2017, and we are confident the organising team will continue the proud legacy at the IFSC European Championships for Lead and Speed in 2019.”

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “This is a great result following all the work that has gone into securing a second successive climbing event for Edinburgh after the success of the World Cup at EICA:Ratho in September 2017. Scotland is the perfect stage and EventScotland is delighted to be supporting the return of international climbing to the Scottish capital.

“This is an exciting time for the sport and Ratho is the ideal platform for people to see climbing first-hand ahead of its debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.”

Councillor Donald Wilson, Culture and Communities Convener, said: “As Europe’s largest indoor climbing arena, Edinburgh’s EICA is the perfect venue for the European Championships! We’re looking forward to welcoming this high-profile event to the city – it will provide local people with the opportunity to see some of the continent’s best mountaineers in action, while also broadcasting Scotland’s Capital to sports channels and climbing fans all over the world.”

Zoe Spriggins, BMC Competitions Programme Manager, said: “The British Mountaineering Council is proud to be able to assist Edinburgh in hosting this event. It will not only be a highly exciting competition in its own right, but is also the last chance to see our GB athletes competing on home soil ahead of Tokyo 2020.”

Jamie Smith, ClimbScotland Team Leader, said: “Mountaineering Scotland are excited to welcome the IFSC European Championships to Scotland this year. It is great to see our National Centre being host to the competition which will see some of Europe’s top climbers battle it out over the two days of competition. This event is a great opportunity to inspire our next generation of young climbers as well as helping raise the profile of the sport nationally. This is an exciting time for climbing now being an Olympic sport and Tokyo 2020 just around the corner.”

Lindsay Renwick, Head of Customer Operations (West) at Edinburgh Leisure said: “We’re delighted that Europe’s largest climbing arena is once again able to show off our world class climbing facilities at EICA:Ratho, following the success of the IFSC World Cup and Paraclimbing World Cup in September 2017.”

The European Championships will take place from 5 – 6^th October 2019 and will be a chance to see some of the best climbers in Europe compete ahead of the sport’s debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. It also follows the successful delivery of the IFSC World Cup when EICA:Ratho took centre stage for the fifth World cup in Lead and Speed of 2017. The sold-out event attracted more than 1,200 spectators, athletes and coaches.

Twenty-five million people climb regularly worldwide and there has been a rapid rise in popularity of climbing worldwide, a sport that draws diverse climbers from rural and mountain as well as urban areas.

What do you see when you scale the grass roof of the Museum of Moesgaard in Aarhus? You see the Danish landscape; you see part of the course of the upcoming IIAF World Cross Country Championships; and you see a country with a view. A view to great international sporting events.

Together with national federations and Sport Event Denmark, Aarhus has hosted a long list of major international sporting events.

Aarhus is just one of many active host cities within Denmark. Other Danish cities – Copenhagen, Herning an Odense – all played hosts to some of the greatest world championships this summer. The IIHF World Ice Hockey World Championship, The ITU MultiSport Festival and the Sailing World Championships were staged in Denmark in 2018 alone.

The Danish record of accomplishment was evaluated by IOC president Thomas Bach on his visit to the Sailing World Championships in Aarhus. "Denmark has proven to be a world-class organizer. No-one in the sporting world could have any doubts that Denmark could organize a fantastic Olympic Games, organizationally and logistically," he said in an interview with Ritzau news agency.

Crossing cultures

Lars Lundov, CEO of Sport Event Denmark appreciates the compliments from the IOC-president, even if the Olympics are not on a Danish agenda.

“We have gained invaluable experiences through the staging of sporting events in Denmark. Sport Event Denmark as the national sporting event organization acts a knowledge bank and accounts for the future investments in bids for and organizing events for the international federations,” he explains, stressing that host cities and the national federations are vital in the collaboration.

In 2019, Denmark will host new events that will benefit from the experiences gained from the previous events staged in Denmark. The IAAF World Cross Country Championships is among those on the 2019 calendar.

The IAAF World Cross Country Championships is one of the world’s oldest running events. The event will be staged in March on Danish soil on and around the Museum of Moesgaard in Aarhus. The course will include running across the sloping grass roof of the museum.

The local organizers are currently developing an innovative concept for the event. The aim is to boost the championships to focus on cross-country running, nationally and internationally. In addition to the world championships, there are plans for supporting races for schoolchildren and a mass participation race.

The Danish vision has already attracted much attention from both the International Athletic Federation, IAAF and the international World of Running.

IAAF president Lord Sebastian Coe visited the innovative course and told the organizers: “It is really, really exciting because it will showcase our sport in an innovative, modern, exciting setting but also show that cross country is a tough sport, and it returns it to what I will describe as a traditional cross country course with the surrounding landscape.”

The view ahead of major international sporting events in Denmark is looking good as Danish host cities, together with Sport Event Denmark, keep bidding for more to fill the pipeline.

Fact file: Sport Event Denmark

Sport Event Denmark is the national Danish sports event organization. Established and supported by the Danish Government. The objective is bidding for and hosting world-class sporting events in Denmark, for example World- and European Championships in different sports as well as major sports congresses. Sport Event Denmark works in close collaboration with the Danish host cities and the national governing bodies. Today Denmark is one of the leading countries in terms of hosting world-class sporting events (in top-15 globally according to SportCal).

#sporteventDK

In a keynote address, International Olympic Committee Vice President Prof. Dr. Ugur Erdener said:

“We – the rights holders, hosts organisers, International Federations and all stakeholders –all have to respond to and meet the new needs of the changing world. We must re-evaluate the content and formats of our major events to ensure that they are engaging and beneficial for future generations.

“As long as measures are taken to ensure their sustainability through creating greater value for hosts and partners alike, and by cooperating and collaborating with the hosts throughout the planning and delivery of the event, aligning with government policies to deliver long-term transformational change within society, the future of major events will continue to be a positive one.”

In his welcome address, Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at VisitScotland said:

“Looking ahead, I believe there are three key areas that will have an influence on the future of major events. Co-hosting events across cities, regions or countries is an important trend for the future as it will allow for more sustainable impact by using existing infrastructure as well as developing those social and cultural benefits across a much greater geographical area.

“Digital integration will also play a big part in the future of how major events are presented. From augmented reality, live streaming to the availability of real-time data, all these tools are now at our fingertips to enhance the fan experience and drive greater engagement with an event.

“And finally, it will be about ensuring a 360-degree holistic model approach to the planning and delivery of events, ensuring they are enshrined in policy whether it be health, education, transport or sustainability.”

Speaking on the opening panel, Ansley O’Neal, Olympic Programme Commission Manager, International Olympic Committee said:

“One of the exciting things we are looking at in terms of how we put together the sports programme is not just the urbanization of sports, not just the way in which sports are delivered in the future, but how you continue to appeal to an audience all over the world when sports are becoming more topically relevant within different regions.

“We as a property are looking at a broader content perspective – really trying to drive what’s happening on the field but also outside the venues.”

Alban Dechelotte, Head of Sponsorships & Business Development EU Esport, Riot Games said: “We are the new kids on the block, the future is now for us. We are young, digital and international. 85 percent of our audience is below the age of 25.

“We are building the same governance as every federation; the only difference is that we own the sports, the leagues and the broadcast. For us the future is to go deeper, not broader; instead of trying to go global we go local; instead of trying to be agile we are trying to build the governance that will lead us for decades.”

Dimitri Kerkentzes, Deputy Secretary General, Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) said:

 “The future for the Expo is really a question of being able to communicate the reasons why we want to have these events in these cities.

These are presence-based events – the only way to really experience it is to be present. That means a lot of infrastructure needs to be put in place, and we need to communicate to citizens why we are doing this. Are we just using the expo to catalyse it or are we seeing it as a benefit for the future of the region?”

Jon Dutton, Chief Executive, Rugby League World Cup 2021 said:

“The way we consume sport and entertainment is changing, therefore we have changed as organisers. We will stage our first ever Esports event during the World Cup to engage with Generation Z and millennials who wouldn’t normally engage with our tournament.

“Alongside the men’s competition we’ll run the women’s world cup, the wheelchair world cup and a masters tournament. And we will have a big cultural programme.  We are going to deliver all this at a time when the world is changing in front of our eyes.”

Dr. Bridget McConnell CBE, Chief Executive, Glasgow Life said:

“Events, important in their own right, also have to be milestones in terms of the wider health, education, culture, sport agenda. Linking an event to other policies is a no-brainer – it helps the public understand why you are doing it."

Neil Carney, Project Director for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham City Council said:

“When we look to the future, it’s about a sense of partnership between organising committees, rights holders, host cities and suppliers. They are all competing with one another, so how do we create a safe space for those natural tensions? Events like this really do help with that – there are no other forums where we can have these conversations.”

David de Behr, Head of Sales Major Events, Aggreko Event Services said:

“Our role is to give federations and associations an alternative, to maybe change the concept. The ones which are in trouble are the multi-sports events. We have a lot of solutions to make them more sustainable, but we need to be part of the vision.”

Other speakers included top level representatives of Formula 1, National Olympic Committees, European Olympic Committees, Auckland, Victoria, UEFA, OECD, Eurovision Song Contest, GL events, AFL Architects, EBU, Cirque du Soleil, Coventry City Council, DF Concerts & Events, Rotterdam Ahoy, European Arenas Association, International SAMBO Federation, Nitro Circus, Red Bull Air Race, FIBA, UK Sport, World Archery, innsbruck-tirol sports, International Association of Event Hosts, London & Partners, Brno City and many more.

(Los Angeles, CA USA)  Following a packed September, which saw the debuts of both the You Got This world tour as well as the Nitro Rallycross competition, Nitro Circus is getting ready to heat up European arenas this winter. Now, with You Got This coming to Glasgow’s SSE Hydro on 21 November, Nitro Circus President Andy Edwards and other company executives will appear at Host City 2018 to detail the youth entertainment brand’s transformative year and its exciting plans for 2019.

To close out the event in high-adrenaline style, Nitro Circus and Host City invite conference attendees to the 21 November You Got This show at the SSE Hydro, as well as take a behind-the-scenes look at the stunt spectacular reviewers are calling, “a must see.” Meet action sports icon and Nitro Circus co-founder Travis Pastrana as well as other Nitro Circus stars. The VIP tour begins at 6:00 PM with the show starting at 7:30 PM.  For more information and to RSVP go here (deadline to RSVP is Monday 19, November) 

With the all-new You Got This tour, Travis Pastrana debuts as executive producer for the greatest, craziest, funniest show in Nitro Circus history. You Got This features multiple X Games medalists and several Nitro World Games champions attempting never before seen feats on a huge stage set. The new 17-metre tall Giganta ramp, incorporating a takeoff kicker that is three metres taller than anything Nitro Circus has toured before, launches BMX, Skate and Scooter athletes five stories into the air. “The tricks are getting out of hand,” Travis Pastrana reports. “The guys are throwing like nothing on this new ramp!”

Pastrana himself also leads an all-star roster of Freestyle Motocross riders who send it with jaw-dropping new tricks, and both sides will battle it out in FMX and Giganta competitions, both for prize money and - even more importantly - bragging rights. Look out for new crazy contraptions, too; who thought that a jet ski should fly? Without a doubt You Got This is totally wide open, with more thrills, more excitement and more irreverence than ever before. For a preview of the thrills Nitro Circus: You Got This has in store for Glasgow fans, go here.

For more Nitro Circus news, including tour updates, exclusive behind-the-scenes content and more, go to http://www.nitrocircus.com and follow Nitro Circus on Instagram and Facebook.

About Nitro Circus:

Nitro Circus, the world’s biggest action sports entertainment brand, creates electrifying live events and unbelievable original content that at once exhilarates, captivates and inspires thrill-seeking fans worldwide.  Co-founded by global superstar Travis Pastrana in 2003, Nitro Circus has since grown into a multiplatform phenomenon producing hit television shows, critically acclaimed documentaries and innovative digital offerings. That success gave rise to the Nitro Circus Live tour. Created in 2010, Nitro Circus Live has travelled the globe, playing to sold-out stadiums on five continents. The company introduced an innovative breakthrough in 2016 with the debut of Nitro World Games, completely rebooting action sports competition in the process. With over three million tickets sold to date, television programming that has aired in over 60 countries, more than 20 million engaged fans across its social media platforms and a burgeoning consumer products business, Nitro Circus is at the forefront of action sports and entertainment. For more information visit www.nitrocircus.com.

About Host City:

Host City Conference & Exhibition evolved from the network that grew out of the HOST City magazine, which is read by event owners, organising committees, cities and suppliers worldwide in their quest to host successful major sports, business and cultural events. It became clear that there was a need for an event that brings Cities, Rights Holders and Suppliers together to learn from each other's experiences of hosting sports, business and cultural events.

The inaugural Host City conference took place in London in 2014. A year later the event had doubled in size and grown to incorporate an Exhibition alongside the conference programme. The 2015 event was hailed as a big success and gained the support of leading industry figures across the board, including organisations such as the International Olympic Committee, the Commonwealth Games Federation, FIFA, International Federations, Capitals of Culture and World Expos.

2018 sees Host City returning to Glasgow for another year of growth where we will be welcoming attendees from cities and destination marketing organisations, cross-sector rights holders and suppliers from across the world. Host City is a Cavendish Group brand.

Register for Host City 2018 here to qualify for your VIP Nitro Circus experience. 

About the Cavendish Group:

A business publisher and meeting/events organiser with special focus on the emerging BRIC markets. Cavendish Group is a European business publisher and conference organiser with a focus on delivering business information to the fast-growing and emerging markets.