The next decade is set to bring increasingly rapid growth for the meetings, incentives, congresses and exhibitions (MICE) industry in Africa as the continent achieves higher economic growth, according to Derek Hanekom, Minister of Tourism for South Africa.

“The potential of Africa for the MICE industry is exponential,” Hanekom told delegates at ibtm world in Barcelona.

“The tide has turned, we can see that our growth opportunities are now also within the African market. There are 770 registered African Associations on the ICCA database. 178 of these are based in South Africa and 592 on the rest of the continent and 218 regional conferences were registered on the continent in 2014 resulting in 610 events over the last five years. South Africa only hosted 63 of these events in the past 5 years,” said Minister Hanekom.

South Africa hosted 124 international association conferences in 2014, which attracted just below 70,000 industry professionals. Of these 124 conferences, 81% were international rotating events.

Since its inception three years ago, the South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB) has successfully bid for 163 business events between 2016 and 2020, which are expected to bring over 150,000 delegates to South Africa and contribute approximately R3.1billion to the economy.

“South Africa offer the business events industry excellent value for money, deliver authentic, memorable and enriching experiences in one of the most captivating, safest and beautiful countries that I am proud to call my home,” said Hanekom.

It was also announced that the European Cities Marketing (ECM) programme has extended its reach to South Africa, hosting an ECM Academy in South Africa just before the 2016 edition of Meetings Africa.

“We are really thrilled to have our first ECM Academy organised in South Africa,” said ECM President Ignasi de Delàs at ibtm world.

“It’s a new landmark in ECM development to host the derived version of our successful ECM Summer School. The ECM Academy is a tailor-made course for partner organisations outside Europe. 

“We will do our maximum to guarantee the success of the ECM Academy in Johannesburg by maintaining the highest standard of course content, recruiting the best speakers, and giving the latest examples showcasing the most up-to-date trends in the Meetings Industry.”

[Source: AFL Architects] AFL Architects are proud to announce that we are working on designing a state-of-the-art sports city in Fumba, Zanzibar. Commissioned by the Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture, and Sport, this transformative development will establish Zanzibar as a leading destination for sport, tourism, and major events.

At the heart of the project is a multi-use StadiArena stadium, designed for sustainability and versatility. In addition to hosting football matches, the stadium will accommodate concerts, conferences, and a range of sporting events, ensuring year-round activation and long-term economic benefits for the region. The wider development includes training pitches, a four-star hotel, a hospital, and a small passenger port, creating a hub for both local and international events.

Nick Oliver, Managing Director of Globespan Infrastructure, the project’s prime contract holder, shared: "It is a delight to be working with a world-class stadium architect such as AFL, bringing their expertise to a project that will have a lasting impact on Zanzibar’s sports and events landscape."

With construction set to commence soon, this landmark project will shape a dynamic and future-ready sports destination for Zanzibar.

About AFL Architects 

AFL Architects is an international award-winning architecture practice headquartered in Manchester, UK, with an office in London. Our Sports & Leisure team has delivered transformative projects in 25 countries, creating world-class facilities that inspire communities and enhance the sporting experience. 

For more information, please contact: 
John Roberts 
Director 
T: +44 (0) 161 236 6263 

E: john.roberts@afl-architects.com

[Source: UCI] The 190th Congress of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) – an electoral Congress - was held on 24^th September in Leuven (Belgium) during the 2021 UCI Road World Championships that are taking place in Flanders and mark the centenary of the event. The UCI Congress brought together representatives of 95 of the UCI’s member National Federations.

President of the International Federation since the UCI Congress held in Bergen (Norway) in September 2017, David Lappartient was re-elected in Leuven for a second term of four years at the head of the institution. As the only candidate, he was re-elected by acclamation.

The UCI Congress also had the responsibility of holding the election for members of the new UCI Management Committee, who will serve on the Federation’s executive for the next four years. The elected members are (by Confederation then in alphabetical order where relevant):

For the Confédération Africaine de Cyclisme (CAC)

Mr Mohammed BEN EL MAHI (MAR)

For the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC)

Mr Amarjit Singh Gill DARSHAN SINGH (MAS)

For the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC)

Mr Michel CALLOT (FRA)

Mr Rocco CATTANEO (SUI)

Ms Daniela ISETTI (ITA)

Mr Henrik Jess JENSEN (DEN)

Ms Agata LANG (POL)

Mr José Luis LÓPEZ CERRÓN (ESP)

Mr Igor Viktorovich MAKAROV (RUS)

For the Confederación Panamericana de Ciclismo (COPACI)

Ms Sonia Gregoria RAMOS ACUÑA (BOL)

For the Oceania Cycling Confederation (OCC)

Ms Anne GRIPPER (AUS)

These 11 new members join the Management Committee alongside the Presidents of the five Continental Confederations – elected at the beginning of this year – as well as the President of the UCI Athletes’ Commission, who all automatically serve on the UCI’s Management Committee. They are listed below (in alphabetical order):

Mr Osama Ahmed Abdullah AL SHAFAR (UAE), ACC President

Dr Mohamed Wagih AZZAM (EGY), CAC President

Mr Enrico DELLA CASA (ITA), UEC President

Mr Tony MITCHELL (NZL), OCC President

Ms Katerina NASH (CZE), President of the UCI Athletes’ Commission*

Mr José Manuel PELAEZ (CUB), COPACI President.

* until the election of the new President of the Commission by its members between November and December 2021.

Championship hosts revealed

At a ceremony organised during Congress, participants discovered the different UCI World Championships for the 2022-2027 period attributed earlier in the week by the UCI Management Committee. In total, the names of host cities for nine UCI World Championships – for a total of seven countries and five disciplines – were revealed:

2022 UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships: Ghent (Belgium)

2022 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Championships: Barcelona (Spain)

2022 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon Masters World Championships: Madonna di Campiglio (Italy)

2024 and 2025 UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships: Roubaix (France)

2025 UCI Road World Championships: Kigali (Rwanda)

2026 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships: Hulst (the Netherlands)

2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships: Victoriaville (Canada)

2027 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships: Ostend (Belgium).

The announcement that the 2025 UCI Road World Championships are awarded to the capital of Rwanda means this will be a first appearance in Africa of the UCI’s annual flagship event. It is a decisive step in the organisation of this historic event which featured among the major objectives of the UCI’s Agenda 2022.

Four new members joined the UCI at its 2021 Congress, which approved the affiliation of the National Federations of South Sudan, the Solomon Islands, Equatorial Guinea and the Vatican (the UCI is the only International Federation to have the Vatican among its members). The objective of reaching 200 affiliated National Federations by the end of David Lappartient’s first term as President of the UCI, in line with the Federation’s Agenda 2022, has been reached and exceeded. There are now 201 affiliated National Federations.

The Congress approved the 2020 UCI Annual Report, which contains the audited consolidated financial statements for the UCI and the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC). At more than 40 million Swiss francs, the reserves of the two entities at the end of 2020 remained almost unchanged compared to 2019, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The Congress also approved the UCI’s 2022 budget as well as an updated forecast for 2021. The UCI’s projected reserves over the new Olympic cycle were also presented to Congress. They show prudent growth in reserves through to 2024 and at the same time increasing funds available for the development of cycling worldwide.

The Congress also approved a modification to the UCI Constitution to increase the number of Vice-Presidents from three to four, and to ensure they include at least one representative of each gender.

Participants at Congress were informed of the delivery status of all objectives in the UCI’s Agenda 2022. Much progress has been made: as of the end of September 2021, close to 80% of the 300 objectives communicated have been totally or almost entirely achieved.

Congress participants welcomed the award of the UCI Bike City label to the city of Sakarya (Turkey) by the Federation’s Management Committee earlier in the week. This label is in recognition of the quality of each recipient’s strategy for developing and promoting everyday use of the bike, and of their commitment to organising events on the UCI International Calendar. Sakarya joins the 14 cities and regions that already hold the UCI Bike City label.

Sakarya hosted the 2020 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships, a round of the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon series, as well as a round of the 2020 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup. The Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality has developed a 10-year action plan and is investing heavily to become a city that not only hosts championships, but also ensures bikes are used more actively in transportation, encourages people to lead healthier lives, and promotes a cycling culture. Dedicating approximately 15% of the total annual budget to cycling, it has developed multiple cycling infrastructures and programmes, including the multi-disciplinary Cycling Valley, protected bicycle paths, traffic parks, road safety programmes, children’s cycling programmes and various events for the public.

Finally, the Congress awarded the UCI Merit, a distinction rewarding those who have made a remarkable contribution to cycling, to:

Mr Fazli Ahmad Fazli (AFG), President of the Afghanistan Cycling Federation, for his courageous commitment to the development of cycling, notably women’s cycling, in a country where fighting for this cause is a risk.

Mr Greg LeMond (USA), double road UCI World Champion and triple winner of the Tour de France, for his exceptional contribution to the legend of international cycling.

Mr Philippe Leuba (SUI), Head of the Department of Economy, Innovation and Sport in the canton of Vaud - which houses the UCI headquarters and UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) - for his efforts alongside the UCI to welcome to the UCI WCC, people threatened in Afghanistan due to their passion for cycling with no barriers.

Mr Tom Van Damme (BEL), member of the UCI Management Committee and President of the Royal Belgian Cycling League (RLVB) for his constant commitment to the development of cycling at international level.

In addition, Mr Renato Di Rocco (ITA), Vice-President of the UCI, and Mr Artur Lopes (POR), member of its Management Committee, who both leave their positions, become respectively UCI Honorary Vice-President and Honorary Member of the UCI Management Committee. Moreover, at its extraordinary session after the Congress, the Management Committee decided to renew Mr Tom Van Damme’s mandate as President of the Professional Cycling Council.

The UCI President David Lappartient declared: “I would like to whole-heartedly thank the National Federations affiliated to the UCI for renewing their confidence in me by electing me for a second term of four years. I look forward to continuing my work at the head of world cycling. After achieving a large majority of the objectives in the Agenda 2022, I now mean to work with our members to establish an Agenda 2030 whose goals will shape the future of cycling in the medium and long term.

I would also like to extend a welcome to the new members of our Management Committee that now includes considerably more women, with Ms Daniela Isetti, Ms Agata Lang, Ms Sonia Gregoria Ramos Acuña and Ms Anne Gripper. I am convinced that we will work together effectively for the development and promotion of cycling.

“I welcome the attribution of the 2025 UCI Road World Championships to Kigali, in Rwanda. Staging our biggest annual event in Africa was one of our dreams. Today, this is nearer to becoming a reality. I sincerely thank Tangier and Morocco for their bid of very high quality. The UCI encourages the country to submit new bids for future events. Given its love of cycling and its commitment for the development of our sport, it deserves to welcome major UCI events.”

More equal gender representation

Meeting for an extraordinary session after the Congress of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) organised during the 2021 UCI Road World Championships in Flanders (Belgium), the newly elected Management Committee carried out the election of the Federation’s Vice-Presidents for the next four years. In line with a modification to the UCI Constitution approved earlier in the day by its Congress, the UCI now counts at least one Vice-President of each gender, for a total of four Vice-Presidents (compared with three previously). The Vice-Presidents elected are:

Dr Mohamed Wagih AZZAM (EGY), President of the Confédération Africaine de Cyclisme (CAC)

Ms Katerina NASH (CZE), President of the UCI Athletes’ Commission

Mr Enrico DELLA CASA (ITA), President of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC)

Mr Osama Ahmed Abdullah AL SHAFAR (UAE), President of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC).

Their term begins immediately and will finish after the 2025 UCI Congress.

The extraordinary meeting of the Management Committee also decided to bring in a co-opted member to the UCI Management Committee: Ms Yuan YUAN (CHN), Vice-President of the Asian Cycling Confederation and Deputy Secretary General of the Chinese Cycling Association.

It also confirmed Ms Amina Lanaya in the position of Director General of the UCI.

The President of the UCI David Lappartient, re-elected during the Congress, declared: “I would like to congratulate my four Vice-Presidents for their election, and I look forward to working with them over the next four years.

“With the election of Ms Yuan Yuan to the UCI Management Committee, it now has six women members out of 18, as opposed to just one after the previous elections. This is a major step towards more equal gender representation in the governance of cycling, which is one of the UCI’s priorities.

“I would also like to thank Mr Renato Di Rocco, who has been one of my Vice-Presidents since 2017 until this week, after occupying this role for the first time between 2009 and 2013. His support, his experience and his extensive knowledge of cycling have been precious throughout the many years he has served our sport.”

“The time I feel most Senegalese is during a sports game, and it’s the same for most Senegalese people. Our slogan is ‘One People, One Goal, One Belief’. But the only time you see people using it or getting out the flag is during sports events,” Fanta Diallo, Director of Sports, Youth and Community at the City of Dakar told Host City at Global Sports Week Paris.

“Having one of the biggest sports events being in our country and our city is a very important moment for me, to make true our slogan – to be together, and to take on the challenge.”

Dakar is a rapidly developing city, but it still has a lot of challenges. “If we are not facing challenges together, having the same goal and the same feeling about the way we have to use the Games, then we stay an underdeveloped country.

“But we can use this momentum. We have a lot of youth in our city, in our country. We can use this moment to show them that you can stay in Africa and deliver something on the same international level, done by Senegalese for Senegalese to the world.”

Host City asked Ibrahima Wade, Vice President of both the Senegalese Olympic Committee and the Dakar 2022 Organising Committee how much support Dakar needs from international suppliers to putting on the Games.

“During the candidature phase, Senegal was quite ready because most of the infrastructure that we needed for sport and other areas such as transportation and medical facilities are ready,” he said.

“At the same time we were working very closely with the IOC from November 2018 to December 2019, on the edition plan of Dakar 2022 YOG. We were working hard to define the road map precisely on how to plan and go to the market, so everything is ready.”

Africa’s Youth Olympic Games

This is not only the first time an Olympic event is coming to Senegal, but also to Africa.

“That’s why we are working very closely with all African countries – firstly with the African Union – to let them know that this is not an event for Senegal but for all Africa,” said Wade.

The Dakar 2022 organising committee is planning to include representatives from other African National Olympic Committees (NOCs), particularly from those that were also bidding for the Games: Tunisia, Nigeria and Botswana.

They are also looking into the possibility of staging some test events in other African countries. “We don’t have the decision right now, we are thinking and working on that, also seeing how to have some volunteers from other African countries, and a training programme not only for Senegalese athletes but also for other African athletes.

“We are working with Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), the international alliance of NOCs, with Olympic Solidarity and asking them how to build some OlympAfrica centres in other African countries, in order to show the African community this is not the Games for Dakar, but the Games for all Africa.”

Beyond Africa, Dakar 2022 has a lot of support coming from international federations and other Olympic Games Organising Committees, including Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024.

“We are benefitting from their experience in terms of engagement and environmental legacy. For example, Paris is sending experts to see how we can match and benefit from each other.”

Dakar is also acting as a test bed for Paris by including breaking, surfing, sport climbing and skateboarding, some of the additional sports that will also be included in the 2024 programme.

“It’s very important to put urban sports in the programme as a laboratory for that,” said Wade.

Host City asked if esports might feature in 2022. “No. Maybe for the big Games!”

Africa 2032 Olympic Games?

Everyone would like to see a big Olympic Games in Africa, and the Youth Olympic Games is seen as a gateway event.

“IOC President Thomas Bach mentioned this last November when he was in Dakar, saying it’s very important for all of us to make Dakar a success as it’s a good way to open the door for a big summer Olympic Games for Africa,” said Wade.

“I strongly believe that we will succeed, for all Africa. Like South Africa did for the World Cup, we will do it for the Youth Olympic Games.”

An African Olympic Games could also be enabled by changes to the bidding process, which no longer restrict the Games to single cities or even single countries. I ask Fanta Diallo when we might see an African Games bid, and which cities might be included.

“I bet for 2032 we will have African cities being candidates. I would say maybe Casa Blanca, Pretoria and Kigali,” she said.

But for now, it is Dakar’s time to shine. “Just imagine what kind of empowerment this is for the youth. To know that they can do something, because they never have the opportunity to show their talents. Just give them the floor to show that they can succeed in our country. And use the two years we’ve got to show all the talents we have, all the capacity and all the creativity we have in our country. I think it will be a good moment for that.

“We have a common goal – let us use it to solve common problems and really give back to youth the pride in being Senegalese. Let’s show the world what we can do as Senegalese people.”

Fanta Diallo is speaking at Host City 2020

[Source: World Athletics] The full ten-meeting schedule for the 2020 World Athletics Continental Tour (Gold level) has been finalised with the addition of Nairobi, which will be the first African host city.

The pilot year of the USD 2m Gold meeting series will now visit four continents – Africa, Asia, Europe and North America - with the first meeting at Nairobi’s Moi International Stadium on 2 May, followed by Tokyo on May 10. The series will finish in Zagreb in September.

Both South America and Oceania will host Silver level meetings this year with a view to staging Gold level meetings in 2021.

With the completion of the Gold meeting schedule for 2020, World Athletics has also finalised the discipline breakdown for each meeting (download), with a broad events spread to maximise competition opportunities for athletes in all disciplines and all parts of the world.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the impetus for creating the Continental Tour was to provide more competition and earning opportunities for more athletes.

“Between the Wanda Diamond League and the Continental Tour all disciplines will be catered for and many more athletes will have access to top class competition,’’ he said.

Fittingly, given the tradition of African distance runners, Nairobi will stage the 3000m steeplechase, 5000m and 10,000m for men and women as part of its programme. This is expected to be the highest quality senior international meeting to be held in Kenya’s history.

Continental Tour

The Continental Tour will be divided into three levels – Gold, Silver and Bronze – whose status will be determined by the quality of competition and prize money on offer.

World Athletics is investing in the Gold level meetings, which will each offer $US200,000 in prize money, to increase the number of high quality competitive opportunities available to showcase our sport’s best athletes.

Area associations will be responsible for managing the Silver ($US75,000 prize money) and Bronze level competitions ($US25,000). There will be ten Silver and up to 50 Bronze meetings.

Those disciplines that are not included in this year’s Wanda Diamond League final – 200m, 3000m steeplechase, triple jump, discus - will be core events in the Continental Tour Gold meetings, as will the hammer throw. Each will have guaranteed prize money of $US20,000 at each meeting.

Performances in those events will attract the same level of world ranking points as the core Diamond League disciplines, and the overall tour winners will receive wildcard entry to the World Athletics Championships Oregon 2021.

Host broadcasters have been appointed for each meeting and Infront, the tour’s international TV rights holder, will sell the rights into markets around the world.

[Source: IOC] The IOC Executive Board (EB) today made the decision to propose Senegal as host for the 4^th Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2022. The host will be elected by the IOC Session in Buenos Aires. This proposal is based on the report of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission, chaired by IOC Vice-President Uğur Erdener, who said:

“The IOC was fortunate to have four quality partners representing the African continent in the YOG 2022 Host Selection Process. All four candidates have the capability of delivering successful Youth Olympic Games and offer many opportunities:

• Botswana, the smallest of the four candidate countries, proposed a compelling project based in the capital Gaborone that would help achieve the country’s long-term vision for young people and sport.
• Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, proposed a very solid and compact project in the capital Abuja, a project also fully aligned with the national sports and youth strategy.
• Tunisia presented a robust project involving Tunis, La Soukra, Radès and the seaside tourist resort of Yasmine-Hammamet. The project’s vision is in line with the government’s goal to empower young people.”

In taking its decision, the IOC EB recognised that Senegal offers a strong project and the greatest opportunities at this moment in time.

The candidature is centred on three locations: the capital city, Dakar; the new city of Diamniadio; and the coastal resort of Saly. Senegal’s project is tied in with the West African country’s overarching development strategy, notably the national government’s “Emerging Senegal’’ plan, which envisions major economic and infrastructure improvements.

IOC President Thomas Bach said, “It is time for Africa…Africa is the home of many successful and prominent Olympic athletes. Africa is a continent of youth. That is why we want to take the Youth Olympic Games 2022 to Africa and to Senegal. They have offered a project based on a strong vision for youth and sport. There are many opportunities, and we will endeavour to deliver together, as part of a strong partnership, visionary, responsible and inspiring Youth Games”.

In PyeongChang, the IOC Session in February this year unanimously decided that the next edition of the Youth Olympic Games in 2022 would be awarded to the African continent.

The process has been collaborative, and the IOC was impressed by the quality and thoroughness of each party’s submissions. The IOC would like to particularly praise the level of involvement and positive response of all four NOCs and the public authorities concerned.

The Youth Olympic Games 2022 in Africa will make history as the first Olympic event on the continent. The Host Selection Process was shorter than previous processes, and reduced cost and complexity for the Interested/Candidate Parties.

Considering the unifying power of the Games, the IOC is pleased to count on the four parties, which all promised to endorse the decision of the IOC and pledged full support to the selected host.

Following the IOC Session’s endorsement and the signing of the Host Contract in Buenos Aires, Senegal will enter a Co-construction phase with the IOC to build the detailed Senegal 2022 Edition Plan.

The IOC Session will convene on 8-9 October 2018 in Buenos Aires.

[Source: IOC] The International Olympic Committee has approved plans to target African National Olympic Committees (NOCs) as potential host cities of the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2022. The decision was made by members at the IOC Session, following the recommendation of the IOC’s Executive Board earlier this week.

A targeted approach based on the principle adopted by the IOC Session in 2016 will replace the competitive stage seen for previous YOG host city selections, making the process more streamlined, simpler and shorter.

Part of this evolution is to ensure the event is accessible to a greater number of cities, which will be encouraged to make full use of existing and temporary venues. The goal is to elect the host city at the next IOC Session, to be held in October 2018 in Buenos Aires, ahead of the YOG.

This approach has been taken in line with a recent YOG review, to ensure a more impactful and effective concept for young elite athletes, and for host cities.

IOC President Thomas Bach said, “Africa is the home of so many very successful Olympic athletes. Africa is a continent of youth.  That is why we want to take the Youth Olympic Games 2022 to Africa. The IOC will proactively approach a number of African NOCs to evaluate the feasibility of such a project.”

The next few weeks will see the IOC engaging with selected African NOCs to establish the feasibility of staging the Youth Olympic Games 2022. This will be based on the criteria established by the revised YOG model, including use of existing infrastructure and affordable temporary fields of play, enhanced flexibility and adaptation to the local context, with the event to be used as a catalyst for wider youth and sport engagement programmes.

Significant work has already been undertaken by the IOC on the African continent to use sport to protect and invest in young people and drive social transformation, starting with the Youth Olympic Development Centre in Zambia, a facility which supports over 10,000 young athletes, from grass roots through to the international level.

This is supported throughout the continent with the Olympic Solidarity programme that offers assistance to NOCs for athlete development, training of coaches and sports administrators.

Furthermore, in partnership with UNHCR, the IOC also established the Olympic Refuge Foundation in 2017, which aims to create safe, basic and accessible sports facilities in areas where there are refugees, a displaced migrant population and internally displaced people. The IOC has established projects in Rwanda and Ethiopia to ensure the safety and security of young refugees.

IOC Member from Ethiopia, Dagmawit Berhane said,  “Our youth has been hoping and always dreaming to have the world come to Africa and experience the African nations. It’s a pleasure to hear our colleagues in the IOC have the faith and belief in an African nation to host the [Youth Olympic] Games.”

Nawal El Moutawakel, IOC Member and Moroccan Olympic hurdling champion, also commented: “I would like to express my joy at finally seeing such a project being implemented on a continent which has for so long been on the margin of our Olympic Movement. This is going to be a great glimmer of hope for Africa.”

A future Youth Olympic Games edition in Africa will go one step further to build on the sports development work, youth sport events and programmes that are already gaining momentum, such as the African Youth Games, and to further engage with the largest continental youth population.