The unanimous adoption of Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms may have had a galvanising effect internally on the IOC, but influential figures close to the IOC say the project has created high expectations that may prove difficult to fulfil in good time.

“I am very impressed. It’s a true sign of strength, both for the president and for the capability of change,” Sweden’s National Olympic Committee president Stefan Lindeberg said in an exclusive interview with HOST CITY. “But it’s also creating huge expectation for true change.”

The president of Slovenia’s National Olympic Committee and vice president of the International Skiing Federation, Janez Kocijančič was at the IOC session on Monday when Agenda 2020 was adopted. 

“The main idea, under the very robust pressure of the president, Dr Thomas Bach, was to start the changes. The process of reform is open and I hope it will continue,” he said, speaking to HOST CITY exclusively.

But he also warned that implementing all 40 recommendations of Agenda 2020 will not be easy. “If somebody is too ambitious, it might be that the reforms stop before they really get started.

“I hope it will go further and I believe in the courage of the president and certain people around him that they will continue like that. But there is a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Kocijančič and Lindeberg both made valuable contributions as speakers at HOST CITY Bid to Win conference in London in October, where Agenda 2020 proposals were debated in great detail.

Lindeberg was the leader of Sweden’s bid to host the 2022 Olympic Games, which was abandoned due to a lack of political support for the project as the infrastructure costs for hosting Sochi 2014 were perceived to be spiralling out of control. 

“The fear among politicians was so massive of taking this perceived risk,” he told HOST CITY.

An important goal of Agenda 2020 is to reduce the cost of hosting the Games and guarantee the sustainability of Games infrastructure – but this will take a decade to achieve, Lindeberg said. 

“This is a really tough situation to face for the IOC, because it’s not until 2024 that we can see the full implementation of the new decisions regarding the buildings for the Games.

“They will do what they can to make as much change as possible for 2022 and even for the host city contracts for 2018. Expectations will be very high, so it’s really tough.”

Even aspects of Agenda 2020 that do not relate to physical infrastructure will take time to implement, Lindeberg warned.

“It’s been very positive when you look at the values parts of the Agenda 2020, with inclusion of sexual non-discrimination and workers’ rights. But we need to see results coming up quick so these values will be really shown in upcoming Games, and that’s the tough part. 

“Now that the Host City contract is being made public, it’s very important the IOC carry these changes into the contract for 2022. Because if they don’t they will have a problem with credibility.

Neither Lindeberg nor Kocijančič were eligible to vote on Agenda 2020 but both stated their full support for the reforms. 

“I would have voted for the recommendations, because I believe every process of reform has to be started,” Kocijančič told HOST CITY. “Agenda 2020 is a very positive approach because it means the very beginning of reforms. For the time being, I am satisfied with developments.”

HOST CITY contacted the IOC press office for a response to these reactions and a press release was promptly issued, in which president Thomas Bach said: “Following the success of the IOC Session in Monaco and the unanimous endorsement of my fellow IOC members for the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations, it is critical that we utilise the momentum and energy we have created throughout the Olympic Movement and start implementing straight away.”

In a dramatic U-turn, the members of FIFA’s executive committee have voted unanimously in favour of making public its report into alleged corruption surrounding the bidding process for the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups.

The full report was written by US lawyer Michael Garcia, but only a controversial summary by his counterpart on the Ethics Committee, Hans-Joachim Eckert, has yet been published.  

Garcia dismissed Eckert’s summary as “erroneous and incomplete” and resigned from the Ethics Committee on Wednesday after his appeal was dismissed.

While many contributors to the report have spoken out in favour of publishing it in full, all were promised confidentially and the published report will be redacted for legal reasons – and it will not be published until the conclusion of ongoing investigations into five people connected to the affair.

FIFA vice president Jim Boyce of Great Britain is one of the executives who has spoken in favour of publishing the report, saying “If people have nothing to hide, why are they afraid of something being issued?"

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach today (Tuesday) revealed 40 recommendations from the Agenda 2020 review of the Olympic Movement, which detail how to reduce costs and increase benefits for countries contemplating hosting the Games. 

Agenda 2020 was instigated in 2013, shortly after Bach’s election as IOC president and has since engaged a vast range of people. The review has taken place against a backdrop of Sochi 2014, which was perceived to be an extremely high cost event, and cities pulling out of bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games due to cost concerns.

The first three of the 40 recommendations relate to bidding, including details of how the world’s biggest event owner might financially support bidding cities and develop wider benefits with the host nation. 

Under the recommendations, the IOC would cover the travel and accommodation costs for six delegates for candidate city briefings to the IOC, ASOIF, AIOWF and the ANOC General Assembly, plus costs for 12 delegates travelling to the host city election at the IOC Session. 

The cost of cities hosting IOC Evaluation Commission visits would also be borne by the IOC. Printed versions of the candidature files would be axed, and consultants and lobbyists working for bidding cities would be monitored and registered by the IOC. 

These reductions in bidding cost are, however, tiny in relation to the costs of hosting the Olympic Games. This is why Agenda 2020 proposes “shaping the bidding process as an invitation” – a form of consultation with cities at an early stage, with a focus on cost and benefit. 

Under Agenda 2020, the IOC plans to better communicate the difference between the two different budgets related to hosting the Olympic Games: “long-term investment in infrastructure and return on such investment on the one hand, and the operational budget on the other hand,” as well as better communicating the IOC’s contribution to the operational budget. 

The IOC seeks to reduce the cost of venue infrastructure for cities by prioritising the use of existing and temporary facilities at this early stage of bid planning.

“The recommendations in Olympic Agenda 2020 are designed to change the bidding process in a positive way,” said Ole Einar Bjørndalen, IOC member for Norway, whose capital city Oslo pulled out of bidding for the 2022 Games in September 2014. 

“I think it is important to bring the Olympic Winter Games especially back to their roots, where the organisers are creating genuine winter festivals and where the inhabitants of the host city are as important as the athletes.

It is a step forward that the bidding cities will have the chance to focus on Games that work in the local context – socially, economically and environmentally.”

Olympic Agenda 2020 also opens up the possibility of Olympic Games events being hosted outside the host city – and even outside the host nation, in exceptional circumstances. 

“I think it is positive that the IOC will encourage the re-use of venues, temporary venues, and even the use of some venues in other regions and countries. This will lower the costs, which will hopefully make staging the Games more attractive for more countries,”said Bjørndalen.

The International Olympic Committee has launched its reformed bidding procedure with a new invitation phase, during which National Olympic Committees can discuss their plans “at their earliest convenience” before the application deadline of 15 September.

This new consultative approach, launched four weeks after the adoption of Agenda 2020, will help NOCs to ascertain the viability of bidding for the Games before committing in full. 

These early discussions with the IOC have the potential to reducing the cost of bidding and organising the Games for cities – one of the key aims of Agenda 2020.

The concept of “shaping the bid process as an invitation” has been central to the Agenda 2020 review right from its inception. 

Another key aim of Agenda 2020 with regard to bidding process is to strengthen the evaluation of bid cities to more clearly highlight key opportunities and risks.

Until now, the bidding process for the Olympic Games has been split into two phases – the “applicant” and “candidature” phases, which will now follow the invitation phase. 

In the applicant phase, cities send in an application file which is studied by an IOC working group, who assess the bid for the IOC executive board. If approved by the board, the bid then progresses to the candidature phase, which requires much more detailed plans in the form of a candidature file and site visits. 

Interested NOCs and cities will now be able to receive “various levels of assistance and feedback” between now and the 15 September deadline for officially committing to a bid. 

“Bidding for the Games is not a tender for a franchise, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution,” the IOC said in a statement.

“The bid process is about making proposals and offering solutions that will deliver excellent Games, with no compromise on the field of play for the athletes while also meeting the needs of the city and region to ensure the Games leave a positive, long-term, sustainable legacy.”

Cities considering bidding for the Games are encouraged to place greater emphasis on the use of existing, temporary and demountable venues.

During the invitation phase, the IOC will inform interested parties of the “core requirements” necessary to organise the Games in order “to assist interested cities and their NOCs to develop a project that best meets each city’s unique long-term development needs.” 

The IOC also expressed its satisfaction with the “strong interest" in hosting the 2024 Olympic Games, with the NOCs of Germany, Italy and the United States already indicating their intention to bid.

Ryder Cup director Richard Hills confirmed that representative organisations in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey had lodged an interest in hosting the golf extravaganza by the August 31 deadline.

Official bids are now due to be submitted by February 16 and the host nation is expected to be confirmed next autumn.

“We are absolutely delighted at the level of interest we have received from across Europe in respect of hosting the 2022 Ryder Cup and we welcome each and every one of the seven letters of intent, each received through the respective national golf association, in accordance with bidding regulations,” Hills told reporters.

The Ryder Cup implemented a bidding process for the historic Europe versus USA team tournament for the first time for the 2018 event, which was secured by France ahead of rival bids from Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

“The implementation of this kind of formal bidding process for the 2018 Ryder Cup marked a new era for us all at Ryder Cup Europe, and this take-up for 2022 shows that the introduction of a fair, transparent and objective methodology has been welcomed across the continent,” Hills added.

“Not only that, we feel it is a process which befits a sporting event of the stature of the Ryder Cup and, as we have consistently stated, the key criteria in place will enable us to evaluate each bid equally on both its sporting and commercial merits while, at the same time, allowing us to judge each bid fairly, thoroughly and on a level playing field.”

The biennial event rotates between Europe and the US, with the UK and Ireland having staged all of the European matches so far apart from in 1997, when Andalusia in Spain was the host.

The 2014 Ryder Cup will take place at Gleneagles in Scotland from September 26-28. In the US, Minnesota’s Hazeltine Golf Club and Whistling Straits in Wisconsin will hold the 2016 and 2020 editions, sandwiching the event’s debut in France in 2018 at Le Golf National in Paris.

HOST CITY Bid to Win, the inaugural event organised by the leading magazine for hosting major events, is attracting the highest calibre of speakers. 

Sir Craig Reedie, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that he will deliver the keynote address to the conference, on the subject of “Why Should Cities Bid for Events?”

The subject is highly topical as the conference takes place a few weeks before the IOC is set to announce the recommendations of its Olympic Agenda 2020 working groups, the foremost of which is a review of bidding procedure to boost the appeal of the Games.

After his keynote address, Sir Craig Reedie will be joined by Hasan Arat, a member of the Agenda 2020 working group on bidding procedure, on a panel discussion entitled “Olympic Agenda 2020: The Bidding Process Under Review”. 

While the possible outcomes of Olympic Agenda 2020 will not be revealed until after the Extraordinary IOC Session on December 8th in Monte Carlo, the panel discussion at Bid To Win will address many of the concerns under review, focusing on the recommendations of four European NOCs. 

This will be followed by an exclusive update from Rio 2016 on progress in the Olympic host city. The panel sessions that follow address the key concerns of cities and rights holders of sports, business and cultural events.

Other confirmed speakers include: Jürgen Müller (Head of FIFA World Cup); Wang Wei (Vice Chairman, Beijing Olympic City Development Association); David Grevemberg (CEO, Commonwealth Games Federation); Janez Kocijancic (Vice President, International Ski Federation; Dimitri Kerkentzes, (Chief of Staff, BIE); Panos Protopsaltis (Director of Transport, Baku 2015); ROCK IN RIO; Joe O’Neill (International Business Development Director, ARENA GROUP); Peter Tindemans (Secretary-General, EUROSCIENCE); Ali Kiremitçioglu (CEO, Istanbul 2020 Bid Committee); Iain Edmondson (Head of Major Events, London & Partners); Jordi Joly, (CEO, Barcelona City Council); Georg Spazier (CEO, Innsbruck Tirol Sports); Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros (CEO, ICSS Europe); Mike Lee OBE (Chairman, VERO); Helen Rowbotham (Director of Consulting, CSM); Robert Datnow (Managing Director, The Sports Consultancy); Lars Haue-Pedersen (Managing Director, TSE Consulting); Ben Avison, (Editorial Director, HOST CITY); Koos Tesselaar (Vice-Chairman, NIBC Bank).

“The momentum around Bid to Win has built up so quickly and we are thrilled to have such a distinguished array of speakers confirmed at this stage,” said Ben Avison, Editorial Director of HOST CITY and Chairman of Bid to Win. “The beautiful St James’ Court Taj Hotel will be the perfect venue for the occasion.”

HOST CITY Bid To Win conference takes place on Tuesday 28th October, with a drinks and buffet reception on the evening of Monday 27th October. To REGISTER visit www.bidtowin-hostcity.net

HOST CITY Bid to Win conference, which takes place on 28th October 2014, is attracting the most influential figures in major events.

David Grevemberg, who oversaw what was widely hailed as the “greatest Games ever” in Glasgow, is to speak at HOST CITY Bid to Win just six days before he takes on his new role as CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation. 

Grevemberg is set to close the conference with a panel discussion entitled “Beyond the Bid: Winning for the Future,” joined by Wang Wei, vice president of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, Jordy Joli, CEO of finance at Barcelona City Council and Ali Kiremitcioglu, CEO of Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games. 

The panel will discuss whether the visibility gained from bidding justifies the cost, how to ensuring that event delivery reflects promises made in a bid, and how to use a bid to attract investment that works for the future of the city.

Grevemberg’s appointment as CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation was announced in June but he had intimated to HOST CITY readers earlier in the year that he was committed to the long term development of the Commonwealth Games as an event property. 

“One of the biggest challenges is to continue to make sure that the Games represent quality, quantity and universality,” he told HOST CITY. “As the Commonwealth Games Federation moves forwards and future hosts come down, it’s about really making sure that the Games can manage all of that and perpetuate itself further by ensuring that it is continually relevant.”

Grevemberg joins a long list of distinguished and influential speakers, including Sir Craig Reedie (Vice President, IOC); Jürgen Müller (Head of FIFA World Cup); Wang Wei (Vice Chairman, Beijing Olympic City Development Association); Janez Kocijancic (Vice President, International Ski Federation; Dimitri Kerkentzes, (Chief of Staff, BIE); Panos Protopsaltis (Director of Transport, Baku 2015); ROCK IN RIO; Joe O’Neill (International Business Development Director, ARENA GROUP); Peter Tindemans (Secretary-General, EUROSCIENCE); Ali Kiremitçioglu (CEO, Istanbul 2020 Bid Committee); Antonio Fernandez Arimany (DG,  International Triathlon Union); Iain Edmondson (Head of Major Events, London & Partners); Jordi Joly, (CEO, Barcelona City Council); Georg Spazier (CEO, Innsbruck Tirol Sports); Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros (CEO, ICSS Europe); Mike Lee OBE (Chairman, VERO); Helen Rowbotham (Director of Consulting, CSM); Robert Datnow (Managing Director, The Sports Consultancy); Lars Haue-Pedersen (Managing Director, TSE Consulting); Ben Avison, (Editorial Director, HOST CITY); Koos Tesselaar (Vice-Chairman, NIBC Bank).

“The momentum around Bid to Win has built up so quickly and we are thrilled to have such a distinguished array of speakers confirmed at this stage,” said Ben Avison, Editorial Director of HOST CITY and Chairman of Bid to Win.

Lord Sebastian Coe said on Tuesday that the bidding procedures for major events such as the Olympic Games must retain the “human element”. 

As well as being vice president of the IAAF and a key figure behind London’s successful bid, Lord Coe is a member of the Olympic Agenda 2020 working group that is currently reviewing the bidding procedure for the Olympic Games.

“It’s quite dangerous to think that you can choreograph every moment of a bid,” Lord Coe told delegates at Securing Sport 2014 in London. “For a bid to win and gain acceptance you need personal relationships. They have got to work alongside an organising committee for many years – you need to know that the team that is bidding will also make a good organising team."

Lord Coe also contributed to the IOC’s last major review, the Olympic Commission 2000 which, he says, “made it very tough for bidding cities” while bringing about positive changes such as managing interaction between IOC members and bidding cities. 

“There’s a balance. We have to be careful not to take the human element out. And it’s hard to be told that you can’t just sit down with an IOC member and explain what the transportation or security strategy is.”

Asked about the issue of gifts, Lord Coe affirmed that he had never been offered or accepted any gifts in relation to bidding procedures. 

“We all probably understand the difference between a commemorative plate and a calendar and something more substantive. The law of common sense should prevail.”

The review of bidding procedure will be under discussion at HOST CITY Bid to Win on 28th October in London. Register at www.bidtowin-hostcity.net

Host City: Bid to Win, a conference which will be held at the St James’ Court, A Taj Hotel, London on 28 October 2014, is set to bring together experts and decision makers to explore the challenges and benefits of bidding for major global events. At a time when the bidding process for events has never been more highly scrutinised, Host City: Bid to Win promises place further expert insight into the heart of the ongoing debate. 

The conference will examine engaging themes central to the debate including the IOC’s proposed Agenda 2020 reforms and emerging trends in the bidding for and hosting of large-scale, multi-sport and cultural events.   

Keynote speaker Sir Craig Reedie, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice-President, believes there has never been a more important time for rights holders to engage with cities.

Speaking about Host City: Bid to Win, he said: “I am supporting Host City: Bid to Win as it is a great opportunity to get rights holders and cities together debating the key issues. Rights holders and cities are both seeking new ways to showcase their unique qualities, attract new audiences and enhance their reputations – I’m looking forward to sharing insights and opinions with experts from across the global landscape.”

Mario Andrada, Rio 2016 Director of Communications, said: “Host City: Bid to Win will be a great arena for debate on major event bidding and hosting. I am looking forward to sharing my experiences and insights into the bid and delivery of Rio 2016 and this is a great opportunity to connect, learn and share ideas about how cities and countries can truly benefit from hosting a major sports event.”

Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and CEO of marketing communications giant WPP and an advisor to the IOC sees the conference as an important platform for furthering the debate on major event hosting in the current climate. 

“We clearly need to articulate more effectively the tangible, intangible and legacy benefits of sporting, cultural and business events.” Sorrell said.

Alexander Koch, Corporate Communications Manager at FIFA, said: “This is an important time for all stakeholders involved in bidding and hosting and I’m looking forward to what should be an engaging debate between bidding cities and rights holders at Host City: Bid to Win.”

Host City: Bid to Win will host various structured and informal networking opportunities, as well as a series of thought provoking panel sessions on what cities need to do to win sporting, cultural and business events. 

Topics to be covered include: 

•How Event Owners and Cities Can Benefit From Improving Their Dialogue

•Emerging Trends in Large Scale Events

•Olympic Agenda 2020: Overview of Proposed Changes to the Bidding Process

•Attracting International Events to Cities

•Bidding for the Right Event

•Evaluating Bidding & Hosting

•Successes and Failures

•Meeting the Evaluation Criteria: Planning, Infrastructure, Transport & Security Strategies

•Campaigning to Win the Bid

•Beyond the Bid: Winning for the Future 

For further information on the engaging panel sessions and other top class speakers confirmed for Host City: Bid to Win, please visit: http://www.bidtowin-hostcity.net/

Join the conversation on social media by using the #HostCity hashtag.

For media enquiries, please contact: Robert Fawdon, VERO Communications, rfawdon@verocom.co.uk, m: +44 (0)7769 216649, t: +44 (0)20 7812 6589

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) has officially thrown its hat into the ring for the 2024 summer Olympic Games by confirming that either Berlin or Hamburg will bid for the event.

The DOSB had been expected to make a solid decision on its Olympic bid strategy at a meeting on December 6.

However, president Alfons Hörmann told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper earlier this month that the organisation had wanted to determine the results of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ‘Agenda 2020’ initiative as well as gain a stronger insight into the strength of local support in the two cities, before proceeding.

This was expected to delay any formal announcement on a German bid for the 2024 Games until next year, but the DOSB has now committed to pursuing the Games with a final decision over its candidate city due on March 21.

The DOSB has added that it is likely to re-enter the bidding for the 2028 Olympics should its attempt at 2024 fail in what is expected to be a strong field.

“Olympic and Paralympic Games are the most important events for German sports,” Hoermann said.

“Sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games are a chance for the entire country and especially for the city hosting the Games and its region. From Munich 1972 to London 2012 it becomes clear what they can trigger in the economy and society if well conceived and executed.

“We are confident that it will be a big opportunity for one of the cities and a big opportunity for the entire sport. We are also confident that an Olympic project can be – and will be – good for our country. We have two excellent candidates in Berlin and Hamburg.”

Germany last hosted the summer Olympics when Munich staged the 1972 Games, while Berlin was the setting for the 1936 Games. Berlin failed to land the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney and Leipzig was defeated in the race for the 2012 Games in London.

The latest bid process comes with Munich’s failed effort to land the 2018 winter Olympics still fresh in the memory. The bid was rejected in a local referendum and the DOSB insists it has learned lessons from this experience.

Both Berlin and Hamburg plan referendums once it is known which of the two will be the candidate for the 2024 Games. The DOSB said that its latest polls indicate a narrow majority is against the Games in Berlin, while the project has the support of 53 per cent of the Hamburg population. 

“We have to promote the product and convince the citizens,” Hoermann added.