[Source: IOC / Tokyo 2020)The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, held a conference call this morning to discuss the constantly changing environment with regard to COVID-19 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

They were joined by Mori Yoshiro, the President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee; the Olympic Minister, Hashimoto Seiko; the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko; the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, John Coates; IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper; and the IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi.

President Bach and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and what it is doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games.

In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.

The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating. Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is "accelerating". There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.

In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.

The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of 3.4 million US dollars goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games.

In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.

The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating. Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is "accelerating". There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.

In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.

The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic is the defining crisis in the modern sports event industry.

Like me, you will have had the conversations with colleagues, clients and assorted sector experts, where you go in search of precedents. We want to gauge how bad this is, to put some sort of order on the chaos as it unfolds.

That list probably that starts at the 2007 banking crisis, then 9/11, and on through a catalogue of natural, human and economic disasters until you get to the Second World War.

So, make no mistake, this is a massive moment, the implications of which we’ll be living with for years, probably decades.

We are all waiting for the heroes of the medical and science community to do their work and report back. So anyone trying to offer solutions or predict the new normal for the sports market is not to be trusted.

But here are some things that are true:

1. Sport is important

Economically, culturally, socially. Sometimes we take it for granted or argue over attempts to quantify its importance. But even the anti-sport brigade can see and feel the impact of its absence. Its roots in communities are broad and deep.

2. Host cities are under appreciated

Most of the early industry conversation has been about the second level impacts on sports rights holders’ relationship with broadcasters and sponsors. Do not forget that government money drives the sports economy.

The sector’s biggest financial investor is not the media, corporate sponsorship nor the fans who buy the tickets. The single biggest contributor to the sports economy is the public sector, which pays out tens of billions of dollars every year globally, mainly via city and national governments which pay hosting fees and associated costs to put on major events.

3. The sports event market is oversupplied

An uncomfortable truth, but there will be a shakeout in the event sector. The calendar will be different. The market will look anew at which events really matter and which are ‘nice to have’.

4. There will be huge losses

Across the sports event sector, small and medium sized supply businesses will cease to exist. People will suffer real hardship at every level. We must act as a community to help in any way we can. We are interconnected.

5. Economics is not fair

Events that do not deserve to go under will vanish. Others will get lucky and survive, even thrive. Success and failure will be allocated in an inefficient way. We are conditioned to think in narrative stories that suggest a logical chain of cause and effect. But the reality is closer to messy chaos. It always is.

6. There will be those who suffer more and those who suffer less

The next few months are an opportunity. That is how capitalism works, it is brutal and simple. As businesses fail their assets will be feasted upon by others. There will be people whose careers will be made over the next few months. Amid the debris there will be some very undervalued events, relationships, rights and brands going for a song.

7. Radical ideas will become mainstream

Virtual sports events, esports, remote fans. Some of the stuff we have been talking about as ‘future gazing’ will make commercial sense for the first time.

8. Governments will make expensive mistakes

Government money is the engine of the event sector. Those in charge of the public purse will allocate funds to try to help. This process is inexact and unreliable and it will make some of us angry. Who will they choose to bail out, who will they leave alone?

9. Trust takes time

Some rights holders enjoy long-term relationships with their host cities, broadcasters and commercial partners that have reaped broad and real mutual benefit for years, even decades. Others are short-term, transactional relationships of convenience.

10. Number one cannot be repeated enough – sport is important

In our 14 years as an active player in the sports industry, The Sports Consultancy and TSC Legal have worked throughout some of the biggest shifts the industry has seen, some of which have been seismic in scale. It is true that we’re in new territory and there are few precedents to compare to where we are today.

Yet our experience has taught us that global sport is a resilient, endlessly creative and supportive community, and we’ll come out of this stronger.

There is still work to do in the most challenging of times, but Expo 2020 Dubai is on schedule to open in October thanks to measures taken by the host nation.

“Putting on a World Expo, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic requires a global effort from the 192 countries taking part in Expo 2020 Dubai,” BIE Secretary General Dimitri Kerkentzes was reported as saying in Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram on 19 March.

“We continue working with the organisers and are confident in the steps that the UAE has taken to manage the spread of the virus and protect all those involved in the Expo. Expo 2020 Dubai’s pragmatic approach offers both reassurance and assistance to those who need it, and will, I believe, contribute to the successful delivery of this mega event.”

A steering committee of representatives of countries taking part in Expo 2020 Dubai met virtually on 19 March to discuss the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on preparations.

“As hosts of the next World Expo, due to open in seven months’ time, we always knew that 2020 was going to be demanding. What we could not predict is that we would be doing so in the midst of the biggest global health crisis in generations,” UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai Reem Al Hashimy is reported as saying in al-Ahram.

“These are difficult, uncertain times, which makes it even more heartening to see communities around the world facing this challenge together and to witness the incredible resilience of the human spirit against a menace that does not recognise international borders or timelines.

“Our immediate priority is the health and well-being of everyone involved in Expo 2020 Dubai, and this will not be compromised. Our monitoring of ongoing developments means we will take all sensible precautions to manage and mitigate risk to all those involved.”

The UAE has taken a range of measures to control the spread of COVID-19. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces told government news agency Wam: “In the UAE, we have adopted rational and early advanced precautionary measures before other countries around us to stand up to the challenge… Therefore, the infection tally in the UAE is less thanks to our early response to contain the virus at its onset”

Construction by the organising committee is complete, with International Participant Pavilions being completed.

The value of World Expos cannot be understated. “For almost 170 years they have brought countries and people together to celebrate the best of humanity, and the fruits of our innovation and collaboration, around a theme addressing global challenges,” said Kerkentzes.

The organisers of Glastonbury 2020 have announced the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the festival.

“This will be an enforced fallow year for the Festival,” Michael and Emily Eavis said in a statement published on their website and shared on social media.

“Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty – this is now our only viable option.

“We very much hope that the situation in the UK will have improved enormously by the end of June. But even if it has, we are no longer able to spend the next three months with thousands of crew here on the farm, helping us with the enormous job of building the infrastructure and attractions needed to welcome more than 200,000 people to a temporary city in these fields.”

Ticket holders will have the opportunity to roll their £50 deposit over to next year, and be guaranteed the opportunity to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2021.

The organisers added: “The cancellation of this year’s Festival will no doubt come as a terrible blow to our incredible crew and volunteers who work so hard to make this event happen. There will also inevitably be severe financial implications as a result of this cancellation – not just for us, but also the Festival’s charity partners, suppliers, traders, local landowners and our community.

“We were so looking forward to welcoming you all for our 50th anniversary with a line-up full of fantastic artists and performers that we were incredibly proud to have booked. Again, we’re so sorry that this decision has been made. It was not through choice. But we look forward to welcoming you back to these fields next year and until then, we send our love and support to all of you.”

[Source: SportAccord] On 28 February, the Swiss Federal Government imposed a ban on large-scale events involving more than 1000 people. The ban came into immediate effect and was set to apply until at least 15 March 2020. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) moved to declare the COVID-19 outbreak as an official Pandemic. On 14 March at 14:30 CET in a press conference, the Canton of Vaud under emergency measures imposed a ban on events involving more than 50 people until 30 April 2020. SportAccord, which brings together nearly 2,000 delegates, has taken the necessary step of cancelling SportAccord 2020 to give International Sport Federations, stakeholders, partners and attendees as much time as possible to make arrangements in light of the cancellation.

“Our priority is the health and welfare of our International Federations and delegates attending our event, so this decision has been taken with the utmost consideration for those who were planning to attend SportAccord 2020 in Lausanne.” SportAccord President Raffaele Chiulli said.

“This is obviously an extremely unfortunate situation and we are saddened that our community will not be able to attend our annual gathering, but we wanted to announce this decision at the earliest opportunity to enable plans to be adapted accordingly for all concerned.”

SportAccord Managing Director Nis Hatt said: “Following the COVID-19 outbreak, SportAccord has made every effort to find a viable solution for the staging of the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2020.“

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused, but in taking the decision to cancel the event at this stage, we have endeavoured to minimise the potential disruption to our delegates’ plans. SportAccord is very grateful for the support of the City of Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, International Olympic Committee, partners, exhibitors, and delegates in recent weeks. We are now focusing on the delivery of what promises to be a superb SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 in Ekaterinburg and we look forward to welcoming our friends from around the world to Russia from 23-28 May 2021.”

Partners, exhibitors and delegates who had registered to attend SportAccord 2020 in Lausanne will be contacted shortly with further information.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord or keep up to date via LinkedIn and Facebook. For enquiries, email info@sportaccord.sport.

[Source: UFI] Paris based UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and Atlanta based SISO, The Society of Independent Show Organizers, today launch a new campaign, called “This Show Is Open”

– “This Show is open” / “This Expo is open” campaign made available to exhibition organisers around the world

– Campaign highlights the critical role exhibitions and events play in times of crisis

– Both associations pledge to make campaign available to meeting industry associations serving other types of events

It supports exhibition and event organisers around the world as they put the industry’s full experience to the task of keeping events going wherever possible, in line with the guidance of health authorities and the interests of their customers.

The campaign launches as the global outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus is challenging societies around the world. As health systems and governments deal with the outbreak, exhibitions and events around the world are being postponed or cancelled where deemed necessary.

At the same time, exhibitions and events are one of the core elements to both keep industries and economies going – they are both among the most responsive and resilient economical tools.

“Exhibitions and events are essential to millions of businesses around the world. They exist to provide platforms for people and industries to meet, to trade, and to collaborate. Small and medium businesses in all industries in particular depend on exhibitions. And, like all types of events, they support the economy worldwide“, says Mary Larkin, UFI President.

“Exhibitions and events are especially important in times of disruption. We stand to fulfil our obligation to maintain opportunities for people to meet wherever possible. As part of the exhibitions industry, we are committed to keep our exhibitions and events going around the world wherever we can do so“, says Greg Topalian, SISO Chair.

The “This Show is Open” campaign consists of material that UFI and SISO are making available to their respective memberships – covering all the global leading companies in exhibition management as well as regional and national heavyweights. They can add the visuals and text material to their ongoing communications around upcoming exhibitions – highlighting the fact that, while numerous exhibitions around the world are being postponed or cancelled due to COVID19, many shows are taking place successfully around the world.

“We have one simple message here”, say Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO and David Audrain, SISO ED. “As an industry, we strive to make it possible for every company to come to the show floor, to seek to meet with industry peers, to drive the exchange about how and to what degree their respective industries are impacted by COVID-19, and to secure the successful future for their business.“

Industry leaders are welcoming the campaign:

“I have been a strong supporter of this campaign ever since I heard of it. At Tarsus Group, we will use the material provided to help get the word out loud and clear that our industry is open and resilient”, says Douglas Emslie, CEO of London based global organizer Tarsus Group.

Both UFI and SISO are as well inviting other associations serving the wider meetings industry to join the campaign, to help to grow awareness.

“As the current president of the Joint Meetings Industry Council, I will invite all the member associations of this global framework to join this campaign. We will also be happy to offer other networks like the ‘Events Industry Council’ to share the campaign – this issue is one that calls for the whole meetings industry to come together and collaborate”, says Kai Hattendorf.

The campaign materials are available for download here: www.supportingevents.org

[Source: IOC] The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board heard a report on all the measures taken so far to address the coronavirus situation, which was followed by a comprehensive discussion.

A joint task force had already been created in mid-February, involving the IOC, Tokyo 2020, the host city of Tokyo, the government of Japan and the World Health Organization (WHO). The IOC Executive Board appreciates and supports the measures being taken, which constitute an important part of Tokyo’s plans to host safe and secure Games.

The IOC will continue to follow the advice of WHO, as the leading United Nations agency on this topic. The IOC Executive Board expressed its thanks to WHO for its continued valuable advice and cooperation.

It also praised the great unity and solidarity of the athletes, National Olympic Committees, International Federations and governments. It welcomed their close collaboration and flexibility with regard to the preparations for the Games, and particularly the qualification events. All stakeholders continue to work closely together to address the challenges of the coronavirus.

The IOC Executive Board encourages all athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The IOC will keep supporting the athletes by providing the latest information and developments, which are accessible for athletes worldwide on the Athlete365 website.

[Source: World Archery] World Archery has announced that the Shanghai stage of the 2020 Hyundai Archery World Cup in May will be moved as the city will instead host this year’s Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in the autumn.

A new host for the stage is expected to be announced shortly.

The other stages of the international tour will take place as planned in Guatemala City on 20-26 April and in Berlin, Germany on 21-28 June. The Final is tentatively scheduled for 26-27 September but that date is still to be confirmed.

Stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup are large competitions open to national teams. The top 32 archers over the season are then invited to compete at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final.

Shanghai has held a stage in 12 of the international circuit’s 14 seasons since 2006 but no city in China has previously hosted the Final.

World Archery had been monitoring the situation around the COVID-19 outbreak since late January. A change to the calendar was required in view of recently introduced travel restrictions on athletes and officials, and the packed international schedule.

World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen said: “World Archery is pleased to be taking the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final to China and the Pudong New Area of Shanghai in particular. Current circumstances meant a change was necessary but we see this as an extremely positive outcome for the athletes and sport.”

The role of sports in dealing with climate change may have been the most prominent on-stage theme at Global Sports Week Paris – largely thanks to the challenging presence of “Young Sports Makers” – but it was another threat to humanity that dominated conversations amongst participants. One insider told Host City that the novel coronavirus, which is currently forcing the cancellation of several major events in China including Olympic qualifiers, could even lead to the cancellation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

But Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, is confident that the show will go in Tokyo.

“We are following this closely at the moment,” he said. “We don’t have an impact on what’s happening in Asia with the coronavirus, but we will learn from how Tokyo 2020 put in place good measures and actions to protect the security of athletes and spectators.

“Tokyo 2020 have declared that they are very involved in this topic. It’s good that, with the Japanese culture, when they decide to do something they will always deliver very carefully and effectively. We can all be very confident that Tokyo 2020 won’t be affected by this.”

This view was echoed by Andrew Parsons, president of the International Olympic Committee. “We are concerned but trust that the health authorities on a national and global level are able to control it,” he said.

While epidemics could become more prevalent in the future, the organisers of Paris 2024 are confident that they would be well equipped to react if an outbreak were to happen in their own Olympic year.

“Of course, as an organising committee it is something you want to avoid, so we have good relations with the state and the minister to make sure that if something like that were to happen, we would have a good response,” said Estanguet.

Paris is also watching and learning from Tokyo in many other areas. “Our team has been associated with the preparations of Tokyo 2020 over the last two years through the Coordination Commission meetings. All our directors went to Tokyo to have special exchanges in terms of venues, technology, sport communication – I’d like to thank Tokyo 2020 for sharing their expertise.

Games-time will be the key moment, he said. “We’ll go there to observe and learn. It will be very important for us to follow the event itself backstage. Many of my team have never organized an Olympic Games, so for them it will be very useful to go there.”

Half the carbon of London

London 2012 was a great step forward in sustainability for the Olympic Games and 12 years on, Paris is aiming for a new benchmark.

“We have no choice. This is a challenge the whole of humanity is facing and events need to be part of the solution,” Estanguet said.

“Our ambition is to divide by two the carbon footprint of the Games. Compared to London it’s less than half the footprint.”

The biggest contributor to carbon emissions is facilities, followed by transport. Paris’s ambition is all the more impressive considering that the target includes transport to – not just within – the host city.

“For the first time we will take into consideration all transport, including planes and spectators coming here, which is 1.5n tonnes of carbon. And within Paris our objective it to make sure people use public transport,” he told Host City.

The third biggest contributor to carbon emissions is energy, which provider EDF is mitigating by using 100 per cent renewables for the Games.

Control the budget

Staying in step with project milestones is not easy for any Olympic Games organiser. “We have many challenges,” said Estanguet. “We will start the first construction over the next months. It’s key to start as early as possible, to keep to the timeline.”

“We are still on track to deliver the first element of the buildings in January 2021. We have good commissions to choose who will build the aquatics centre.”

Using 95 per cent existing or temporary venues reduces much of the capital expenditure for Paris, but the Games will still require 6.8 billion euros of funding, including 1.2 billion of sponsorship.

“The commercial programme is on track,” he said. “It’s not as fast as Tokyo 2020, but their budget is much higher. With Paris 2024 we are in a situation where we can limit the budget to make sure we can deliver without having big exposure in terms of budget as has happened in recent Games, including Tokyo, where the budget has really increased since they have been elected.

“My first objective is to control the budget. We are confident we will find this money from the sponsorship programme, which is 1.2 billion euros. So far, we have good contact with companies and I’m very confident.

“We’ll also engage with the population; we’ll launch a big programme with Club 2024 open to everyone to participate in 2024. That’s crucial for us this coming year, to engage at a national and international level.”

The perfect wave

Paris had the choice of four sports to add to the programme for 2024 and appealing to young audiences was central to the decision. “We decided to choose two nature sports: surfing and climbing, and two more urban sports, breakdancing and skateboarding, to make sure youth who are really engaged on social media will be attracted by the 2024 programme,” said Estanguet.

This will be the first time that breakdancing features in the in the Olympic Games. “It is a good combination with the values of Paris 2024 because of the creativity and the link with culture – and it’s very technical, physical and spectacular. We believe it will add something new and different from the 28 current sports.”

He also revealed why the organising committee chose Tahiti as the venue for the surfing: “Because at this time of year there is a 95 per cent chance of the perfect wave.”

Sport as a service

The younger generation also exemplify the rise of everything-as-a-service, as highlighted by French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu.

“Right now we are at a crucial time for the sport movement. People want sport but the they want it differently – they expect it as service. We have to be more aware of what people want from us and what they need.

“Young people are waiting on us before, during and after the Games – we have to ready to bring them more facilities, more sports, more education in sports.”

And sport is not just for its own sake or for entertainment – it has a big role to play in tackling the big threats to humanity. “Sports can be the solution for better public health and environment. Sport can be a big solution for all politics and what society is facing right now.”

I am writing in regard to SportAccord 2020, to provide an update on the status of our upcoming event in Beijing, China given the current Coronavirus outbreak.

Our thoughts are with the people of China and families affected by the outbreak. SportAccord is monitoring the situation and we are following the recommendations provided by the Chinese Authorities, the World Health Organisation, and other leading health authorities around the world. We are also fully aware of the recommendations on travel and restrictions imposed by airline companies and governments. 

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and share any developments regarding SportAccord 2020. Please rest assured SportAccord will continue to do what is in the best interests and safety of all our delegates.

Sincerest regards,

Raffaele Chiulli
President
SportAccord and GAISF

SportAccord

SportAccord brings together international sports federations and organisations involved in the business of sport. The annual World Sport & Business Summit is a six-day event attended by leaders of the global sports community. It engages international sports federations, athletes, industry, rights holders, organising committees, cities, government, agencies, media, technology, legal teams, medical professionals, inventors, and subject matter experts – represented at the highest levels.

SportAccord is the only global sports business event attended by all the international sports federations and their stakeholders, who host their Annual General Assemblies during SportAccord. These stakeholders include: ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations), AIOWF (Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations), ARISF (Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations), AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport), GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations) and Associate Members. SportAccord receives the full support of the International Olympic Committee.

Follow #SA2020 on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr.