As Pfizer and BioNTech donate vaccines to athletes and their delegations attending Tokyo 2020, Prof. Uğur Erdener, Chair of the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission highlights the wider value of vaccination globally.

“We see the importance of vaccination all around the world,” Prof. Erdener said in an IOC release. “We encourage the athletes and Games participants to take the vaccine whenever possible. Vaccination is an important tool to protect not only themselves, but also their communities.”

Prof. Erderner, who is also President of the Turkish National Olympic Committee and President of World Archery, is speaking at Host City Americas, taking place online on 29-30 June.

Following a meeting with Japanese government, the IOC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pfizer and BioNTech to donate doses of the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine to Games participants from National Olympic and Paralympic Committees around the world.

“This donation of the vaccine is another tool in our toolbox of measures to help make the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 safe and secure for all participants, and to show solidarity with our gracious Japanese hosts,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.

“We are inviting the athletes and participating delegations of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games to lead by example and accept the vaccine where and when possible. By taking the vaccine, they can send a powerful message that vaccination is not only about personal health, but also about solidarity and consideration of the wellbeing of others in their communities. We would like to thank Pfizer and BioNTech for this very generous donation to support the vaccination of athletes and Games participants ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.”

Any doses delivered by Pfizer and BioNTech under the agreement will not be taken out of existing vaccination programmes but will be in addition to existing quotas and planned deliveries around the world.

The IOC and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) are working with the NOCs and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) to encourage and assist their athletes, officials and Games stakeholders to get vaccinated in their home countries in line with national immunisation guidelines, before they go to Japan.

The offer to donate the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 to athletes and their delegations participating in the Tokyo 2020 Games came about during a conversation between Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer, and Suga Yoshihide, Prime Minister of Japan.

“With hundreds of millions of vaccines already administered, and hundreds of millions more to go, Pfizer is committed, together with BioNTech, to doing all we can to help end this pandemic and help return the world to a sense of normalcy,” said Bourla.

“The return of the Olympic and Paralympic Games represents a monumental moment of world unity and peace after a gruelling year of isolation and devastation. We are proud to play a role in providing vaccines to athletes and their national Olympic delegations where possible.”

The IOC has also recently released the second edition of its Playbooks, which give detailed information and guidelines to the various stakeholder groups participating in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Host City 2021, the world’s largest meeting of cities and sports business events, will take place on 7-8 December in Glasgow with a global, hybrid format that will maximise participation from all regions of the world.

Scotland and Glasgow will host the global event for the 7th consecutive year. Host City 2021 will build on the phenomenal success of last year’s first digital edition, combining face-to-face action at Glasgow’s Technology & Innovation Centre with online connectivity.

The global, hybrid Host City 2021 will be preceded by two regional, digital events: Host City Americas and Host City Asia, set for 30 June and 14 April respectively.

Host City 2021 will also feature online sessions timed for Asian and American participation. The combination of physical and digital elements over an expanded timeframe will take Host City to more of the world than ever before, while enabling the physical content and networking in Glasgow for which Host City is renowned.

Host City 2021 is supported by EventScotland, Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland Director of Events, said: "EventScotland has a strong connection with Host City, having been a supporter of the conference since its inception in 2014, and we are delighted to be welcoming it back to Scotland and Glasgow for the 7th consecutive year.

"Host City is always a great opportunity for the major events sector to come together and share best practice, and the global hybrid format for this year's conference will ensure attendees, whether they are there in person or online, are able to learn and share knowledge as we continue to navigate through the new normal.

"Events are a force for good and we look forward to working with the Host City team to deliver a conference that ensures a bright future for all events."

Councillor David McDonald, Chair of Glasgow Life and Depute Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “As a proud supporter of Host City, we’re delighted to welcome the event back to Glasgow for the seventh year in a row.

“As a leading host city for festivals and events, Glasgow has keenly felt the impact of Covid-19, and seeing how well last year’s Host City event was delivered on a digital platform was hugely encouraging and the global feedback was fantastic.

“We look forward to working with the Host City team once again to ensure that 2021’s event is even bigger and better than previous iterations, and to share best practice with our colleagues across the world as we all work to create the best possible future for events.”

Ben Avison, Editorial and Conference Director of Host City said: “Since the first Host City event in 2014, we have staged continually growing physical events, two Asian editions, and last December we reached our biggest ever audience by going online for the first time.

“2021 represents a tremendous opportunity to combine all these elements and present the greatest platform for of cities and sports, business and cultural events to participate in a way that works best for them, whether that is meeting in person in Glasgow or participating online on the other side of the world.

“The digital regional events – the third Host City Asia and the first Host City Americas – will also play a huge part in bringing our community together, enabling stakeholders in major events the world over to share best practice and set the global agenda.”

For more information contact ben.avison@hostcity.com or adam.soroka@cavendishgroup.co.uk