[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: Paris 2024] Following initial validation by the Executive Board on 23 June, Paris 2024 is continuing its efforts to optimise the Olympic and Paralympic venues master plan, which ensures enhanced competition conditions, helps keep control of the budget, and preserves the legacy of the Games for local residents and regional authorities. The Board of Directors of Paris 2024 has approved the potential solutions identified, and granted a mandate to the organisation to continue working with the stakeholders involved, before the propositions are  officially presented to the IOC and IPC for final validation.

Châteauroux identified as a venue for shooting and shooting Para sport

The Board of Directors of Paris 2024 has confirmed that the shooting and shooting Para sport events are to be moved and the venue in Châteauroux as the favoured option offering the best conditions for the organisation of the competitions in 2024. Drawing upon the positive exchanges with the Fédération Nationale de Tir (National Shooting Federation), and the enthusiasm of the elected regional authorities, Paris 2024 is continuing discussions with the actors involved to finalise the technical and financial matters relating to this new host territory.

The “Terrain des Essences”, in La Courneuve, which was initially identified to host the shooting and shooting Para sport, will remain a competition venue. It will serve as the starting point for the Para marathon and the Mass Event Road cycling; there is less temporary infrastructure required for these two events. The large-scale decontamination and renaturing work will continue on the 13-hectare site, meaning the Games leave a lasting legacy that will benefit the area and its residents.

With Villepinte, new competitions will be hosted in Seine-Saint-Denis

The Board of Directors has approved the site of Villepinte, in Seine-Saint-Denis, to host the boxing preliminaries, the fencing ranking round of modern pentathlon and sitting volleyball during the Paralympic Games. The venue is subject to validation by the relevant international federations. The final stages of the boxing events will be held in Roland Garros, on the Philippe-Chatrier court, after the Tennis competition.

With Villepinte, and with the para cycling events being held at Clichy-Sous-Bois, in addition to all the sites that are already on the venues master plan, Seine-Saint-Denis is, even more than before, at the very heart of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille has been selected to host the basketball preliminary rounds

Following discussions with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the IOC, the Board of Directors has mandated Paris 2024 to propose the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille for the organisation of the preliminary phase of the basketball events.

Stade Pierre Mauroy has a history of hosting major international competitions. The record attendance for a basketball match in Europe was broken at Stade Pierre-Mauroy at the EuroBasket final in 2015 (27,372 spectators).

This new arrangement has the benefit of providing greater coherence between different team sports. With the basketball preliminaries being held in Lille, the handball preliminaries can be staged in Paris, in Hall 6 of the Parc des Expositions at Porte de Versailles. Thus, handball players will have the possibility of competing in Paris. From the quarterfinals onwards, the basketball competition will take place at Arena Bercy in the heart of Paris. This option also helps optimise the use of existing competition venues and keeps the budget under control thanks to the exceptional capacity of the competition site in Lille.

Next step

The IOC will  provide a final approval of these venues after full completion of the technical assessments as to the Pierre Mauroy Stadium's compliance with FIBA’s requirements.

Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games planned to take place in the very heart of the city

The Board of Directors has officially mandated Paris 2024 to present to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) the alternative concept of a Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony in the heart of the host city, Paris. Organised on the iconic Place De La Concorde, the Ceremony would be offering Paralympic athletes a unique experience.

Discussions will be held in the coming weeks with the IPC to agree on areas such as spectator capacity, accessibility, athletes' experience and budget, to define the most appropriate scenario for the Paralympics Games Opening Ceremony.

The two closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games will take place at the Stade De France, in Saint-Denis.

Host City: As you know from working on six Olympic Games, major events are extremely complex projects. What are the common pain points that you have seen appearing across the event planning process?

Paul Foster: Major events are complex operations to manage. With many stakeholders across different functional areas, partners, suppliers, broadcasters, government and more, it can be a real challenge to collaborate and co-ordinate the plan effectively. It’s easy to rely on legacy tools that don’t have the right functionality, or CAD solutions that require costly specialists to update. OnePlan answers these pain points and more – it combines the best characteristics of CAD and mapping in one easy-to-use solution that enables real-time collaboration across all stakeholders. 

In our hybrid world, stakeholders now expect more from event organisers and their technologies. A good example of this is the ability to visualise, at any moment, a hyper-realistic view of the stadiums, arenas, athlete villages and entire city. This is what our Venue Twin solution enables - a fully interactive 3D digital twin of your entire event. Virtual site visits 24/7 from any angle, meaning huge cost and sustainability benefits.

Host City: With so many different venues and items involved in events like these, a single planning tool sounds like the holy grail for organisers. How does OnePlan make it possible to plan and track all these variables on one platform?

Paul Foster: OnePlan and Venue Twin seamlessly integrate, so any change made is instantly reflected in the hyper-realistic 3D world, and vice versa. 

Our platform is built for real-time collaboration - we know how important that is for event planning. It’s easy to control the admin rights so any team member or stakeholder can make updates based on their access - including adding comments to be reviewed. The dashboard makes it easy to select from any map type, analyse your event data, procure from suppliers, and so much more. 

Ultimately, it’s all possible because that’s what our customers – including LA Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, World Triathlon and 2,000 events worldwide – are asking for! A good example is being able to plan independently on separate floor levels of a venue. We built that feature based on customer feedback.

Host City: The pandemic has forced us all to rely more on technology to communicate and monitor projects. How has OnePlan helped event planners over this period – for example, enabling virtual site visits?

Paul Foster: The pandemic has fast-tracked how venue owners and major event organisers realise the opportunities that innovative technology gives them. Venue Twin massively reduces the need for site visits – because you can now visit your venue 24/7 virtually, from any angle and any scenario. It means a huge cost and time saving – directly reducing travel expenses – as well as significant sustainability benefits. 

Our customers are telling us this is a fundamental shift in how they plan their events and venues. Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton have told us it’s a ‘game-changer’ for them – they’ve switched to OnePlan as an integrated solution, and can now use Venue Twin to improve fan experiences and sell better to sponsors and advertisers with the hyper-realistic brand visualisations. OnePlan’s technology enables centimeter-accurate planning and the instant ability to visualise exactly how your venues will look in real-life.

Host City: Your background is in crowd management – how is OnePlan helping venues to manage flow of people and capacity during this time of social distancing?

Paul Foster: That’s right, my background is in event security and operations, including crowd management. I’ve worked on six Olympic and Paralympic Games, and was responsible for last-mile operations at London 2012, for example. During the last year or so, this has been valuable in how we’ve created a Social Distancing Toolkit that any OnePlan user can easily incorporate into their event plans. It includes modelling crowd flow - inside and outside venues - as well as ensuring government regulations are adhered to. 

We’ve had a number of sports teams in the NBA and English Premier League - including Brooklyn Nets, Arsenal and Chelsea - use OnePlan to model crowd flow so their venues can stage safe events when fans have returned.

Host City: What impact do you think the pandemic will have on the events industry and your work in the longer term?

Paul Foster: As vaccinations help us come out of the pandemic, I believe the events industry will bounce back stronger than ever. People love live experiences – nothing beats being in a stadium enjoying the sport or music you idolise as a fan – and as a technology platform, we love helping our customers plan incredible events. 

We’re already seeing customers switch to Venue Twin as a way of reducing their site visits and improving sustainability of their events. Having a hyper-realistic – and fully interactive – version of your venues makes planning events simpler and better. It delivers long-term benefits today - Venue Twin is already being used to plan events and venues in 4-5 years’ time.  

Beyond this, the impact of the pandemic is making event organisers and venue owners race towards the commercial opportunities that now exist. The events industry is hybrid, and with Venue Twin major events can now engage international fans in incredible new ways. OnePlan connects together the operational and commercial opportunities that now exist.

Host City: We’re really looking forward to hearing you speak at Host City Americas – what are your expectation of the event and the opportunities for staging events in the Americas?

Paul Foster: We’re delighted to be the Preferred Event Technology Partner at Host City Americas this year! We’re expecting a great energy around the major events happening soon in the Americas, and the opportunities that new technology enables – both operationally and commercially. We’re at the start of an exciting few years for American sport and events on the international stage, and our US team is looking forward to helping your delegates unlock these huge operational and commercial opportunities.

Paul Foster is speaking at Host City Americas on day one, June 29. To find out more about OnePlan visit their website.

[Source: ABPCO] Upgrading to an ABPCO Preferred Partner has placed ACC Liverpool among some of the top conference and meetings venues in the country.

ABPCO’s Association Director, Heather Lishman commented on their new partnership: “We at ABPCO are delighted to have upgraded ACC Liverpool to a Preferred Partner. ABPCO are truly looking forward to working more closely with ACC Liverpool and its team, to share knowledge and excellence within the association conference and events industry.”

ACC Liverpool Account Manager, Heather Bonner comments on their decision to upgrade: “We are proud to have been members of ABPCO for many years and are pleased that we have the team’s continued support by becoming a preferred partner.  The association provides a great platform for networking, sharing knowledge and the opportunity to collaborate with fellow industry members with the combined objective of hosting world class events in the UK.  We at ACC Liverpool look forward to continuing to explore the opportunities that being a member of ABPCO and working closely with PCOs brings us as we continue to deliver major conferences.”

Heather Lishman concludes: “The upgrading of ACC Liverpool truly highlights our commitment to collaborating with outstanding and high-profile industry leaders. I look forward to seeing this partnership bear fruit for all involved, particularly as they benefit from our focus on excellence, learning and belonging.”