The Big Restart
Recovery with a Purpose for the Digital Age
Host City 2020 was full of fascinating insights and debate about the state of the events sector, this year held against the backdrop of coronavirus and its ongoing impacts across the industry. A virtual conference for the first time, the conference shed fresh light on how rights holders and organising committees are adapting to the fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, both in the UK and globally.
HOST CITY 2020 AT A GLANCE
814
EVENT PROFESSIONALS
100
INFLUENTIAL SPEAKERS
29
CONTENT SESSIONS
60
COUNTRIES REPRESENTED
HOST CITY 2020 SPEAKERS
MORE 2020 SPEAKERS »
Etienne Thobois
CEO, Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy
Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau; UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation
Federico Addiechi
Head of Sustainability & Environment, FIFA
Brian Lewis
President, Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee
Michelle Hooper
Torunament Director, Rugby World Cup 2021 - New Zealand Rugby
Congratulations on running Host City 2020, an event that brought specialists from the events sector from all around the world. In these difficult times for the industry, it was great to see so many ideas and so much positivity from everyone. We are looking forward to 2021 now!
Benjamin Roux
Bidding Management Competitions & Events Department; World Athletics
I appreciated the opportunity to share our vision for Greater Orlando with such a tremendous international audience. The folks at Host City always do a great job, not only organizing events but bringing leaders of industry together for meaningful conversation
Jason Siegel
President & CEO, Greater Orlando Sports Commission
Another fantastic Host City Conference this year, despite the challenging times. It was a pleasure to be part of an outstanding event with some great speakers adding to the quality content. The discussions and networking opportunities this event provides will no doubt prove important as we work towards the recovery of the sector
Fiona Hyslop
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture
That Host City invited four Gen Z content creators to share their view on our purpose-driven digital future is testament to its innovative, culturally conscious outlook and relevance. Each panel offers unique perspectives and insight which inspire attendees from diverse organisations around the world
Katie Traxton
Chief Communications Officer, Formula E
Host City is always a great place for networking and building closer relationships with existing connections, It’s also inspirational to hear what is happening in the industry: last year’s event in Glasgow inspired the idea of the Arena Games which was a gamechanger for us in this pandemic year. Finally the team is always very helpful in providing information and helped us to best leverage our participation
Michael Dhulst
Co-Founder & CEO, Super League Triathlon
It was a great compliment to moderate at Host City 2020 – the event organisers had gathered such a great panel of industry experts, keen to share their knowledge. The audience were incredibly engaged – the questions started coming from the minute the microphones switched on until the click signalled the end of our session
Fiona Green
Director and Co-Founder, Winners FDD
An excellent opportunity to hear from a wide range of senior figures in the sport and events industry, with a balanced and interesting agenda
James Savage
Sports Business Group, Deloitte LLP
The host city conference constituted a highlight and ranks top of the list of many virtual conferences I attended in 2020. The topics were brought to life through some engaging and very competent speakers and provided practical insights for event organizers to build on 2021
Nicoletta Piccolrovazzi
Global Technology & Sustainability Director, Dow Olympic & Sports Solutions
These are challenging times, especially for the event industry. Therefore, it was very useful that Host City could take place as a digital exhibition, where leaders of the industry and key stakeholders could share their experiences, ideas and best practices regarding the challenges for events, suppliers, host cities etc. The digital platform was a good alternative for Host City Glasgow, where we got the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Nevertheless, we hope to see everyone next year again in Glasgow!
Rick Sleegers
Project Manager, Orange Sports Forum
Host City is unique for the very high quality level of the speakers and the transparency when it comes to describing challenges and solutions found. There is something to learn in every session and the vast majority of those learnings can be applied instantly
Sven Bossu
CEO, International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC)
Well done on an excellent event
Andy Westlake
Chairman, European Sponsorship Association
It was an awesome pleasure to work with Host City. The quality and insight of the speakers were immense. Raising awareness and bringing together committed advocates to ask the tough questions and agitate hard answers and conversations will contribute to fostering the needed change
Brian Lewis
President, Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) and the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC)
