The IAAF awarded its flagship event, the 2021 World Championships, to the US city of Eugene on Wednesday in a surprise move that has provoked condemnation by the governing body of athletics in Europe.

The decision was made at a meeting of the IAAF Council in Beijing, bypassing the usual bidding procedure.

“Although this decision departs from the usual procedure, I am delighted that my Council colleagues understood the enormous opportunity presented to us to access a key market and have taken a decision in the interest of the global development of our sport,” said IAAF president Lamine Diack.

“In granting the championships to Eugene the IAAF Council have made a clear choice on a strategic decision that enables us to take advantage of a unique opportunity that may never arise again, whereby public authorities, the private sector, the national Olympic Committee, NBC and a particularly enthusiastic public are joining forces.”

The news was greeted with surprise and consternation by European Athletics.

“I would like to congratulate USA Track & Field and Vin Lananna, who has led Eugene’s bid, but I must say I am very surprised by the complete lack of process in the decision the IAAF has taken,” said Svein Arne Hansen, who was elected as president of European Athletics last week.

“The IAAF knew that Gothenburg was a serious candidate for the 2021 World Championships. Swedish Athletics and the city had put in a lot of effort over the years to prepare the bidding application but they have not even been given the chance to bid for the event. 

“I have already spoken to Swedish Athletics Federation President Björn Eriksson and he is deeply disappointed about what has happened. 

“I completely understand the disappointment of Björn and Göteborg & Co. CEO Camilla Nyman. I know that 2021 was the most important year for the city because it is when they will celebrate their 400th anniversary. 

“This type of decision would just not happen within European Athletics as we have a comprehensive bidding process that all candidates must follow.” 

Eugene bid for the 2019 Championships and lost out to Doha by just 15 votes to 12 votes, after Doha reportedly promised to raise $37 million for the IAAF from broadcasting and merchandise revenues. 

With 2021 going to the USA, this will be the first time a World Championships will be held outside of Europe for two consecutive editions. 

“This is, of course, not good for the development of our sport on the continent. European Athletics expects the World Championships to come back to Europe in 2023,” said Hansen.

World Archery president and IOC vice president Prof Dr Ugur Erdener laid the first stone of the World Archery Excellence Centre in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne today. 

The development was welcomed by IOC president Dr Thomas Bach, who said “Archery is one of the most ancient sports, but it has also been an innovator throughout its history and that is shown here at this centre once more.

“We are looking forward to see many future Olympians and Olympic and Youth Olympic Champions prepare here for Buenos Aires, Tokyo and beyond, and if work on the Centre keeps on progressing at this pace, even for Rio.”

The centre is set to become a hub for the development of Olympic, elite and recreational archery worldwide. Construction is set to be completed next year, with the centre opening its doors after the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The World Archery Excellence Centre’s design and operational plan is environmentally friendly. The Centre will be heated by geothermal wells, will feature extensive solar panelling and has been designed to maximise the effect of natural light inside the building. 

“This is a historic moment for archery,” said Erdener. 

“We are very grateful for the support of the Canton of Vaud, the city of Lausanne, IOC president Dr Thomas Bach, the board of FIDTA and everyone else who made this project possible.

“Over the last few years we have seen a dramatic increase in participation and global recognition in our sport. There is still much work to do and as an organisation and a sport we constantly aim to innovate, evolve and development.

“Vital to this mission is the World Archery Excellence Centre: a hub, cornerstone and a state-of-the-art example of archery’s drive to always improve. We are confident that this new facility will help us build on the momentum archery has built over the past few years, serve our development goals and move towards a future where everyone has the opportunity to make the sport of archery their elite or recreational activity of choice.”

Facilities at the world-class venue will include indoor and outdoor ranges for international athletes to train for major international, multisport and World Archery events – including future Olympiads – and a state-of-the-art gym. The Centre will also host theoretical and practical courses for the sport’s technical officials and coaches in its conference and meeting rooms.

The elite facilities will also be used for training camps for young people from the local community and as an outreach centre for archery in the area. The Excellence Centre’s offices will be dedicated to conceiving innovative ideas to develop the sport from grassroots through to elite around the world.

A bid from Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games overcame a significant hurdle today as the city’s councillors voted in its favour.

The next step will be a public consultation before a final decision on the bid will be made in June. 

A recent national opinion poll found that 61 per cent of the French public would be in favour of Paris hosting the Games.

"Now we are off on an Olympic adventure," said Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris.

According to local sources, 163 city councillors voted overwhelmingly in favour of bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games, with support coming from the majority of political parties. 

President Francois Hollande, who publically backed the bid in November, is due to meet with IOC president Thomas Bach on in Lausanne on Thursday to discuss Paris’s potential candidacy.

Paris last hosted the Olympic Games in 1924, which would make 2024 a centenary event for the city.

It last bid for the Olympic Games in 2012, which went to London despite Paris being the early favourite.

Bernard Lapasset, vice president of the French National Olympic Committee, presented a report to Hildago and the government on Thursday. 

"France has the qualities to win," he said.

If the public consultation works out in favour of the bid, Paris would join Rome, Hamburg and Boston in a competitive race. 

The Indian Olympic Committee is also said to be considering a bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Once a city has announced a bid, it can work with the IOC through its new “invitation phase” of the Olympic bidding procedure. The deadline for applying to bid for the Games is September 15th 2015.

Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the board of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee met last week with the Executive Committee of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) to give a status report on preparations for hosting the world’s largest exhibition. 

Al Tayer, who is also executive director of Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority, provided details of the Expo 2020 Dubai registration dossier, which will be submitted to the BIE during the summer of 2015.

“We continue to welcome the opportunity to share our 2015 plans with the BIE Executive Committee,” he said.

“Their insight, guidance and collaborative spirit is key to our ability to communicate our comprehensive strategies, capture best practices and prepare and execute essential milestones.”

The visit is part of a series of meetings required for Expo 2020 Dubai to achieve official registration. 

Dubai was selected as the host city of the 2020 World Expo by the BIE general assembly in November 2013. According to BIE regulations, any Expo project selected by the BIE general assembly must submit its application for registration to the Bureau at the least five years before the opening date. 

The Expo’s final registration is then granted by the BIE general assembly upon previous examination and approval of the dossier by competent committees.

Running from 20 October 2020 through 10 April 2021, the Expo will launch the country's Golden Jubilee celebration. With its theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future", it will serve as a springboard for a progressive and sustainable vision for the coming decades.

Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo in the Middle East, Africa and Southern Asia region.

On a visit to Dubai in March, BIE secretary general Vincente Loscertales said he was pleased with the progress made by the Expo Dubai 2020 and reiterated the BIE’s full support and commitment to ensure it is on course to present a global platform, address global challenges, and leverage the convening power of previous and upcoming Expos, including Expo Milano 2015.

At the meeting with the BIE last week, Al Tayer explained how Expo 2020 Dubai will be presented in the UAE Pavilion during the Expo 2015 Milan, which takes place from May to October 2015, as well as discussing ongoing national engagement activities.

“The submission of our Registration Document, our presence in Milan, and our national engagement activities are all part of our ongoing efforts to deliver on a truly inclusive and extraordinary Expo,” said Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State, Director-General of the Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau.

“We continue to appreciate the BIE process and the occasion to update the Executive Committee on our plans, which we are confident will lead to delivering a transformative World Expo.”

The BIE is the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing the organisation of World and International Expos.

The Olympic rings have been a constant presence at each Games since 1920. But while they provide a symbolic continuity from one Games to the next, each edition also features its own distinctive identity – from the modern and youthful vibe of London 2012 to the patchwork quilt of Sochi 2014 – which provides an eye-catching backdrop to the sporting action and adds to the visual spectacle of the Games.

The task of creating this unique Look of the Games – which is seen everywhere from signposts and souvenirs to venues and volunteers’ uniforms – falls to the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs), which seek to produce a visual identity that is built upon the foundation of the Olympic rings, while also incorporating designs and colours that reflect the culture and history of the host city.

For Alison Gardiner, who was the Vice President of Brand and Creative Services at the Vancouver 2010Organising Committee, it was important to have the rings as a strong starting point for this huge task. 

“The Vancouver 2010 brand strategy drew from the Olympic brand as well as Canada’s, and this combination provided the foundation for everything we did,” she explains. “Our goal was to ensure there was one integrated, powerful experience that was unique to our country and our time, and could also engage and inspire as many people as possible.”

However, building a visual identity around a globally recognised symbol, which already has so many values and meanings attached to it, can also present challenges for OCOGs. 

“We couldn’t get away from the fact that as soon as we put the rings on something, there was immediately an association with something great and powerful and a standard of Olympic excellence that we had to live up to,” says Gardiner. 

“But the Olympic brand is also incredibly inspiring to work with because of what it stands for – just the symbol on its own, everyone on the planet recognises it and associates it with excellence and bringing people together in celebration.”

According to Beth Lula, Branding Director at the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, another of the challenges for Games organisers is building a visual identity that is representative of the host city and nation, as well as the values inherent within the rings. 

“It’s important for engagement,” Lula says. “If you have something that people can recognise and understand, they can feel that it represents them and their nation and they can feel proud of it. When we were developing our brand, we were looking for universal symbols – that’s why we have people embracing as our Games emblem. It’s a global symbol. We want people throughout the country to recognise themselves and feel proud of our designs.”

While the Olympic rings provide a globally recognised symbol for OCOGs to draw on, Lula also believes that each edition of the Games adds something special to the Olympic brand as a whole. 

“Every time that the Olympic Games go to another culture, they absorb some aspects of that culture and that’s what really makes the Olympic brand global,” she says. 

“The Games have never been to South America, so we said throughout our bid process that we would be new territory for the Olympic Games. We have a unique way of celebrating things, we love sport and we are a passionate people with a lot of energy. I think that is going to be something very special that we are going to add to the Olympic brand.”

Lula hopes that what her team is creating for Rio 2016 will live on long after the Games through the rings themselves. “When we return the Olympic rings to the IOC after the Games, they have to be even more valuable than they were before,” she says. “That’s our mission.”

This article was written by and reproduced with kind permission from the International Olympic Committee. For more information visit www.olympic.org

SportAccord Convention has welcomed Qatar Olympic Committee as a Silver Partner for this year’s World Sport & Business Summit taking place from 19-24 April 2015 at the Sochi Expocentre, Sochi, Russia.

“The Qatar Olympic Committee is pleased to be partnering the SportAccord Convention again this year,” said Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee.

“The Convention always provides an excellent platform for the sporting community to discuss important issues and the QOC looks forward to strengthening existing associations and building new relationships as part of our commitment to international sports development.” 

The Qatar Olympic Committee is the overall supervising body for all sports and events in Qatar. This includes supporting its National Federations in the development of their sports and the organisation of world-class events, promoting community participation and enjoyment of sport, and developing sport at every level.  

Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord Convention said, “We are delighted to have Qatar Olympic Committee taking part in the SportAccord Convention. Their return, as a Silver Partner, reinforces the value seen by governing sports bodies and federations, and we are sure the QOC and all sports organisations will further benefit from the opportunities gained, as the Convention grows in stature to the World Sport & Business Summit.”

With a busy sports calendar both nationally and internationally for 2015, including the World Boxing Championships and IPC Athletics World Championships, which are both taking place in Doha in October, the Qatar Olympic Committee is also actively promoting opportunities for women in sport, and the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee was established in 2000 to encourage greater female sports participation. 

At this year’s SportAccord Convention, the Conference Programme includes a Panel Session entitled: When Inequality IS the Legacy and will discuss the challenges that still exist for women and girls, even playing sport at all levels, in some parts of the world, as well as the legacy being left behind for girls starting out in sport today.

The SportAccord Convention World Sport & Business Summit is a unique opportunity for key decision-makers in sport to engage with business leaders across 25+ industry sectors. The 6-day event features a 3-day Conference, dynamic exhibition, LawAccord, City Forum, MediaAccord, the SportAccord Convention Village and Sports Demo Zone, as well as hosting the SportAccord Awards, and the annual general meetings of governing bodies of world sport.

Samsung Group on Monday signed as domestic sponsor of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. 

Samsung will support the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) with a sponsor package valued at KRW 100 bn (USD 92m) to become a domestic partner working in various business areas across the Samsung group.

The domestic sponsorship is in addition to the Worldwide TOP Partnership with the IOC, which Samsung recently renewed until 2020 and which includes the provision of wireless communications equipment, tablet PC, notebook computer and desktop PCs.

"We are happy to have Samsung support in addition to the TOP partner agreement with POCOG,” Cho Yang-ho, president of POCOG said. “We are confident that this sponsorship agreement will encourage other Korean companies to join as sponsors for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.”

POCOG has also signed domestic sponsors agreements with Samsung Group, Korean Air, KT, Youngone Outdoor (The NORTH FACE Brand), Pagoda Education Group and Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, but has so far only achieved 41 per cent of its sponsorship target.

According to AFP, POCOG anticipates reaching 70 per cent of its sponsorship target by the end of 2015.

"Samsung Group is thrilled that Korea has won the right to host the Olympic Winter Games. The Corporation demonstrates its support by extending the domestic marketing rights for PyeongChang 2018 that are already in place through the TOP (The Olympic Partner) contract with the IOC," said Park Sangjin, president of corporate relations at Samsung.

"Indeed, Samsung has made a meaningful decision to provide additional support for the PyeongChang 2018 organizing committee to contribute to the successful Olympic Winter Games. This sponsorship agreement furthers our efforts to commit to social responsibility as a corporate representative of Korea."

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has launched an ambitious plan called “Transformation 2022” to optimise its sporting movement over the next seven years.

“Now is the time to be ambitious and bold, as we build on our diverse heritage and forward momentum," said CGF president HRH Prince Imran. 

A network of Commonwealth cities is being set up to identify, support and engage with cities that are aspiring to host the Games or develop their sports. 

The issue of good governance also features in the strategic plan.

The sports programme for the Commonwealth Games has been reviewed for the next three Games, with the number of optional sports proposed to be reduced by 10 and the number of compulsory sports to go up by six. 

Sports that are proposed to be dropped from the programme include tennis and sailing, while cricket is set to makes a return in the T20 format.

“A number of core principles drove the proposals, such as depth and scale of participation in the Commonwealth, legacy (especially with regard to the need for purpose-built venues), equality (including increased opportunities for para-sport athletes) and breadth of competition, maximising opportunities for smaller CGAs to win medals,” a spokesperson for the Commonwealth Games Federation told HOST CITY.

Commonwealth Sports Cities Network

A core feature of the strategic plan is “to deliver inspirational and innovative Commonwealth Games built on Commonwealth Games and Youth Games, built on friendships and a proud heritage supported by a dynamic Commonwealth sports cities network.”

David Grevemberg, CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation told HOST CITY: “By 2017 we want to have developed and started to implement a Commonwealth sporting network – to identify, support and engage with cities that are aspiring to host the Games and sport in the Commonwealth.

“So this notion of using sport as the new ‘shipping lane’ to make communities and nations prosperous, peaceful and happy – in order to do that we need to be able transfer, from a city to city basis, what is working and where challenges lie – whether that’s an emerging market, a regenerative market or a sustained market.

“There’s a group already in place called the Commonwealth local governments forum that we’ll be looking to partner with in that area.”

Transforming the sports programme

Previously there were 10 compulsory sports and 20 optional ones. The CGF is now proposing 16 compulsory and 10 optional sports. 

Under the proposal, 10 of the previously compulsory sports remain compulsory. These are: aquatics (swimming, inc. para swimming); athletics (inc. para athletics); badminton; boxing (men); hockey; lawn bowls (inc. para lawn bowls); netball; rugby sevens (men and women); squash; and weightlifting.

Six sports that were previously optional have been made compulsory. These are: road cycling; artistic gymnastics; judo; table tennis; triathlon; and wrestling.

Women’s boxing and women’s rugby, previously optional, have also been made compulsory.

The biggest changes proposed are to the optional sports, which have been reduced in number significantly. Aquatics (diving), aquatics (open water swimming) aquatics (synchronised swimming), canoeing, rowing, sailing, softball, tennis, tenpin bowling and taekwondo would no longer feature in the Commonwealth Games programme for 2022, 2026, and 2030.

None of these disciplines set to be removed from the sports programme feature as part of the current Durban 2022 bid proposals.

T20 cricket, wheelchair basketball, para triathlon and para table tennis are new options on the sports programme.

Cricket has only featured in the Commonwealth Games once before, when a 50-over format was included at Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

The introduction of T20 Cricket is an indication that the CGF is promoting sports that are more widely practiced within the Commonwealth nations. 

“We are proposing a mechanism of being able to attract top athletes, creating a Commonwealth rating system by sport that helps not only to promote great sport in the Commonwealth but also to assess how widely they are practiced in different nations,” Grevemberg told HOST CITY. 

“We aim to maximise efficiency and effectiveness in our delivery of a world class event with real community relevance that is both affordable and universally appealing.”

“We feel that stabilising a sustainable sports programme for a period of time, by increasing the number of compulsory sports, helps us to get more efficiencies of scale, by giving us greater certainty in terms of proposing an athletes’ quota system. It allows us to create a more certain product in terms of what we are presenting." 

CGF vice president and chair of the CGF sport committee Bruce Robertson said: “The Sports Programme proposals also have important operational benefits, including a higher degree of certainty in athlete numbers and more flexibility in the optional sports programme, which we believe will support future Host Cities and CGAs in their Games planning.”

The CGF is looking to continue to work with sports not on the Games programme through a new recognised designation of affiliation with the Commonwealth Games Federation for International Federations (IFs). 

“It’s our intention to work with other IFs on developing sport in the Commonwealth,” said Grevemberg. “The movement is much broader than just the Games.”

The new proposed sports programme will be voted on at the CGF General Assembly in New Zealand in September.

Kazakhstan intends to bid for the 2026 FIFA World, subject to feasibility discussions with the government, the country’s FA president said on Wednesday.  

"We are discussing this issue with the government of my country to assess what are our chances,” Kazakhstan FA president Yerlan Kozhagapanov told L’Equipe.

Growing at an average of 5.4 per cent per annum, Kazakhstan’s is the largest economy in Central Asia. Its second largest city, Almaty, is currently bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. 

"Our country is developing rapidly, our economy is growing, so why not? We want to organise the winter [Olympic] Games in 2022, and we plan to engage in the race for the organisation of the World Cup 2026."

Kazakhstan is rich in oil but its national team has yet to qualify for a UEFA European Championship, let alone a World Cup.

The criteria for bidding for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be determined by FIFA’s executive committee on 30 May 2015. 

UEFA countries may be excluded from bidding for 2026, as Russia is hosting 2018. Asian countries will not be able to bid for 2026 as it immediately follows Qatar hosting the World Cup in 2022.

If it were to bid for 2026, Kazakhstan would likely be competing against the US, the world’s largest economy which also has a fast growing soccer market.

The host nation of the 2026 World Cup will be elected by 209 FA presidents at the FIFA Congress in Kuala Lumpur in May 2017.

Having led the bid for Glasgow’s universally-acclaimed Commonwealth Games and served as long-standing Honorary Secretary for the Commonwealth Games Federation, it came as no great surprise – except to her – when the news emerged that she was planning on running for the position of President of the Federation.

“It was made public much earlier than I was expecting it to come out, because we are not calling for nominations until May,” she told HOST CITY.

Despite this, she was happy to talk about her motivation.

“It’s the right time for me now because I have served for four quadrennials on the Federation as the Honorary Secretary.”

Her decision to stand was driven in part by changes to the Federation, which is being remodelled as a corporate structure with a President and three Vice Presidents. 

“The Honorary Secretary position ceases to exist, so I had to decide what to do,” she said. 

“One of the positions would be doing what I have already been doing and having done four quadrennials, it’s time for me to move – and the only way I can move is up.”

She revealed to HOST CITY that she has long had the ambition to lead the Federation. “It’s something I’ve always thought I would love to do.

“Having chaired a national sporting agency, sportscotland, with 350 staff and a turnover of millions, I know I can do it. I’ve been chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland and I’m also chair of the Commonwealth Advisory Body on Sport, so I have got experience behind me.

“The time is right for me to put my hat in the ring.”

Although she has not yet formalised a manifesto, she was happy to discuss the changes that she has in mind for the federation – particularly in relation to the role of the member associations. 

“We have to have a proper structure and good governance in place, to make sure that all the associations are more vibrant and more effective. 

“As far as I am concerned we are all equal; we all have one vote, irrespective of size or wealth. We have to deliver equally, across the board. 

“One of the things I want to ensure that we do is to communicate more effectively and more openly.”

With the 2022 Games now faced with just one bidding city, Durban – for which Martin is leading the evaluation commission – the Federation is looking at ways to boost the appeal of its major property.

The situation is analogous to the issues the IOC grappled with over the last twelve months as it handled its own 2022 Games crisis through the Agenda 2020 review of its bidding procedure. 

“I certainly want more cities to bid for the Games. We want to make it more appealing and we need to make sure that we keep it affordable,” said Martin.

“So one of the things we have to do is work very closely with the international federations to ensure that the sports and the events that we deliver are not cost- prohibitive.

“We’ve got to make sure that the events are accessible for the whole of the Commonwealth and that those bidding cities can deliver a good and successful Games.”

Although the Commonwealth contains many small countries that can’t aspire to host a

Commonwealth Games or Commonwealth Youth Games, there are still opportunities to host smaller events. 

“One of the things we want to try and take control of is to encourage the countries that cannot host either of those to host a Commonwealth Championship in a specific sport that they are good at.”

As a former athlete, Martin is keen for the Commonwealth Games Federation to boost the development of sport in the Commonwealth. 

“I want to make sure that Commonwealth sport offers more to athletes and to individuals in communities that we are working with. 

“I’ve got to ensure that we really make the most of all the opportunities that we have. We are a dynamic sporting movement and we do transform lives through sport.

“We’ve got so much potential in the Commonwealth; the momentum has started and we’ve got to keep it moving.”

Much of this momentum comes from Glasgow 2014, which was widely regarded as the greatest Commonwealth Games in history. Having led the bid, Louise Martin describes it as “a dream that took 12 years to come to fruition, and it did in a big way.

“I can’t believe it’s all over; it’s funny to say that it’s not there anymore, but everybody’s still talking about it. 

“It set the scene and we delivered exactly the way we wanted to deliver: athlete-centred, sports-led, we kept it small, we kept it the way that we in Scotland are – we didn’t try to emulate anybody.”

There may be some advice for Durban here. 

“Never try to be something you aren’t; don’t try and copy. Deliver for yourself; stay true to yourself and your own ambitions and everything will work out. 

“We proved it can be done, and I would encourage anybody to follow that example. Just believe in yourself and do it.”

Louise Martin is speaking at HOST CITY 2015 - the leading EU-based meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events - in Glasgow on 9th and 10th November.