Lucerne’s proposal for the 2021 Universiade is set to move forward after receiving backing from the government of the canton of Lucerne.

The local organising committee could base a dossier around its planned bid for the 2020 Youth Olympic Games, which was dropped by the Swiss Olympic Association before it was submitted. 

The Swiss Olympic Association instead decided to choose Lausanne for its tilt at the Youth Olympics. Lausanne is facing competition from Romanian city Brasov, with the host due to be decided at the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) meeting in Kuala Lumpur in July 2015.

Under the Universiade proposal, the host city of the event would be Lucerne with the various competitions run in central Switzerland’s winter sports resorts.

“This event is very interesting in terms of both sports and value creation,” Health and Social Services Minister Guido Graf said. “The cantons of central Switzerland, Lucerne as a university town and tourism destination can only profit from the winter Universiade.”

The Swiss University Sport Federation (SHSV) has also pledged its support for the bid with director Leonz Eder adding: “Central Switzerland submitted an excellent application document for the 2020 Youth Olympic Games. It is a perfect basis for the organisation of the 2021 Winter Universiade.”

The 2015 winter Universiade will be co-hosted by Granada, Spain and the Slovak cities of Štrbské Pleso and Osrblie. The event will then travel to Almaty, Kazakhstan and Krasnoyarsk, Russia in 2017 and 2019.

The first edition of the International University Beach Games will take place from November 30 to December 8 and feature athletes from across the world.

The CBDU national university body in Brazil will work alongside FISU in helping to organise the event, which will attract athletes between the ages of 17 and 28 years old.

The event will feature six sports – beach volleyball, beach football, beach handball, beach rugby, beach triathlon and surfing – with some places reserved for Brazil-based students. Other places will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis and the organisers will accept more than one application per country.

All participants and guests will be accommodated at the Hotel Ritz Lagoa da Anta. Maceio is situated about 100km south of Recife and is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas.

FISU is a member of SportAccord, the umbrella organisation for more than 100 international sports federations and bodies.

SportAccord is planning to launch a beach event of its own next year as part of its strategy to expand its multi-sport events division. Brazil is also understood to be in the running to host the inaugural SportAccord World Beach Games next year, with the United States and United Arab Emirates also interested.

Earlier this week, FISU launched the bidding process for the 2021 Winter and Summer editions of the Universiade, the governing body’s flagship biennial event.

Interested parties have until March 1, 2015 to submit their bidding forms and bidding fees before working sessions are held with the applicant cities from April 1 to September 30 and the final bid books are delivered to FISU next autumn.

The summer edition of the Universiade will take place in Gwangju, Korea in 2015, Taipei City in Chinese Taipei in 2017 and Brasilia in Brazil in 2019. The Winter Universiade will be held in Granada, Spain in 2015, Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2017 and Krasnoyarsk, Russia in 2019.

[Source: SportAccord] Today’s announcement is especially exciting as tomorrow marks the three-year countdown to the start of the Ekaterinburg 2023 FISU World University Games in the Sverdlovsk Region of Russia.

As a SportAccord 2021 Gold Partner, FISU is playing a key role in supporting preparations for the sports industry’s most influential global gathering at the IEC Ekaterinburg-Expo from 23-28 May next year. For FISU, SportAccord 2021 will provide a timely signpost in the build-up to the FISU World University Games. The FISU World University Games are the largest global multi-sports events for university athletes and the Ekaterinburg 2023 edition will take place from 8-19 August 2023, about seven months after the winter edition that will be held in Lake Placid, USA, in January the same year.

The city was awarded the World University Games following a unanimous vote by the FISU Executive Committee a year ago, underlining the sporting pedigree of a dynamic destination that bridges the continents of Europe and Asia. As part of its growing portfolio of international sports events, Ekaterinburg hosted FIFA World Cup 2018 matches and the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships, and will also stage games during the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship.

Situated on the banks on the Iset River, Ekaterinburg is Russia’s fourth-largest city by population, and is a hotspot for tourism and business, as well as sport, as the home to numerous professional teams.

“When Ekaterinburg was awarded the World University Games, FISU described the city as one of Russia’s most vibrant hubs, and we agree with those sentiments,” SportAccord Managing Director, Nis Hatt says.

“Ekaterinburg is a wonderful city that has sport at its heart and will provide plenty of attractions and interests to keep delegates entertained and engaged for what I’m sure will be an outstanding SportAccord next year. Today is a significant milestone for our valued Gold Partner, and we wish our friends at FISU well as their preparations ramp up ahead of the Ekaterinburg 2023 FISU World University Games.”

FISU President, Oleg Matytsin said: “FISU is pleased to continue the partnership with SportAccord, one of the most important events in the world of international sports. As a founding member of GAISF and an active member of ARISF, the International University Sports Federation continues to strengthen its position within the international sports movement and looks to lead the way in many areas. Moreover, this next edition of SportAccord will be special for us, as it is being held in the host city of our summer edition of the FISU World University Games in 2023.”

The annual World Sport & Business Summit is a six-day event attended by leaders of the global sports community. As the only global sports industry event attended by all International Sport Federations and their stakeholders, SportAccord also brings together organising committees, hosting cities and regions, governments and administrations, rights-holders, agencies and athletes, as well as top-level experts and organisations from the sports media, technology, investment, medical and legal sectors.

Registration is open for the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 in Ekaterinburg, the 19^th edition of SportAccord’s flagship annual event. Organisations interested in becoming an official partner or exhibitor can contact SportAccord to discuss these investment opportunities by emailing sales@sportaccord.sport, with SportAccord also offering an interactive exhibition floorplan and 3-D flyover of the SportAccord 2021 exhibition space.

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