HOST CITY Bid to Win conference, which takes place on 28th October 2014, is attracting the most influential figures in major events.

David Grevemberg, who oversaw what was widely hailed as the “greatest Games ever” in Glasgow, is to speak at HOST CITY Bid to Win just six days before he takes on his new role as CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation. 

Grevemberg is set to close the conference with a panel discussion entitled “Beyond the Bid: Winning for the Future,” joined by Wang Wei, vice president of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, Jordy Joli, CEO of finance at Barcelona City Council and Ali Kiremitcioglu, CEO of Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games. 

The panel will discuss whether the visibility gained from bidding justifies the cost, how to ensuring that event delivery reflects promises made in a bid, and how to use a bid to attract investment that works for the future of the city.

Grevemberg’s appointment as CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation was announced in June but he had intimated to HOST CITY readers earlier in the year that he was committed to the long term development of the Commonwealth Games as an event property. 

“One of the biggest challenges is to continue to make sure that the Games represent quality, quantity and universality,” he told HOST CITY. “As the Commonwealth Games Federation moves forwards and future hosts come down, it’s about really making sure that the Games can manage all of that and perpetuate itself further by ensuring that it is continually relevant.”

Grevemberg joins a long list of distinguished and influential speakers, including Sir Craig Reedie (Vice President, IOC); Jürgen Müller (Head of FIFA World Cup); Wang Wei (Vice Chairman, Beijing Olympic City Development Association); Janez Kocijancic (Vice President, International Ski Federation; Dimitri Kerkentzes, (Chief of Staff, BIE); Panos Protopsaltis (Director of Transport, Baku 2015); ROCK IN RIO; Joe O’Neill (International Business Development Director, ARENA GROUP); Peter Tindemans (Secretary-General, EUROSCIENCE); Ali Kiremitçioglu (CEO, Istanbul 2020 Bid Committee); Antonio Fernandez Arimany (DG,  International Triathlon Union); Iain Edmondson (Head of Major Events, London & Partners); Jordi Joly, (CEO, Barcelona City Council); Georg Spazier (CEO, Innsbruck Tirol Sports); Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros (CEO, ICSS Europe); Mike Lee OBE (Chairman, VERO); Helen Rowbotham (Director of Consulting, CSM); Robert Datnow (Managing Director, The Sports Consultancy); Lars Haue-Pedersen (Managing Director, TSE Consulting); Ben Avison, (Editorial Director, HOST CITY); Koos Tesselaar (Vice-Chairman, NIBC Bank).

“The momentum around Bid to Win has built up so quickly and we are thrilled to have such a distinguished array of speakers confirmed at this stage,” said Ben Avison, Editorial Director of HOST CITY and Chairman of Bid to Win.

Six cities have received the designation of Global Active City. 

The cities – Buenos Aires, Argentina; Hamburg, Germany; Lillehammer, Norway; Liverpool, UK; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Richmond, British Columbia, Canada – have worked hard to offer all their residents the opportunity to choose active and healthy lifestyles and improve their well-being. Each city has embraced a management model that motivates people at risk of inactivity-related illnesses to take up regular physical activity and sport.

In order to receive the Global Active City label, they each had to pass an independent audit with a stringent review of their physical activity and sports strategies and working practices.

Regular physical activity can contribute to reducing the risk of a number of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, as well as a number of mental disorders. The Active Well-being Initiative (AWI), an international NGO responsible for the Global Active City label, works with city leaders to help them provide projects and services that engage local residents who have or are likely to develop these NCDs. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults do a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate activity each week, and children aged five to 17 should do an hour each day.

Professor David Wood, President of the World Heart Federation, said: “Physical inactivity is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke. As part of our World Heart Day My Heart, Your Heart campaign, the World Heart Federation is actively encouraging people across the globe to adopt more active lifestyles for their heart health. The Global Active City programme will be an important initiative as we seek to get the world moving and in particular in tackling the barriers to exercise experienced by some city populations and specific sections of society.”

The Global Active City Standard was created with input from more than 70 experts in health, sport and social sciences; legacy and sustainability; tourism; and urban planning and management. 

“Obesity is a disease that has become a global epidemic,” explained Dr Nathalie Farpour-Lambert, President of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) and one of the standard’s medical experts. “Recent WHO data shows that almost 40% of adults and over 41 million children under the age of five are overweight or are living with obesity, and rates are projected to increase further by 2030. We know that obesity is associated with a higher likelihood of developing related chronic diseases like heart disease.

“Childhood is the crucial life phase for obesity prevention and for introducing healthy behaviours around nutrition and physical activity that can last a lifetime. The Global Active City model, promoting cities which have succeeded in increasing participation in physical activity and sport, helps us tackle growing levels of inactivity and non-communicable diseases globally, and supports young people and their families in becoming more active, focusing on community well-being for all in a holistic way.”

The Global Active City programme was founded by Evaleo, a sustainable health association, and TAFISA, The Association For International Sport for All, with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The first cities will receive their awards from the AWI in the presence of IOC President Thomas Bach, at the Olympism In Action Forum in Buenos Aires, as part of the opening events for the Youth Olympic Games. Buenos Aires’ Global Active City strategy – Ciudad Activa – is one of the many legacies of the Games for the local population.

Christophe Dubi, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, said: “The mission of the IOC is to ensure the celebration of the Olympic Games, but also to encourage the regular practice of sport by all people in society. The Global Active City programme is crucial in our vision to increase access to sport for all and provide everyone with the educational and health values of sport, with a focus on young people. We encourage all cities, including past and future Olympic cities, to sign up.”

The Active Well-being Initiative recommends that cities which want their populations to be more active should start by identifying key stakeholders and available resources, and partnering with local universities, to find which groups are most at risk from inactivity, and least engaged, and how to reach them. The Physical Activity Exchange at Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group were development partners for the Global Active City model.

Doctor Maurice Smith, Clinical Director from NHS Liverpool CCG, said: “The evidence shows that if you can get a population physically active, you will make huge benefits across a range of areas. In Liverpool, we worked out in 2016 that if we got 100% of the city physically active, each year we would prevent 400 deaths, almost 2,500 cases of diabetes, 140 to 150 hospital admissions for coronary heart disease, 50 cases of breast cancer, and 30-40 cases of colorectal cancers. These benefits far exceed anything you could do medically and certainly exceed all the screening procedures that go on.”

To find out more about the Global Active City model, visit activewellbeing.org or follow @AWBInitiative

[Source: Active Well Being Institute]

Lee Valley Regional Park is a unique 10,000 acre destination for sport, leisure and nature, stretching 26 miles from the banks of the River Thames in east London into the counties Essex and Hertfordshire.

There are almost 7 million visits to the Regional Park each year, with people taking part in a variety of activities; from sport in inspirational world class venues to enjoying open spaces that are home to a variety of British wildlife.

The park, which is run by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, was created by a 1967 Act of Parliament for the “development, preservation and management for recreation, sport, entertainment and the enjoyment of leisure” for the people of London, Essex and Hertfordshire.

Large scale sports venues have always been part of the Regional Park and today the Authority owns three London 2012 Olympic venues. Two of these are located on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: Lee Valley VeloPark, which offers the four Olympic cycling disciplines; track in the iconic London 2012 velodrome, BMX on a modified version of the Olympic track, road on a one mile circuit and mountain biking on a set of graded trails; and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre which has two state-of-the art hockey pitches and four indoor and six outdoor tennis courts. The third, Lee Valley White Water Centre is 10 miles north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It staged the London 2012 Canoe Slalom competition and has two separate white water courses for training, rafting and paddling activities as well as cafes, viewing areas and meeting rooms.

The Authority raises 65 per cent of its £29 million gross budget from commercial and other operations while the remainder comes from a levy on households in London, Essex and Hertfordshire – around 88 pence per person annually. It has many years’ experience of running sports venues that are community focused and commercially driven, where comprehensive community programmes are run alongside income generating activities and elite competitions. This same business model has been adopted at its three London 2012 venues, which offer a range of events and programmes for all abilities.

“Our venues have brought some of the world’s top sporting events to London, providing great entertainment and excitement and allowing Londoners and sports fans from across the UK to experience the very best in sporting competition,” says Shaun Dawson, Chief Executive of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

“The hosting of major international events is a central 2012 legacy objective which sees these venues continue to inspire future generations.”

Established venues that predate the Games include Lee Valley Riding Centre, which specialises in catering for disabled riders, children and a range of horse enthusiasts, and Lee Valley Ice Centre - one of the UK’s leading ice rinks which attracts 300,000 visits a year.

Hosting grassroots and elite

Since opening, the Authority’s three London 2012 venues have staged 17 top international level sporting events. They also hosted more than a quarter of the Every Road to Rio London events, which brought the world’s leading athletes to the capital.

In June 2015, eight times Olympic medallist Sir Bradley Wiggins broke the one hour world track record in Lee Valley VeloPark’s velodrome before a sell-out crowd of 6,000. In March 2016, the venue hosted the UCI Track Cycling World Championships and also regularly hosts the Revolution Series, Britain’s top commercial track cycling competition.

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre has staged the Champions Trophy in June 2016 between the best 10 men’s and women’s teams. In 2015 it staged the Unibet EuroHockey Championships, which was the sport’s biggest event of the year.

In September 2015, Lee Valley White Water Centre was home to the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, the largest international canoeing event outside of the Olympic Games.

These major events dovetail with extensive activities – more than 80% of programming - which is reserved for community, clubs and school groups, a key part of the Authority’s Olympic legacy drive. More than 5,000 children from over 400 schools from across London and further afield have enjoyed free paddling, tennis, hockey and cycling in these inspirational London 2012 venues thanks to the Authority’s Schools Festival outreach programme.

Events already secured for 2017 include Revolution Cycling Champions League, Six Day London and cycling events of the London Youth Games, Europe’s largest youth sports festival comprising 30 different sports. 

In June, Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre will stage the Men’s World Hockey League with some of the sport’s leading international men’s teams. In November it will host the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters for the fourth time, with the top eight seeded international men’s and women’s players playing for the title.

Hosting a major sports event inevitably places huge additional strain on a city’s transport network. While this can act as a catalyst to upgrade systems, the long term value of any such investment is always subject to scrutiny. Transport is a major component of the organising city’s capital budget and rightly the focus is on the post-event deliverables.

In the case of London 2012, the transport investment came in at just above USD 10bn. And despite that hefty price tag, Transport for London (TfL) considers this investment to be the main legacy of the Games. Perhaps the most palpable effects are the upgraded Jubilee Line, Docklands Light Rail and Overground, with their extended services and increased capacity.

However, a report published in February 2013 by the Greater London Authority’s Transport Committee in expressed frustration that infrastructure developed for the Games being underutilised – in particular, Stratford International Station.

“We want all new transport infrastructure installed for the 2012 Games fully utilised including Stratford International Station. To date, there is little indication that Eurostar or any other international rail operator will use this station in future. Alongside improved use of Stratford International, we want to see long-term changes in rail timetabling,” the GLA report stated.

Other, less high-profile, legacy transport benefits include the increase in step-free access, additional audio and visual information displays, hearing aid induction loops, wide-aisle gates, tactile paving and additional help points. All delivered for the Games, these are now providing both Londoners and visitors alike a more accessible transport system for the city.

Aside from investments in infrastructure, hosting the Games brought many lessons about transport management that will be of value to London and other host cities in the future.

Politicians and commentators have praised London’s transport management during the Games. Hugh Sumner, Director of Transport for the ODA, put the success down to an integrated approach to transport delivery. He said: “By anyone’s measure we delivered”.

Road and rail operators managed the transport system in realtime during the 2012 Games. They kept travellers informed on a daily basis about the best ways to make journeys to help spread demand more evenly.

Train operating companies operated more flexible timetables on certain routes so they could alter services at short notice to better suit demand. TfL and Network Rail deployed new measures to respond more quickly to any incidents of disruption. This helped to minimise the impact of any service failures including at key 2012 travel hotspots such as London Bridge.

On the roads, following lower demand from Games family vehicles than predicted, TfL reduced the extent and hours of operation of the Olympic Route Network (ORN).

“We want ‘One Team Transport’ to continue,” a spokesman for TfL says. “Transport operators have told us this will happen. They suggest the Transport Co-ordination Centre (TCC) and travel ambassadors could be used for future special events or during periods of disruptions.

According to TfL, public transport and road networks now operate much more smoothly and efficiently as a result of plans and procedures put in place before the Games. The 2012 active traffic management programme, which resulted in changes to 1,300 traffic signals, was a major driver behind this change.

However, some issues have been raised about the active traffic management programme. Lobbying group London Councils suggests the implementation was heavy-handed, resulting in significant delays and congestion in some parts of outer London. In addition, London Councils says, TfL failed to consult boroughs before making changes to traffic signals.

Keep on trucking
The increased level of freight during the Games was handled by the 2012 freight management programme. At a cost of USD 6m, this established a freight forum, a dedicated freight website and an online freight journey planner. A spokesperson for TfL said “Around 57 per cent of freight operators made adaptations during the 2012 Games, with most reducing their transport activity and retiming deliveries.”

The freight transport association supports the continuation of these measures and suggests its members could make permanent changes to their usual delivery hours following the 2012 Games. TfL is also keen for the improvements brought by the programme to continue; the spokesperson said “We want long-term changes in the scale and timing of road freight deliveries”.

One notable operational success during London 2012 was the use of travel ambassadors. Resplendent in their purple uniforms, these volunteers were located at all the major transport hubs, guiding and advising visitors. Such was the positive feedback on their use that London Underground continued their use through the busy festive period four months after the conclusion of the games.

The volunteers, who have been celebrated along with the Olympic Games Makers since the Games, were on hand to provide travel information at some of the capital’s busiest Tube stations.

“Our travel ambassadors were heralded as a fantastic success during the Games for the warm welcome they gave to visitors from across the globe and their breadth of knowledge about London’s transport system,” says Nigel Holness, director of operational change and upgrades at London Underground.

“Our front-line staff work really hard to ensure that customers are given all the information they need to make their journeys quickly and easily, but having some extra help from the travel ambassadors during the busy festive period gave visitors an even better level of service and demonstrates our commitment to providing excellent customer care.”

Another lesson that was taken to heart from the build-up to and during the Games was that preparation and effective communications can often forestall any travel complications, allowing effective alternatives to be provided. The lessons learned from the Get Ahead of the Games campaign, when it comes to travel demand management and communications, will be implemented in TfL’s future communication strategies.

There are also plans to build on the extensive use of social media platforms that proved so effective. Behavioural changes like this may well prove to have a wider reaching impact than the investments in infrastructure needed to host the Games