[Source: Global Sports Week] The French Development Agency has become the first non-commercial Olympic Games partner with rights to the Olympic Rings. The unprecedented announcement was made at the opening of the first Global Sports Week Paris at the Carrousel du Louvre. The partnership will provide for a concrete financing programme to support projects aimed at fostering development through sport around the world.  

Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, said: "Sport can change everything. And we want this ambition to go beyond the French borders through this new strong cooperation between Paris 2024 and the French Development Agency.”

Remi Rioux, Executive Director of AFD, also commented: "This partnership is unique. We have never connected the power of sport and the power of development projects funding. The Olympic and Paralympic Movements are a universal initiative and it is only natural to unite them with the international development programmes.”

Flash quotes from the Global Sports Week Arena Stage

In the Opening Session, Tony Estanguet, Roxana Maracineanu, Andrew Parsons, and  Nadia Nadim were challenged by four young international leaders about the role of sport around key social issues.

Andrew Parsons, International Paralympic Committee President, said: "The first thing the international sport movement has to do is stop sweeping issues like doping or abuse under the carpet. We need to face them, otherwise young people don't buy it, they don't have trust to engage with us."

He added: “Yes, international sport has joined the party too late on climate change. But the strength we have is the athletes. It’s important they understand their power to drive change with the right messages.”

Roxana Maracineanu, French Minister of Sports, said: "Athlete welfare has been at the heart of my mandate as a Minister from the very start. This is one of the key reasons why the Sports Ministry wants to take place in the debates happening here this week."

“There is never one day, in my conversations with other government ministers, when I don’t see a way for sport to help provide solutions for other policy issues, such as health, environment or education."

Nadia Nadim, professional football player, PSG, and Champion for girls’ and women’s education, UNESCO, said: "Access is the biggest barrier for young people to get in sport. It's easy for young people to be on their digital platforms at home, but to play sports they have to drive an extra mile."

Guillaume de Monplanet, SVP, General Manager, adidas France, said:  "adidas saw the sport evolve and we evolved and changed with it. We noticed that our business impacted a lot of people around the world. Our core belief is that through sport WE can change lives (not only see sport change lives). This is a real mind shift."

He added: "Textile industry is one of the 5 worst industries in terms of the environmental impact. We have a big responsibility. By 2024 we will be at 0 virgin plastic in our products. Today we are at 50%, it is a long way to go, but we are moving in this direction."

Danone announced on stage at Global Sports Week that the company-run sport event Danone Nations Cup will be the first international competition to join Common Goal, an organisation putting the good at the heart of sport. 1% of the Danone Nations Cup revenues will be given to Common Goal.

Mathias Vicherat, SVP, General Secretary, Danone, said: “Kids represent 30% of the population and 100% of the future. For 20 years we at Danone have been organising a competition for kids to play soccer in 30 countries. By joining the Common Goal, we will be able to further promote the Sustainable Development Goals such as diversity and gender equality around the world.”

Host City: IOC president Thomas Bach recently praised your leadership of the International Triathlon Union (ITU), particularly in relation to good governance. How would you describe your leadership priorities in this area?

Marisol Casado: Any self-respecting organization should be judged by its governance policies, its commitment to operational transparency and the way that it is run and operates, both in the long and short-term.

My priorities are to ensure that the entire triathlon family adheres to that commitment and that ITU as an organization serves our athletes and National Federations fairly, openly and justly, so that we can rightfully expect the same consideration from them. It is our duty as a world governing body to set the example.

Thomas Bach was absolutely correct when he said at our recent Congress that you can be 99 per cent solid in how you are run, but if that 1 per cent lets you down, then that is what you will be remembered by. We strive for good governance across the board and have found that as a positive habit and a priority to share and to follow with our members, it is contagious.

Host City: How do you see recent and future progress in the prominence of women in sport and sports administration?

Marisol Casado: This is an ongoing battle, but one that continues to provide new examples of thriving individuals to show we are on the right track and have every reason to be optimistic about the future.

If you look back just 20 years you can see how much progress has been made towards gender equity, even though there is of course still much work to be done. But I am proud to say that our sport can certainly be held up as an example of this effort, where men and women share equal prize money, prominence and every drop of the spotlight.

The fact that Tokyo 2020 will bring us to the brink of gender equality both in terms of the overall athletes and officials’ ratios is testament to the effectiveness of the IOC Agenda 2020.

Host City: As a member of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris 2024, what are your expectations of these Games?

Marisol Casado: Paris is one of the world’s great cities and will provide the kind of Olympic and Paralympic venues that have an innate wow factor and that, coupled with an expert LOC looking to innovate and engage more than ever, will see it undoubtedly deliver a truly great Games. During our Coordination Commission visit in June we saw first-hand the commitment to a sustainable Games that will bring the people together both for mass-participation events and the legacy projects that will benefit France and the French public for years to come.

Host City: How is the ITU leading the way and innovating to ensure the continued rise in popularity of triathlon – both for participants and fans?

Marisol Casado: ITU seeks out and works with incredible local organising committees (LOCs) all around the world to stage events that are not only able to bring the very best out of the elite athletes but that, in many cases, are also opened up to the public to take part in, through Age-Group races and family events.

This mass participation aspect has always been an integral part of this sport; that it demands a high level of endurance and determination, but that it also manages to not be overly intimidating to those coming new to it.

The fact that we are a relatively young sport also helps and we reflect that as a dynamic, forward-thinking organization working effectively with incredible partners to promote and govern a growing, aspirational sport.

It is also filled with amazing role models. From the World Series to World Cups and beyond, their incredible achievements and the manner of their performances have always brought them closer to the fans and been a source of encouragement to newcomers. That means our development of the TriathlonLIVE streaming platform and huge social media presence can be backed up by not just their big-race performances but honest, revealing interviews and features that really convey their personalities.

We all do what we do for the love of triathlon, so the hard work never feels too much like hard work. I think that is important.

Host City: We are delighted you will be speaking at Host City 2019, with the conference theme “Innovate; Reformulate; Co-create”. What are your expectations of this important gathering?

Marisol Casado: Thank you, I’m very happy to be able to attend and honoured to have been asked to speak at the event. ITU is privileged to have worked with some incredible host cities over the past thirty years as triathlon’s world governing body, delivering iconic race venues all around the world.

Now, with our TriathlonLIVE platform showing more races than ever to ever-growing audiences in tandem with ITU social media channels, those host cities are also able to reach vast new horizons, so I think it is important that these kinds of opportunities are made explicit.

The benefits for cities are rich and varied, from engaging the population in healthy pursuits and the positive association and inspiration of hosting world-class sports, to boosts for tourism, infrastructure and experience. We have seen time and time again that working closely with cities brings enormous mutual benefits and that is the message that I hope will be underpinning the conference.

Marisol Casado is speaking at Host City 2019, the largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events, taking place in Glasgow on 26-27 November

With the IOC’s coordination commission for Paris giving a ringing endorsement to the city’s Olympic project on their first inspection visit in June, organisers are maximising efforts to use the Games as a platform for major developments at the city, regional and national levels.

Amid reports of rising costs, IOC inspectors’ concerns were alleviated by a joint financing deal between Paris 2024, the city and French government guaranteeing €1.4 billion ($1.63bn) of funding for Olympic-related infrastructure. The agreement provides more certainty for two of the most controversial projects, channelling extra money to build a permanent aquatics centre with a redefined legacy concept and enhancing value for local residents around the Olympic Village site.

The post-Games plan for the aquatics venue will see the region of Seine-Saint-Denis receive nine swimming pools after the Games rather than the five initially planned, to plug a shortage of community sports facilities in the area. While the Olympic Village remains in its originally planned location, residents living nearby will benefit from the undergrounding of power lines, new housing and the creation of new green spaces.

Jean-François Martins, deputy mayor of Paris, says the city and Games officials are delivering on their ambitions thanks to the help of an agreement between the mayors of London and Paris.

“After Brexit [vote in 2016] Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Mayor Sadiq Khan decided not to be competitors but to have really strong relations between London and Paris and to create together, at the heart of Europe, cities that will shine on a worldwide scale,” he told Host City at SportAccord.

“So they decided to work together especially with the Olympics where the learnings, skills and experience of London will be precious for us and maybe as well we can share what we can do 12 years after London and to inspire each other.”

In addition to collaborating to combat societal issues, Hidalgo and Khan are undertaking huge efforts to tackle the global climate crisis. “Both of them are really committed in the fight against climate change… so we are putting the Olympics at the heart of the Paris agreement on climate change which will help us deliver an environmentally-friendly Games,” Martins added.

The two mayors are scheduling a conference in 2019 to discuss climate issues. “I am pretty optimistic about this cooperation,” he said.

Hidalgo is also chair of C40 Cities, which connects 96 cities to take climate action, and represents 700-plus million citizens and one quarter of the global economy. Organisers of the next four Olympics – in Tokyo, Beijing, Paris and Los Angeles – are supporting a new IOC partnership on climate issues inked with the C40 group at the end of June. They are working with interested cities, candidate cities and Olympic hosts to help them reach their sustainability goals.

C40 chair Hidalgo, who also heads Olympic delivery partner SOLIDEO, emphasised that hosting the Olympics “is a unique privilege for any city, and provides an amazing opportunity to accelerate the climate and air quality initiatives that mayors need to implement for the future of their citizens.”

It’s so far, so good for Paris 2024. The IOC coordination commission chair Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant was gushing with praise after the inspection visit.

“Paris 2024 is delivering on its commitment to host pioneering Olympic Games fully in line with Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap,” he said.

“I have been particularly impressed by the ambition of all of the stakeholders involved in this project to take advantage of the opportunity of the Games to create a springboard for the city, region and nation.”

This article first appeared in the Summer 2018 issue of Host City magazine. Jean-Francois Martins will be speaking on legacy planning for Paris 2024 at Host City 2018 in Glasgow on 20-21 November

Host City: What to you is the most exciting thing currently going on in the world of major events?

Soaad Stott: Honestly, it’s an incredibly exciting time for the world of overlay – we seem to be at the threshold of some really big changes. The Olympic & Paralympics are obviously the gold standard in our industry, but for good reason. Everything that we do in overlay is on view in this magnificent showcase.

With the approval of Olympic Agenda 2020 in 2014, it became very clear that the Olympic Movement is fully behind the use of existing and temporary venues wherever possible, with the goal of reducing costs, improving sustainability and allowing the hosting of global events to become accessible to a greater number of nations and communities. This is starting to come to fruition - with the forthcoming Games in Tokyo, we’re going to see the first Games designed without an Olympic Park, which will be really exciting.

While the Olympic and Paralympic Games are leading the way on the global scale, this design approach is becoming increasingly adopted by events at all levels. The opportunities that event and overlay design affords for regeneration, activation and innovative design can have a fantastic influence on everyone involved, whether visitors to the events, or residents in legacy. Anyone who saw 2015 The Rugby World Cup at alternative sporting venues across the UK can attest to our industry’s ability to really change the existing conversation or perceived identity around existing venues for major events. The London Stadium and stadiummk were prime examples of new rugby audiences experiencing a venue and having a fantastic experience.

Of course, some sports have a completely unique character, such as the party nature of the beach volleyball tournament, but that is also embraced by temporary design, particularly when the temporary venues chosen are in such spectacular locations like the beach volleyball in the heart of London. During the beach volleyball at both London 2012 and at Baku 2015, dancers would emerge between matches in cheerleader style and energise the audience. Though an elite sport was being played, putting on a spectacular show was also a key part of this event. Temporary overlay design can have a truly special character, all of its own, and that’s what we really aim for at Populous.

Host City: A really exciting project you are working on is Paris 2024, following on from your successful work on London 2012.

Soaad Stott: It seems that Paris 2024 is taking the lead from London on how to do overlay better. As I said, the huge amount of temporary overlay and facilities in London set a real precedent.

Paris is the Park and the design of every venue has some legacy and sustainable content. There were so many meetings; not just with the International Federations, but also with the city and its residents.

A large number of the drawings we produced during the bid phase are actually to demonstrate the plans the stakeholders, local councillors and residents, making sure that everyone was informed and on board with the plans for the Games and for legacy, which forms a major component of the bid we created with Paris 2024.

Most of the venues are already there – we were just making sure the plans were feasible and genuinely workable and what people wanted.

Host City: How does the design of the Olympic Games fit in with the city of Paris?

Soaad Stott: Because there is no Olympic Park in the bid, Paris itself really is the park. It’s very much part of philosophy of these Games, that it’s for Paris as a whole and not just pockets of Paris.

In somewhere as compact as Paris where space is such a premium, there are challenges but definite benefits. There’s an energy and charm that you get from having all the landmarks close together.

As well as historic beauty, Paris also has a modern urban side. We wanted to make sure all these aspects were incorporated and all represented in the designs. One of the brilliant things was being able to locate some of the new Olympic sports in ancient monuments and sites and have the juxtaposing of the modern with the old, beautiful Paris.

We designed it so that every venue would have a similar feel. Everywhere you go you will have the same Olympic experience. The streets and boulevards will also be part of the whole experience of excitement people moving around the city, with parks becoming community activation sites and fan fests. It will be an incredible experience, with the most beautiful and iconic spaces within Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles, being infused with a sporting identity through the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This exclusive interview first appeared in the Winter 2017 edition of Host City magazine. Sooad Stott spoke at Host City 2017, the largest meeting of sports, business and cultural events

Public scepticism about the value of major events such as the Olympic Games is at an all-time high. A continued era of austerity, economic and political uncertainty means that the parties driving such events have to work even harder to justify their value.

While this may sound daunting for some, when cities step back and look at the bigger picture they will realise that major events like this are more relevant than they have ever been. They represent the very confidence in our urban futures that we need to pull us through challenging times. They’re expressions of multi-cultural unity, open-mindedness, acceptance and cooperation. Their successful delivery has the power to re-invent the image of a country, accelerate and transform cities at a record-breaking pace.

To deliver this potential it is imperative that these events are seen as being primarily for the hosts’ and their citizens’ benefit, and align perfectly with their longer-term ambitions. In this context they can be presented to host citizens as accelerants to pre-existing ambitions and expressions of their hosts’ confidence and clarity of purpose.

Recent Arup-led research conducted for the Cities Alive: Rethinking legacy for host cities report, highlighted three tactics that are likely to have greatest impact in achieving this:

1. ‘Urban overlay’: mapping the city’s ambitions and accelerating change through its neighbourhoods and streets. At its heart the approach takes the event as an accelerant in realising a city’s longer-term ambitions. In the same way that overlay design is used to create the ‘look and feel’ of an event, the event itself is used to create the ‘look, feel and function’ of the future city.
2. Operational excellence: transforming city management and embedding highly efficient Games time organisational models to increase future resilience
3. Cleaner and greener infrastructure: inspiring and accelerating action to tackle climate change by developing hard and soft ‘climate ready’ infrastructure

With eyes turning to Paris and LA as the hosts of the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games, its time to consider how cities may evolve their approach to hosting, to ensure Games are delivered cost effectively, while leaving a lasting, positive legacy for their communities. 

Closer to the action through virtual reality and live sites

The London 2012 Live Sites generated real excitement and enabled more people to get into the spirit of the Games. Advances in hand-held technology, virtual reality and streaming media will enable spectators to tune into any number of live sports, get guided tours of venues or experience being at the virtual trackside with their favourite athletes.  Formula-e Motor Racing is a great example, with the use of 360-degree cameras, live streaming of races, almost instant highlights and even the opportunity for fans to ‘vote’ to give their favourite drivers an additional boost of power.  

Flexible, temporary venues

Most major event venues will be temporary in the future, allowing land to be swiftly released for redevelopment after the Games. More affordable – off-the-shelf or pre-engineered sporting venues will significantly reduce cost. Reduced venue capacities can also bring significant savings, with smaller facilities resulting in fuller capacities and a better atmosphere for fans.

New financial models

Cities are cautious about bidding for major sporting events, with Boston, Hamburg, Rome and Budapest pulling out of the running for the Olympics and Los Angeles seeking an advance from the International Olympic Committee.  New ‘value’ focussed financial models are emerging, which should be encouraged. Investment in regeneration can drive huge increases in surrounding land values. This model would see a percentage of this increased land value returned and put towards the cost of infrastructure.  Another approach is tax increment financing (TIFs), which diverts future property tax revenues towards upfront infrastructure investment. 

Streamlined transport

The greatest single risk to the successful legacy of a major event is the potential disruption it can bring to the daily life of a host city.  A combination of new technologies, greater use of data and more effective management will reduce cost, improve experiences for residents and visitors and strengthen the long-term resilience of host cities.  Examples include the idea of ‘logistics hubs’ outside city centres, where deliveries can be consolidated so that they minimise the number of trips required, reduce emissions and congestion and load packages onto smaller, electric vehicles.  London 2012 also saw the adoption of a highly efficient multimodal ‘transport coordination centre’, as well as greater use of travel planning apps. Arup expects most host cities to explore ways of using predictive modelling tools, data analysis, mobile apps and live updates to deliver smooth running transport and logistics. 

Creating a resilient legacy

Cities should see the Games as a catalyst to help them tackle the major challenges they are facing – such as rising air pollution; energy shortages; housing shortages and an increasing number of extreme weather events.  Rather than focusing on event related sustainability outcomes, such as reducing energy use during sporting events – the report recommends it is used as an opportunity to scale up and accelerate ambitions having a long-term impact. For example, this could involve helping cities establish their own localised energy, cooling and water systems.     

Large scale sporting events have huge potential to act as change catalysts for cities, helping them to tackle the major challenges facing them – from rising air pollution and carbon reduction, to housing shortages. For too long legacy has been viewed narrowly, with the emphasis on the physical structures left behind. We need to think about how we build institutional muscle power – able to deliver benefits before, during and after the events. The real prize of the games should be the opportunity for cities to scale up and accelerate ambitions that have a long-term impact.

The above presents a distillation of Arup’s Cities Alive: Rethinking legacy for host cities report.  

The City of Paris, the Paris Academy and the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), have launched a new initiative to promote sport and the purpose of Olympism to up to 275,000 Parisian students.

Ten measures were unveiled to encourage the practice of sport, a powerful legacy for younger generations that is fully in line with the bid’s vision for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Speaking from Francois Villon School in central Paris, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said: “This initiative is a further demonstration of the importance we place on the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“We want the Games to benefit Parisians and the entire French population, leaving a strong legacy for young people and future generations to have positive Olympic values embedded into their daily lives. I welcome the action of the Ministry of Education, which is committed to joining the City of Paris and the sporting world in this ambition.”

The 10 measures that will be implemented from 2017 onwards by the City of Paris, the Paris Academy and the CNOSF are as follows:

• 1. To share and develop resources for the promotion of the values ​​of Olympism and the development of sporting practice among the school community and young people in Paris.
• 2. To expand access to schools and educational courses for young athletes, with flexible schedules that allow them to reconcile their studies and their training.
• 3. To develop meetings between Olympic and Paralympic athletes and the school and university community. This includes a focus on women's sport and access to less commonly practised sports.
• 4. To strengthen partnerships between municipal and school sports facilities, encouraging and facilitating the use of school sports facilities outside school hours.
• 5. To introduce the history and values ​​of Olympism through the programme “On your marks, get set, Paris! Living the history and values ​​of Olympism”. Developed by the League of Education, with support from the CNOSF, the Ministry of Education and the French Paralympic Committee, it will be broadcast to 15,000 pupils, 614 Parisian fifth grade classes and 150 middle schools in the capital.
• 6. To support all initiatives promoted by the educational community on the organisation of sports events, in particular the initiatives in favour of para-sport, adapted sport, shared sport and women's sport.
• 7. To develop a programme of extra-curricular, out-of-school activities for students dedicated to the discovery of Olympic sports and the promotion of Olympic values.
• 8. To promote initiatives in schools that can be used in the context of school sports competitions.
• 9. To place sport at the heart of the Paris Participatory Budget, a city initiative that allows Parisians to propose investment projects for their communities, so that children and teenagers can vote to choose the projects that best meet their expectations.
• 10. Include sport in international school exchanges by developing interactions and correspondence between Parisian pupils and students from cities that have already hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Tony Estanguet, co-chair of Paris 2024, said: “This great initiative by the City of Paris, Paris Academy and the CNOSF will increase the opportunities for young Parisians to get involved in sport. It is also a great pathway for our Generation 2024 athletes to achieve their goals.

“These measures are a further example of the strong unity that exists between the bid, the city, our NOC and our partners, and our common purpose to deliver a Games that not only benefits the local population but leaves a significant and lasting legacy on future generations.”