[Source: CGF/Birmingham 2022] The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has signed a partnership agreement with Longines for the next three editions of the Commonwealth Games, starting with Birmingham 2022. The announcement comes on Commonwealth Day today (9 March), where Birmingham 2022 unveiled a Longines Countdown Clock in the heart of Birmingham’s iconic Centenary Square.

The agreement represents the first ever multi-Commonwealth Games partnership in history with Longines receiving exclusive status as the “Inaugural Partner of the Commonwealth Sport Movement”. Known worldwide for excellence in precision timing, Swiss watchmaker Longines will be the Official Partner and Timekeeper for Birmingham 2022 as well as the 2026 and 2030 Commonwealth Games. This new partnership sees Longines provide all timing and scoring equipment for every single event within the next three Commonwealth Games.

An additional aspect of the partnership means that Longines is also named as ‘Presenting Partner’ of rugby sevens, table tennis, gymnastics and athletics. The historic agreement reinforces the strong ties between Longines and the Commonwealth Games. Longines was originally a partner of the Perth 1962 Commonwealth Games and renewed its partnership for Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018.

The announcement comes on Commonwealth Day today (9 March), where the CGF, in partnership with Longines and Birmingham 2022, unveiled a Countdown Clock in Birmingham’s Centenary Square. The striking clock has begun counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the start of the opening ceremony of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, on 27 July 2022. 

The Longines Countdown Clock features a fully accessible ramped approach to allow both wheelchair users and non-wheelchair users to move freely under the structure. Manufactured in England, its structure forms the shape of the iconic ‘B’ logo of the Birmingham 2022 Games. This distinctive shape was created by connecting 12 towns and cities across the region, joining together key Games locations, where for the 11 days of the Commonwealth Games, 19 sports, including eight fully integrated para-sports, will take place.

CGF CEO David Grevemberg CBE said: “I am absolutely delighted and privileged to have Longines join with us as the Inaugural Partner of the Commonwealth Sport Movement. It marks an exciting new chapter in the longstanding friendship we have had with Longines that dates back to the Perth 1962 Commonwealth Games.”

“This is a truly historic agreement and having this multi-Commonwealth Games partnership in place showcases real confidence in the future direction of the Commonwealth Sport Movement. The partnership has been made possible because of the new Games delivery model, coordinated by CGF Partnerships, which looks at multi-Games opportunities and efficiencies.”

“It is particularly special to be announcing this on Commonwealth Day, a day of celebration across the Commonwealth, where we are unveiling the Longines Countdown Clock to the Birmingham 2022 Opening Ceremony. With this striking yet elegant structure now taking pride of place in the iconic Centenary Square, the countdown to Birmingham 2022 has really begun.”

Longines Vice President Marketing, Matthieu Baumgartner commented: “On this special day, Longines is very excited to announce its participation in the XXIInd Commonwealth Games, considered as one of the world’s most important sporting events.”

“With 870 days to go until the start of this great event, our brand is delighted to reveal a historic multi-Commonwealth Games partnership with CGF, covering the 2022, 2026 and 2030 editions.”

“We are extremely proud of our partnership with the Commonwealth Games, which extends all the way back to the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games and more recently the 2014 Glasgow and 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.”

“Timing is crucial when it comes to winning a gold, silver or bronze medal. In this regard, Longines is looking forward to providing its timekeeping expertise in various disciplines, including Athletics (Track & Field), Gymnastics, Rugby Sevens and Table Tennis, the sports we are partnering with during the Commonwealth Games.”

“Our brand has a long history of innovation and precision in sports timekeeping, dating back to the late 19th century already. For the three next Commonwealth Games, starting with Birmingham 2022, Longines is perpetuating this history, together with athletes and sports fans from all over the world.”

John Crabtree, Chair of Birmingham 2022, said: “This marks a hugely significant day for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, as we build momentum and edge ever closer to July 2022.

“Longines has a prestigious history in sports, and great heritage when it comes to Commonwealth Games. To have their continued support for Birmingham in 2022 is very much welcomed and we are proud to have them as a partner.

“The countdown clock will become a key attraction and focal point and will ensure the people of Birmingham have a visual reminder that their city has been chosen to host one of the biggest sports and cultural events in the world. It will count down to an important moment when the eyes of the world will be on Birmingham and the West Midland region.”

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “The Countdown Clock is an exciting contemporary addition to our diverse range of public art in the city.

Set in the recently revamped Centenary Square and in front of the world-renowned Library of Birmingham, it creates a fantastic Games-related city centre destination for citizens and visitors in the years to come as the excitement builds for everything we do as a council and with our partners on the road to Birmingham 2022.”

The Olympic Games is a time of great excitement and opportunity – particularly if you are the Worldwide IT Partner of the Games.

“We are very excited as we are less than 200 days away from Tokyo 2020,” Sophie Proust, Group EVP and Group CTO, Atos told Host City at Global Sports Week Paris. “There is a lot to do around data in the world of sports.”

Driverless Games

One major benefit of the Olympic Games is the way that TOP Partners work together to deliver the event, each focusing in their own area of expertise.

Toyota is the relevant TOP Partner regarding vehicles, mobility support robots and mobility services. In Tokyo this summer, 100 driverless cars will move passengers around venues in the city’s waterfront area.

“Major cities are getting more and more crowded, so we need to think about that. Autonomous vehicles are not yet a mature technology, so it has to be used in a very constrained way.

“For future Games, we could well imagine TOP Partners working together with the IOC and Organising Committees to develop in specific domains such as driverless cars.”

I ask if the Olympic Games present possibilities as a test bed for autonomous vehicles because the organisers already close lanes for VIPs. “You could think of things like that. The magic of the Olympic Games and other major events is that we can collaborate between big enterprises in different sectors and build concrete cases as the event is a real accelerator for innovation and technology.”

Major events as smart cities

Transport is just one area of event management were technology can bring transformative applications. “Smart cities are about managing electricity, water, transport and energy,” Proust explains. “The ecosystem is so vast in the city.”

The scale of some major events is such that they can be considered as smart cities, with all the diverse attributes of the event generating huge amounts of data.

“We are involved in every aspect of major events from program management and integration of systems to applications for spectators, partners and sponsors. All of these areas generate data, which needs to be managed and structured efficiently.

"And with events involving multiple sports in multiple cities it is getting quite complex!”

The introduction of five new sports for Tokyo 2020 presents interesting opportunities, she says. “Tokyo 2020 will be the biggest Olympic Games to date, generating tremendous amounts of data. Our role is to collect, process and secure all of this data which is extremely valuable.”

Atos is also working on making applications more efficient. “All the IT applications have been migrated onto the cloud, and have now developed cloud native applications to facilitate deployment. We must ensure that our applications are available in all languages, so the fan experience is enhanced. So there are a lot of topics to handle, it’s very exciting.”

 “Thinking about the future of major events, one of our key strengths is to take the data and do something with it. We have more and more computations and analysis methods to measure success. This content is sent over to broadcast – but increasingly it’s also personalised to individual consumers.”

A stadium can also be considered to be a smart city. “There are different technology means for measurement and control to enhance the experience at an event. For instance, we are the lead integrator of the Advanced Access Control System for Tokyo 2020, reducing waiting time for athletes, coaching staff, volunteers and journalists at entry points of official venues - while being more secure.  

“In terms of fluidifying flows, you need to know what method of transport people are using to arrive – car, bus, metro or train – so you can have a predictive sense of how the flows are going to come, and then analyse it and adapt accordingly.

“Getting people to locations safely is quite complex.”

Sports: a digital driver or dawdler?

It was suggested at Global Sports Week that the sports industry been slow to respond to digital disruption as compared to other sectors. But Proust – who as CTO at Atos works across the entire range of industry sectors – turns this idea on its head.

“For me, sports is a real driver for innovation and for digital transformation because of the massive amounts of data we collect, and because sport is such a major part of everyone’s life. So sport is really a good driver, because of the impact on society.”

Angels Martin, General Manager Olympics at Atos told Host City why some sports organisations might be slow to adopt new technology.

“Usually sport organisations are very risk-averse. The bigger the event, the more risk-averse the organisation is, because they don’t want to create a mess in the middle of a major sports event in front of such a big audience.

“We need to manage the risk of new technologies, because the Olympic Games is highly visible.

“What helps us the most is that we know the business very well, supporting the Olympic Movement for 30 years; we are able to analyse what would be the impact of a new technology; and also to manage and assess the risks. We understand the impact of any change, of any new technology we want to implement.”

It stands to reason that events with lower visibility than the Olympic Games present a greater opportunity to showcase new technologies. “We try to have a more mature proof of concept that we can propose to the organising committees of smaller events. And then if they are happy to implement this, then we do it. It is not a testing field but to see what the response is and the reaction – and also to check the technology, if this is something to be used later on in the Olympic Games.”

Leave organising to the experts

I ask Martin what she sees as the biggest challenge facing the major events sector.

“There are so many challenges,” she says. “Talking generally, governing bodies want to take more control over what is being delivered. This is an area where I think that we will see some changes in the future – governing bodies being more willing to take more control over delivery. This is going to help governing bodies to get more synergies and reduce cost.”

Given the scale and scope of organising an Olympic Games, and the rapidly increased role of technology in event delivery, specialist companies like Atos bring invaluable expertise.

“The most important value is our experience”, she says. “We’ve been doing this since Barcelona 1992. We know a lot about how the Olympic Games are organised. In order to be fully prepared, we start collaborating with each Organizing Committee 7 years before the start of the event. Having done multiple Olympics in the past, Atos has a key role in the transfer of knowledge from edition to edition.

“If you have a solution that needs to be reinvented every time for every single organising committee it makes no sense. There are some services that are exactly the same Games after Games – why can’t you replicate them?

“I am sure you can find synergies between different events as well. These would allow the governing body to make savings for the organising committee and host cities, if they don’t have to do everything from the start again and again.”

In PyeongChang, Atos created a number of centralised services that in the past were provided locally. “The same people that provided services for the PyeongChang Games are now providing the same services for Tokyo and for Beijing. We are not only creating savings for the IOC and organising committees but also capitalising on knowledge, which is very important.”

[Source: European Sponsorship Association] 

More than 400 sponsorship and sports marketing leaders came together to celebrate ESA’s mission to unite, inspire and grow the sponsorship industry, at The Brewery in central London. With prizes across 30 categories, the 2020 ESA Awards ceremony was the largest in the history of the ESA Awards.

Demonstrating the diversity of the ESA Awards, the big winner on the night was a cultural sponsorship – the An Post Irish Book Awards was recognised by a panel of international experts as the prestigious ESA Sponsorship of the Year, while also winning ‘Best Newcomer (UK&I)’ and ‘Arts and Culture Sponsorship’.

HEAD HERE FOR THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Paddy Power’s much-lauded ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign, delivered Octagon, also emerged from the night with a trio of trophies, securing ‘Best Use of PR’, ‘Game Changer – Sport’ and ‘Sport Sponsorship €400k – €1M’.

Electric Ireland, meanwhile, won four categories – ‘Mass Participation Sponsorship’ for Darkness Into Light, ‘Best Use of Digital Channels’ for its GAA Higher Education Championships partnership, and ‘Purpose-Led Sponsorship (Sport)’ and ‘Sport Sponsorship < €400k’ for its ‘Game Changers’ campaign with the Irish FA.

The invitation-only ESA Best of Europe competition, sponsored by Sponsorium, was won by Denmark’s ‘The Sydbank Cup: The 99% Broadcast’ campaign, with Ireland (‘Aldi Play Rugby’) taking silver and Slovenia (‘Petrol’s Winning Service’) rounding out the podium with bronze.

Other campaigns to leave with multiple trophies included Marriott Bonvoy’s partnership with Manchester United, which won two awards (‘Best Newcomer [Global]’ and ‘Sport Sponsorship €1-5M’), while Arsenal, Cadbury and Vodafone took home a win and a highly-commended each.

Boots’ partnerships with all five national football associations across the UK and Ireland, meanwhile, took home two highly-commended trophies (‘Best Newcomer [UK&I]’ and ‘Sport Sponsorship €400k – €1M’) and won ‘Best Use of Insights’.

Boutique creative agency WeAreFearless triumphed in the coveted Agency of the Year – Pan-Europe category, while MKTG won Agency of the Year – Single Nation. AEG’s ‘All Points East’ music festival triumphed in the esteemed Rights Holder of the Year category.

The ceremony was hosted by international rugby star and businesswoman Sene Naoupu, while celebrities in attendance included former England footballing star Eniola Aluko, Team GB hockey representative Harry Gibson, ex-England Netball captain, Ama Agbeze MBE and Olympic gold medal-winning rower Phelan Hill MBE.

Winners were chosen by a rigorous, two-step judging process overseen by a 40-person judging panel of sport, media, arts, culture and entertainment leaders from ten nations. Head here for a video explaining more about how the ESA Awards are judged.

ESA Awards committee Chair, Jackie Fast, said:

“With so many incredible entries, the 2020 ESA Awards has been our most hotly-contested to-date, with inspiring work on display from all our winning campaigns.

Last night’s ceremony proves that there has never been a more exciting time for sponsorship. Our winners represent the best of sponsorship, coming from all corners of Europe and all parts of the industry. A massive congratulations to all our winners!”

ESA Chairman, Andy Westlake, said:

“The 2020 ESA Awards saw a record-breaking number of entries, and, as always, the decisions were passionately and diligently debated. On behalf of ESA I’d like to congratulate all the worthy winners, including the An Post Irish Book Awards for taking home ESA Sponsorship of the Year.

I’d also like to thank all our ESA Awards sponsors and partners, with special thanks to our main event sponsor, POWA Index, and our judging panel – an amazing group of industry professionals. The ESA Awards continues to provide the best showcase of creativity in sponsorship across Europe and I’m thrilled to be able to celebrate another fantastic year for the Association and to enjoy another great party!

Naturally, without the support of our members, the ESA Awards wouldn’t be the event it has become. I’d like to thank them all for their continued support. ESA has a crucial role to play to inspire, unite and grow the sponsorship industry and our members are at the heart of our mission.”

[Source: Jordan Olympic Committee] A host of major local and international sponsors have stepped into the ring to support the Tokyo 2020 Asia and Oceania boxing qualifier in Amman, Jordan, from 3-11 March 2020.

Following the Boxing Task Force’s (BTF) announcement that Jordan would host the prestigious Olympic qualifier, work has continued around the clock to prepare a world-class venue in the capital’s Prince Hamzah Hall at Al Hussein Youth City.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) will be supported by several major companies, including Worldwide Olympic Partner Coca-Cola, Societe Generale De Banque Jordan - SGBJ, Zain Jordan, Buffalo Wings and Rings, Taishan and Aramex.

“We have been short on time but huge on effort to ensure that this event meets the extremely high standards of the Olympic family,” said Nasser Majali, Secretary General of the Jordan Olympic Committee and CEO of the LOC.

“We are pleased with our progress and look forward to welcoming our friends from around the world to Amman over the coming days.

“The support that we have received from the business community has been particularly heartening and provides us with the helping hand required to host a world-class event.”

The qualifier is expected to attract the Asian and Oceania best boxers from 40 countries competing for 41 men’s qualifying spots in 8 weight divisions and 22 female qualifying spots in 5 weight divisions for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Dow has been a partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2010, initially working on providing technologies and solutions for the Games.

“Our products are everywhere and so they can also be enabling of and supporting the Games,” says Dr. Nicoletta Piccolrovazzi, Global Technology & Sustainability Director, Dow Olympic & Sports Solutions.

“We wanted to understand how we could use this partnership to go beyond and to integrate more our experiences and expertise of sustainability. That’s why we became the Carbon Partner of the Sochi Games.

“We are using sport to create an acceleration, to help us bring businesses to the table and to collaborate on CO2 reduction projects.”

Following its first tenure as Carbon Partner for the Sochi 2014, Dow went on to become Carbon Partner of Rio 2016 – during which Host City ran a digital communications campaign with Dow. And then in 2017, Dow became Carbon Partner of the IOC.

“We have taken this platform from a Games focus and a host country focus to now a global focus. It’s our global platform of collaboration on climate change that utilises our technologies, our customers’ technologies and engages the entire value chain on projects.”

95 to 96 per cent of products are enabled by chemistry, much of which enables reductions in CO2. For instance, Dow’s products go into insulation.

“What we have seen is the benefits that we deliver in terms of CO2 reductions from our products far outweigh the carbon footprint of when they are being manufactured. It’s a ratio of three or four to one of CO2 reduction benefits that we enable through our products.”

Paris 2024 is already talking of reducing its carbon footprint by 50 per cent, and there is much work to be done to establish how to achieve this.

“It’s really good that Paris focusses on how to reduce their emissions,” says Piccolrovazzi. “It’s very important for us to focus on understanding the impact and then reducing the emissions.

“Every Games needs to define an effective mitigation strategy. That is still being developed by Paris. Every Games needs to do something that is relevant for their own emission reality.”

5 million tonne CO2e reduction

[Source: Dow] By 7 February 2020, the cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions from Dow’s carbon programs with Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and the IOC had reached more than 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), according to third-party verification by Environmental Resources Management (ERM). This compares to an amount of CO2 sequestered by 6.5 million acres of U.S. forests in one year.

In 2019 alone, Dow’s carbon program with the IOC reduced 655,000 tonnes CO2e of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the equivalent of 139,026 vehicles driven for one year. By 2026 – the end of the monitoring period agreed to by the IOC – the carbon benefits are expected to reach more than 7 million tonnes of CO2e.

As a part of the carbon partnership program with the IOC, Dow announced several new projects in 2019 with collaborators, including PETRONAS Chemicals Group, the U.S. Green Building Council, the AIA International Region, Firestone Building Products and Restore the Earth Foundation. These greenhouse gas reduction projects are part of Dow’s Sustainable Future Program, which harnesses the power of sport and science to accelerate the adoption of more sustainable technologies across value chains and upgrade business-as-usual practices locally. The project portfolio has been developed to address a wide range of applications, such as high performance buildings and infrastructure, reforestation, improvements in packaging and industrial efficiency.

“In line with our strong commitment to sustainability, the IOC measures its annual carbon footprint and implements various measures to reduce them. Thanks to our Official Carbon Partnership with Dow we have also been able to offset our unavoidable emissions for the period between 2017 and 2020,” said Marie Sallois, IOC director of corporate & sustainable development. “The results that Dow continues to deliver are now exceeding our operational emissions, creating a tangible, positive legacy.”

With a joint vision of accelerating climate action across the Olympic Movement, Dow and the IOC also announced in 2019 a new program to encourage and incentivize International Sports Federations (IFs) and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to measure, reduce and mitigate the carbon emissions related to their operations and events. As part of the program, carbon offsets are offered to IFs and NOCs that have joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Sports for Climate Action Framework and implemented tangible action to reduce GHG emissions within their respective operations and events. Ten IFs benefitted from the program in 2019. In 2020, the initiative will be expanded to include submissions from NOCs in addition to IFs.

For more information about Dow’s more than 35 years of support of the Olympic Movement and commitment to sustainability through sports, visit https://www.dow.com/en-us/sports/partnerships/olympics.

[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord is to welcome Sport Event Denmark as a Gold Partner for the 10^th time ahead of the SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit 2020 in Beijing, China.

Established and supported by the Danish Government, Sport Event Denmark is the country’s national sports event organisation. Since its foundation 12 years ago it has helped to bring a significant number of major events to Denmark through its close links with host cities and national governing bodies.

Registration is open for the 18th annual SportAccord event from 19-24 April 2020.

Lars Lundov, Chief Executive Officer, Sport Event Denmark, said: “Our 10^th year of being a Gold Partner is a milestone for us and SportAccord, and it shows the strength of the bond we have formed over more than a decade. SportAccord has always been part of Sport Event Denmark’s strategy as a hosting nation.

“The SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit is one of the most important events on our calendar, and we look forward to re-engaging with friends and partners we have met over the years and establishing new relationships in Beijing.”

Denmark is one of the leading countries in terms of hosting world-class sporting events, and aside from its leading role in relation to the SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit, 2020 promises to be an exceptional year for Sport Event Denmark. The country is preparing to host among other UEFA Euro 2020 matches in Copenhagen, the TOTAL Badminton World Federation (BWF) Thomas & Uber Cup 2020 in Aarhus, the IOF World Orienteering Championships 2020 in the Triangle Region and the 2020 World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Herning.

Commenting on the partnership, Nis Hatt, Managing Director of SportAccord, said: “Sport Event Denmark has been a tremendous supporter of SportAccord since its inception in 2003 and was also the co-host of SportAccord in Aarhus in 2017.

“It goes without saying, this partnership is extremely important to SportAccord and we thank the Sport Event Denmark team for their continued loyalty as preparations continue for what will be an outstanding gathering in Beijing.”

Attending SportAccord enables delegates to network with sporting leaders at the highest levels, access an extensive conference programme, and experience the many opportunities on offer in one location, at the world’s leading global sports business event.

Organisations can become an official partner or exhibitor and discuss these investment opportunities with sales@sportaccord.sport.

The SportAccord 2019 Review magazine looks back at some of the many highlights that took place across the World Sport & Business Summit in Gold, Australia.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord using #SA2020, or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn and Facebook.

Spirit of Harrogate launches new ready to serve drinks brand

[Source: The Sports Consultancy] Harrogate-based premium drinks brand, Spirit of Harrogate, is today announcing the launch of ‘Solo’ – five ready to serve drinks – created for the UCI Road World Championships, taking place in Yorkshire this September.

Solo will be an Official Supplier of the 2019 UCI Road World Championships running from 22^nd – 29^th September, with the world’s best cyclists descending on Yorkshire for the week. Spectators can sample the range of refreshing tipples from the tournament’s multiple bar venues throughout the week, and from the Spirit of Harrogate experience store on Montpellier Parade. Solo will also be available to purchase in store after the races too.

Solo has been made using award-winning Slingsby Gin and includes Slingsby London Dry with Indian Tonic Water – a signature classic made with locally sourced botanicals. Attendees can also enjoy Slingsby Rhubarb Gin with Ginger Ale or Elderflower Tonic Water infused with the finest Yorkshire rhubarb or Slingsby Gooseberry Gin mixed with Mediterranean Tonic. Solo will also launch a ready to serve made using the Gin brand’s latest flavour variant Marmalade, complimented with Mediterranean tonic. All products are bottled at 8% ABV.

The sponsorship deal, which was concluded on behalf of the UCI by The Sports Consultancy (TSC), will see Solo benefit from multiple promotional opportunities over the seven days including on-course branding, branded content across the event’s social channels and advertisement in the official programme. The team will also be handing out branded giveaways throughout the duration of the event in the UCI Fan Zone, in their flagship store in the heart of Harrogate and as part of the 2-day publicity vehicle caravan on the final weekend.

Co-Founder of Spirit of Harrogate Mike Carthy comments:

“We’re delighted to be launching our first ready to serve drinks brand and thrilled that Solo will be the Official Supplier for such a prestigious sporting event. We can’t wait to welcome the thousands of attendees and world’s best cyclists to our hometown. I’ll certainly be there cheering on the sports men and women who are competing as they race through the heart of Harrogate – with a Solo in hand of course. Solo is something we’ve worked incredibly hard on and we can’t wait for visitors to trial our unique flavours during the event.”

[Source: ESA] The European Sponsorship Association, the membership body that works to inspire, unite and grow the sponsorship industry across rights holders, brands and agencies, is now accepting entries for its prestigious 2020 ESA Awards.

The Awards will see industry professionals across Europe rewarded for their best-in-class sponsorship campaigns at a glittering ceremony at The Brewery in London on 26th February 2020.

View the full list of categories for 2020.

Andy Westlake, ESA Chairman comments:
“The ESA Awards have always presented us with entries that show us what a dynamic and exciting industry we’re part of – work that continues to innovate, consistently puts great creativity at the heart of the output and with a focus on delivering results. As a result, we see a wide range of campaigns that deserve the highest sponsorship industry recognition. I’m excited to see what this year has in store!”

Jackie Fast, ESA Awards Committee Chairman adds:
“I urge anyone involved with sponsorship to enter the ESA Awards.”

Jackie goes on to explain:
“The ESA Awards are designed for Europeans to benchmark their work, raise their profile, see their world-class campaigns honoured, enjoy celebrating the best of the best at the final ceremony, and, crucially, win business.”

The 2020 ESA Awards rewards successful sponsorship campaigns across all sectors – community, culture, digital, entertainment, media, purpose-led, research and sport – by assessing their business objectives and campaign results. The ESA Awards celebrates great achievement, not just big budgets, ensuring that all campaigns have an equal chance of winning. The early bird deadline for entries closes at midnight on 6th September 2019.

All campaigns receive the same expert critique and are judged purely on merit against a comprehensive criteria-based matrix. Our esteemed judges bring insight, direction and robust evaluation to the judging programme. With a two-stage process of judging – both online and face-to-face – being an ESA Awards judge provides you with the opportunity to both witness and award Europe’s best sponsorship work of 2019.

Anyone interested in being an ESA Awards judge should complete an application by Friday 20th September 2019.

Watch last year’s ceremony and winner interviews and find out more about the 2020 ESA Awards.

 

The European Sponsorship Association is a Strategic Partner of Host City 2019, the largest meetings of cities and sports, business and cultural events, taking place in Glasgow on 26-27 November

The International Association of Event Hosts (IAEH), the Association of Global Event Suppliers (AGES) and the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) are the first Strategic Partners to support the development of Host City, the largest meeting of sports, business and cultural events.

Host City Expo & Conference is a “one-stop shop” for the owners, organisers, hosts and other stakeholders of sports, business and cultural events. Now in its 6th year, the 2019 event takes place in Glasgow on 26-27 November and highlights the need for the sector to Innovate, Reformulate & Co-create.

Through the Strategic Partnership programme, Host City and the supporting organisations have opportunities to:

• co-produce the event agenda, with a combination of keynotes, panels, presentations, workshops and side meetings
• increase opportunities to enlist new members
• increase access to the event for all stakeholders in major events
• consolidate the major event hosting community around this unique focal point

Rick Traer, IAEH Co-Director and CEO of the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance said: “The partnership with Host City provides a platform to deliver against a number of our strategic objectives, including the opportunity to share best practices, promote a standard set of event impact standards and to build a network of individuals and organizations involved in hosting major events around the world.”

Daniel Cordey, Chairman of AGES said: “The partnership with Host City is a win-win situation and offers benefits at different levels for us. Our members get additional opportunities to meet industry professionals and the Association is co-organising interesting thematic talks embedded in the Host City event programme.”

Andy Westlake, ESA Chairman said: “ESA is excited to be partnering with Host City in November, as we think it’s important to explore how we can continue to enhance the contribution of sponsorship for major event host cities and organising committees. Sponsorship of course helps to drive additional revenue and offset major event budgets, but it also significantly enhances the spectator’s experience, contributes powerfully to the event marketing agenda and will often leave a strong and long-lasting grass roots legacy afterwards. We’re looking forward to being part of the discussion”

Ben Avison, Editorial and Conference Director of Host City said: “The launch of the Strategic Partnership programme is an important development for the Host City community. We are delighted to have the world’s leading associations joining us to further consolidate this unique focal point of all the various stakeholders involved in staging the world’s greatest events. We are very grateful to IAEH, AGES and ESA for their support in developing Host City and look forward to welcoming their members to Host City 2019, the largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events.”

About Host City

Host City Expo & Conference brings together cities and sports, business and cultural events for two full days of unrivalled insight, networking, workshops and business on 26-27 November at the Technology & Innovation Centre in Glasgow.

This is where representatives of host destinations, federations and other rights holders, organisers, event suppliers and services from all over the world meet to discover opportunities and discuss the challenges of major event hosting. Participants are encouraged to use Host City as a platform to develop, workshop and announce new events, partnerships and formats.

www.hostcity.com

About IAEH

The International Association of Event Hosts (IAEH) exists for representatives of international destinations to collaborate to generate the best possible value from hosting major sporting and cultural events and provide a voice for ‘not for profit’ hosts of events.

IAEH provides a platform for members to learn from the successes and challenges of major events, share knowledge and generate greater long term social and economic benefits from hosting events.

www.eventhosts.org

About AGES

The purpose of the Association of Global Event Suppliers (AGES) is to build up awareness for industry-specific aspects and to promote and defend the interests of its members in the international event marketplace.

The objective is to become a professional and business-oriented association which offers to share and manage valuable information related to the temporary infrastructure industry in order to streamline business for buyers and sellers.

AGES wants to develop a roadmap together with governmental bodies and key stakeholders to create procedures, standards and other tools to facilitate interaction and business with event suppliers, and through this contribute to lowering the burden on future organisers.

www.ages.international

About ESA

The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to inspire, unite and grow the sponsorship industry for the benefit of its members. ESA does this through education, guidance, representation, the recognition of excellence and the sharing of best practice and performance.

ESA’s reach encompasses all types of sponsorship activity from sport, broadcast, education, charity, the arts and culture through to environment and the community. Its membership includes sponsors, rights holders, agencies and consultants, professional advisors and suppliers.

www.sponsorship.org

[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord is delighted to confirm its Silver Partners Edmonton Events, EventScotland and Beijing Olympic City Development Association (BODA) for the 17^th edition of the World Sport & Business Summit set to take place from 5 – 10 May 2019 in Gold Coast, Australia, home to last year’s Commonwealth Games.

SportAccord brings together international sports federations, cities and regions, and top decision-makers from the global sports community. Over 50% of those attending use the World Sport & Business Summit platform to share breaking news, or drive sporting initiatives and key strategies.

With less than a month away before SportAccord begins, organisations who still want to be involved can take advantage of an exclusive offer (CHF 3,750) and experience the benefits of attending a high profile event. By applying code EO2019 (available for a limited time only) during registration, secures this investment. This includes a delegate pass, 5-nights accommodation and breakfast, not to mention the opportunity to meet and discuss future sporting opportunities and events with the Silver Partners.

EventScotland has a strong track record and international reputation for hosting major cultural, business and sporting events and has been a keen supporter and partner of SportAccord over the years. Through the work of EventScotland and partners, Scotland will host a number of world-class events in the coming years, including the 2019 Solheim Cup, Euro 2020 - also the 60^th anniversary of the European Championship competition – with Glasgow as one of the 12 host cities, and the recently secured inaugural 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. As in previous years, EventScotland are also sponsoring the official notepad used at SportAccord. Meet the EventScotland team at Stand 50.

Edmonton Events have also renewed their partnership with SportAccord and will sponsor the ‘Edmonton Events Zen Zone’ featuring a Reef within the Exhibition Hall, enabling delegates to take a few moments to relax from their busy schedules. Edmonton has a reputation for hosting a wide range of major events from the ITU World Triathlon Final and IIHF Ice Hockey World Junior Championships, to extreme events like the FISE World Series and Red Bull Crashed Ice. A spirited city that loves sports and radiates culture, its sporting pulse is palpable to visitors and fans alike. Meet Edmonton Events at Stand 64.

Beijing Olympic City Development Association (BODA) was set up in August 2009 to carry forward the Olympic spirit. Its organisation encourages the development of public welfare relating to the Olympic culture, education, sports, youth and citizen involvement, and conducts sport-related exchanges as part of the Olympic movement. Beijing will be host to SportAccord 2020, and BODA will become the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 18^th edition. BODA are sponsoring The Recharge Zone which features The Outback – this year’s destination theme for Tourism and Events Queensland. Meet BODA at Stand 54.

Commenting on the silver partnerships, Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord said:

“We are delighted to welcome the return of Edmonton Events and EventScotland as Silver Partners for the 17^th edition of the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit and heartily appreciate their continued involvement, support and loyalty to the event.

“We are also honoured to welcome BODA onboard this year as a Silver Partner and look forward to working with them on the 18^th edition of SportAccord, scheduled to take place in Beijing from 19 – 24 April 2020.

“Our Silver Partners are exceptional and we wish them the very best for SportAccord in Gold Coast.”

SportAccord enables attendees to enjoy multiple networking events and access to 50+ conference sessions. The high-profile event gives organisations the opportunity to increase their visibility by becoming a Partner. Organisations can learn more about the unique benefits of becoming a partner via Daily Highlights and contact sales@sportaccord.sport to become involved.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord using #SA2019, or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn and Facebook.