Speakers on day two talked about how Covid-19 has forced event organizers and stakeholders to explore new ways of securing and delivering events. They also debated shifting trends in technologies, commercial ecosystems, how to capture and retain new audiences and the importance of environmental, social and governance criteria to Gen Zers and rights holders.

The inaugural event reached a combined global audience of close to 1,000 registrants.

The opening panel discussed changes in ‘Hosting events with international federations’.

Paul Bush OBE, director of events at VisitScotland, said it was crucial for rights holders and host cities to collaborate effectively, but the financial impacts of Covid-19 and what it means for return on investment in events would be “pretty challenging” in the short term.

“We’re seeing a sea change in the way events are constructed and developed – we’re now into negotiations and not bids,” he added. “It’s about the symbiotic relationship between the rights owner and the host. Traditionally they sat in different camps; they now sit in the same camp, working collegiately, because everyone’s realized that’s the best way forward.

“We’re entering an exciting and very different period for the events world.”

Darryl Siebel, CEO of World Lacrosse, said the federation was “not just looking for hosts but event partners” who shared its values.

Tom Dielen, secretary general of World Archery, said Covid-19 had added another layer of complexity to hosting events. But the pandemic had accelerated plans to use remote production in broadcasting its global events.

Janelle Janis, director of Edmonton Events, said the pandemic “made people realize how much they love and value events and the vibrancy they bring to our city”.

She said Edmonton Events was “aggressively going after events to recover our economy”, dedicating more resources to that mission.

Janis made an interesting point about working with LOCs and rights holders to leave sporting and social benefits behind, not simply creating memorable experiences and economic impact assessments. She suggested the one-size fits all mentality had been abandoned in favour of a more flexible approach on sustainability: “it’s not about the money”.

Event bidding was “more a negotiation or conversation with rights holders, determining what outcomes we want to achieve together”.

A presentation on digital transformation in major event planning followed. Rugby Football League chair Simon Johnson and Joe Cusdin, CEO and founder of Iventis, gave an overview of the digital collaborative mapping tool.

Johnson said ways of delivering bids and events had traditionally been labour intensive, costly and inefficient particularly from a management perspective. “But digital tools now exist to enable faster, more efficient, more cost-effective and better managed collaboration.”

Referencing his involvement in England’s FIFA 2018 World Cup bid, he said that had digital planning and collaboration tools been available, “it would have saved us, in my estimation, about three months of management time and tens of thousands of pounds in costs”.

Cusdin spoke about the difficulties in coordinating and integrating plans between various event teams, adding: “What we are trying to do is digitize that planning process, to provide a collaborative visual platform available to everybody involved in planning a major event where they can interactively produce, manage, update and share their plans covering every aspect of operations.”

Another panel evaluated how technology trends were shifting how audiences engage with events and brands and what sports, entertainment and business events can learn from each other in the battle for attention.

Sarah Lewis OBE, Global Sports Leader and a presidential candidate for the International Ski Federation, said there was a shift from passive fans to greater engagement. Fans were being empowered to follow events on their mobile devices and AR technologies and virtual reality sport gaming were “ways to satisfy the interests of audiences and come closer to experience what athletes experience”.

In a session on the role of environmental, social and governance criteria and progress being made in the Americas in diversity and inclusion, Jimena Saldaña, vice president of the Mexican Olympic Committee, said there was a demand from millennials and Gen Zers for event organizers and rights holders to be much smarter about sustainability and climate change issues. Good governance and transparency in sport and from sponsors was also important.

Brian Lewis, president, Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, said ESG criteria depended on the sport, the event and the target audience: “Some audiences may have different interests, climate change or racial and social justice.

“I think events and rights holders bidding for an event must be very clear what their objectives are and what is their target audience. You will then be very clear on what elements of ESG will resonate with your audience.”

Karin Korb, Paralympian and a Para-Sport consultant, said “a lot of progress” was being made in the Americas in diversity and inclusion – but not quickly enough. She applauded organizers of the World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama for efforts to leave a legacy of disability inclusion in a multisports event by staging wheelchair rugby.

Korb urged event planners and rights holders to bring Gen Zers and millennials to the decision-making table to get their perspectives.

A presentation by Willie Cruickshank, race series director of World Championship Air Race, focused on the evolution of the sport and how it was gearing up to be staged on city centre tracks and creating fun family experiences.

Cruickshank spoke of innovations in aviation performance and a move to greener technologies to minimize environmental impacts. The new series starts next year, and host cities are sought for 2023 and beyond. “We have flexible business models to suit all locations and budgets,” he said.

Angela Ruggiero, co-founder and CEO of Sports Innovation Lab, World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin and Coca Cola’s former head of sponsorship Ricardo Fort were among speakers in a panel looking at opportunities to generate revenues from non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gambling and CBD.

Gilpin said rugby’s governing body was taking a cautious approach to the commercial opportunities, highlighting ethical and moral issues around gambling. “The World Rugby policy for our owned properties is no partnerships with gambling companies,” he added.

Ruggiero suggested that gambling presented host cities with interesting possibilities to grow revenue streams. “The question is how federations and sport grapple with the sensitivities around it.”

On NFTs, she said: “It’s definitely the shiny new object right now. If you’re getting into it, be very thoughtful. It’s a big opportunity to allow fans to own something wherever they are in the world.” She suggested there was also lot more revenue potential to come in ecommerce merchandising and licensing.

Commenting on sponsorship and revenue generation, Ruggiero said athletes would play a greater role: “I truly believe the pie will be bigger for everyone. The athlete is the voice, the influence… empower athletes to tell their story and your story and increase interest in your event.”

Fort added: “Broadcasting and all the different forms of OTT distribution of content will continue to pay the vast majority of the bills for rights holders. The good rights holders are bringing it all together, and making offers to sponsors in which they can package the live experience with the content being produced in the ‘off event’ time – that’s what makes a proposition for a sponsor more compelling.”

A presentation by Gideon Clark, business director, Mailman Group USA focused on ‘The Next Age of the Global Sports Tourist. He said the global sports tourism industry represented $800bn and 10% of the international tourism industry.

Forecasting strong growth, he said the driving forces were pent-up demand post-Covid, demand for experiential, continuing globalization and the many major sporting events on the horizon. The profile of the global sport tourist was: a millennial, high value spender, adventurous, multicultural, eco-conscious, socially aware and principled, digital and tech savvy.

How Covid-19 has reshaped the outlook for live sporting and entertainment events was the subject of a fascinating panel debate. There was talk of events and venues getting more savvy with mobile ticketing and contactless concessions to maintain social distancing and reduce queues and having to work hard to ensure the safety and security of fans and athletes as coronavirus restrictions are removed.

Jim Mercurio, executive vice president and general manager at San Francisco 49ers – Levi’s Stadium, said: “The jury is still out about the anxieties of people coming to all of our facilities and the tolerances they are going to have [for crowds and fans eating, making a noise nearby etc].

“I have a strong suspicion that it’s not going to go over very well with a subset of people. Additional spacing for folks may be the answer.”

Jeremiah Yolkut, director, Major League Baseball, said the league was focused on the welfare of fan’s game-day experiences and keeping staff and players safe. Best practices have been shared across teams and guidelines created.

After a pandemic-hit year, “things have normalized fairly quickly” said  Tad Bowman, venue director of the Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Denver Coliseum. The venues were back to full capacity by the middle of June, but backstage areas had fewer people, “less hectic, more of a bubble”.

Speaking about security issues, Andrew Lynch, senior director of S2|FOAMHAND, talked to delegates about the company’s CertScan Prism technology and how it delivers a secondary layer of security by providing a direct line from X-ray machines to professional X-ray detection technicians on demand.

He said the benefits included reducing potential for single point failures in the security screening  operation during an event and the fact it can network multiple systems/ venues.

Wrapping up the conference was a session called ‘Get fit for the future’.

Dr. Melita N. Moore, board member and chair of the health and wellness commission of the Global Esports Federation, said live esports events were opening up again. With the first Global Esports Games to be held in Singapore in December, she said uncertainties remained but was hopeful the event will go off with a bang.

“I don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like. I hope fans, players and stakeholders get to see more of what we had in 2019, not in 2020.”

Moore said this year was more about esports unifying and telling its story, while a partnership with football legend Ronaldo had launched a wellness initiative for esports athletes.

“It’s about promoting healthy digital lifestyles. It’s so important to engage everyone,” she said, noting that there are 3 billion gamers worldwide and 130 million-plus gamers in US aged 18-34.

Host City Americas is brought to you in partnership with Event Delivery Partners NEP Group and Creative Technology, Official Sustainability Partner Aggreko; Gold Sponsor Orange Sports Forum; Preferred Event Technology Partner OnePlan, Silver Sponsors Dallas Sports Commission and Iventis; Strategic Partners Edmonton Events, Global Esports Federation, Mailman, S2|FOAMHAND and World Championship Air Race.

Following the first Host City Americas, the eight global Host City 2021 event - the largest annual meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events - takes place in Glasgow on 7-8 December. Follow www.hostcity.com for updates.

Under the conference theme of “Investing in Events”, speakers at the inaugural Host City Americas digital conference voiced optimism about the post-Covid recovery for the events industry and offered fresh ideas and solutions to global challenges.

With FIFA soon to select the 23 host cities for the 2026 World Cup and Santiago staging the 2023 Pan and Parapan American Games ahead of the much-anticipated 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics, the two-day conference debated the hot-button issues affecting them.

A global audience of close to a thousand, including IOC members, sports ministers and leaders of event organizing committees and international federations, registered for the first meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events for the Americas.

The themes of post-Covid recovery, digitalization, sustainability, private investment, esports and the changing media landscape all resonated with those in attendance.

The two-day conference opened on Tuesday with a keynote address from Anita DeFrantz, an IOC vice president. Speaking of a world ravaged by the coronavirus, she said the sports industry was forced “to examine everything” as events took a financial hit. But through virtual offices, new visions of how to produce and present sports had emerged.

Three weeks before the postponed Tokyo Olympics get underway, she said the execution of Games planning for event organizers and athletes had been hugely challenging against the backdrop of the pandemic. Preparing to host 11,000 athletes from 206 countries to compete in 33 sports was a tough undertaking for the IOC and Tokyo organizers.

“We may face similar issues with Beijing 2022. The good news is we will have the experience of Tokyo to make certain things go well. The Olympics and Paralympics can bring back the joy,” she told delegates.

The first panel, ‘Emerging from the perfect storm’, brought pandemic recovery issues front and centre.

Prof. Uğur Erdener, president of the Turkish NOC, head of World Archery and Chair of the IOC’s Medical and Scientific Commission, said the global vaccination program led him to believe “we are approaching the exit of the dark tunnel”.

Through measures to combat the virus, the chair of the IOC’s medical commission insisted the Olympic governing body and Games stakeholders in Japan had worked hard to create a “safe and secure environment for athletes and participants in the Games, but also the people of Japan”.

Ingmar De Vos, president of the International Equestrian Federation and an IOC member, revealed that the FEI has suffered like all sports due to the pandemic, with 1,200 international events cancelled and revenues down 60 per cent.

The federation responded by cutting costs and rethinking travel for sporting events and meetings on governance.

“For future events I think we learnt a lot… to have other ways to engage with fans by introducing new technologies and new ways to follow the sport by explaining it better,” he added, raising the prospect of innovations to deliver shorter formats for FEI events to grow appeal to mass audiences.

Al Kidd, CEO and president of the Sports Events & Tourism Association, also spoke about a shift in the consumption of live events via multiple platforms as new technologies are adopted. Evaluation metrics are widening from economic impact to traction on digital and social media.

Gabriela Ramos, assistant director general of UNESCO, said it was vital for sport to be part of policies to help countries, cities and communities emerge from the pandemic.

Santiago 2023 Pan American Games organizing committee CEO Felipe de Pablo and Juan Carlos Chamy, CCO and CMO, gave an update on what is billed as “the most important event in the history of our country”.

Progress was sustained through the pandemic, Chamy said. The 1,300-apartment Games Village was a significant infrastructure project, while work on new and renovated venues was hitting deadlines. Tenders are still to be awarded for services including food and beverage, broadcasting, ticketing and merchandising. A workshop later in the day, chaired by Dave Crump, CEO of Creative Technology - from whose studio Host City Americas was broadcast - enabled international suppliers to address questions to Chamy about these opportunities.

De Pablo said the Games for over 8,000 athletes from 41 countries will leave a positive legacy for Chilean sports. “We have a lot of tasks but we are confident in delivering and meeting the expectations of visitors, he said.

Another panel, co-produced with Orange Sports Forum, explored how to create legacies for large-scale events. Speakers included Erin Bromaghim, director of Olympic and Paralympic development for the Mayor of Los Angeles office, David Siegel, president and CEO of Los Angeles Sports Council, and Mickel Beckers, director of sports, culture and education for the Dutch city Rotterdam.

Rick Sleegers, head of international affairs for Orange Sports Forum, a platform for internationally promoting companies, organizations and institutes that have a connection with Dutch sport, spoke about creating a footballing legacy in China through the development of 50 Cruyff Courts over the next five years.

He also highlighted a grassroots football plan for India that involved a partnership between the country’s football federation and PSV Eindhoven and included “an exchange of coaches and sharing of knowledge expertise”. The FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 was part of the “masterplan for youth” to help generate potential football players.

With 13 professional sports teams in Los Angeles, more than any city in world, and the Olympics, Superbowl, FIFA World Cup hosting and MLB’s 2022 All-Star Game coming, Siegel said the city is “uniquely positioned to capitalize on this” from an economic, sustainability and accessibility standpoint.

Bromaghim said LA had been a game-changer for the Olympic movement in 1984 and was poised to do so again. “Sustainability and reuse are baked into our hosting model,” she said, adding that LA Mayor Eric Garcetti had pulled forward an Olympic legacy program to make sport and fitness more accessible.

The presentation by Paul Foster, CEO and founder of OnePlan provided interesting insights into how the company’s digital technologies for major events can unlock operational and commercial value.

Used by events and venues in over 50 countries and by the likes of Arsenal FC, FIBA and World Triathlon, the technology simplifies and improves event planning and management. “What excel is to an accountant, OnePlan is to an event planner,” Foster said, going on to explain how the fully interactive “digital twin of your venue” offers scenario planning, with 3D digital assets helping to sell commercial space.

World Baseball-Softball Confederation secretary general Beng Choo Low joined Paul J. Foster, CEO of the Global Esports Federation and Matt Archambault of Riot Games to examine esports leadership issues and how gaming fits into the Olympic Movement.

Discussing the results of an audience poll that revealed divided opinions over what kind of electronic sports should be considered for inclusion in the Olympic Games, Archambault revealed that Riot was in dialogue with the IOC about this possibility, while Low said only virtual sports with physical activity could be included and Foster wisely said such matters should be left to the Olympic Movement to decide.

Monica Paul, executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission, gave a presentation on how the city had been transformed into a premier international sports destination from its hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 1994 to the Concacaf Gold Cup kicking off in July.

In a fascinating session on ‘The changing media landscape’, co-produced in partnership with NEP Group, Peter Hutton, Facebook’s director of sports partnerships, talked about how social media could harness the power to connect rights holders with fans in authentic ways. “Live sports need to be on platforms where younger audiences are… to create interesting experiences. It can really grow the sports for the future.”

Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services, said there was a shift among traditional broadcasters to embrace opportunities for ongoing engagement and interactivity with fans, which had led the IOC to create its own digital platform – the Olympic Channel. “It’s a great opportunity for all rights holders.”

Brian Sullivan, CEO of NEP Group, said technology had to catch up with changing consumer desires and trends and talked about the company’s cloud-based production aiding facilities in the US, Australia and The Netherlands. “It’s a very exciting time. There’s a huge amount of innovation coming in the next 5-10 years. The lesson is ‘try to reinvent yourself before you need to’.”

Day one of the conference wrapped with a session focused on organizing major events in the Americas in 2022 and beyond.

Niels de Vos, executive director of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, said state support didn’t waver when the event was postponed a year: “They stood behind us because, like most people, they see events as a great celebration”.

Gary Meador, director of event services at Aggreko North America, a conference partner, said the pandemic challenges led the company to develop technologies to raise air quality. “We have spent a lot of time thinking how we can emerge stronger and help our host city partners and federations,” he said. “We have developed a significant amount of different power options for customers, different ways of helping event organizers meet their sustainability goals.”

Join Host City Americas now for a thrilling second day with speakers leading VisitScotland, Edmonton Events, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), World Lacrosse, IAEH, Rugby Football League, Iventis, Inter-Parliamentary Union, AXS, Stora Enso, Mexican Olympic Committee, Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, World Championship Air Race, Sports Innovation Lab, World Rugby, Mailman Group, San Francisco 49ers – Levi’s Stadium, Major League Baseball, City and County of Denver, Populous, S2|FOAMHAND, Concacaf and more.  

Host City Americas is brought to you in partnership with Event Delivery Partners NEP Group and Creative Technology, Official Sustainability Partner Aggreko; Gold Sponsor Orange Sports Forum; Preferred Event Technology Partner OnePlan, Silver Sponsors Dallas Sports Commission and Iventis; Strategic Partners Edmonton Events, Global Esports Federation, Mailman, S2|FOAMHAND and World Championship Air Race.

The first Host City Americas takes place one week today – on 29-30 June – with the greatest figures in sports, business and entertainment events tackling a highly topical agenda finalised today.

Host City Americas is broadcast from NEP Group’s Creative Technology studio, with 65 speakers joining from three continents and with an interactive online global audience (register here).

The online conference opens with a Keynote Address from Anita DeFrantz, Vice President, International Olympic Committee and Board Member, LA28. She addresses the sporting, societal, and economic opportunities in the Americas and bring into focus her expertise concerning LA28.
The panel that follows, Emerging from the Perfect Storm, opens with a special update from Prof. Uğur Erdener, Chair of the IOC’s Medical and Scientific Commission on preparations for a safe Olympics in Tokyo. He’s joined on the panel by Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General, UNESCO, Al Kidd, CEO & President, Sports Events & Tourism Association and fellow IOC Members Ingmar De Vos, President, International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and Anita DeFrantz.

The Santiago 2023 Pan American Games Organizing Committee’s CEO Felipe de Pablo, and CCO & CMO Juan Carlos Chamy then give a Project Update. Later in the day, they chair a workshop where international experts ask about opportunities to get involved in the project.

Erin Bromaghim, Director of Olympic and Paralympic Development, Office of the Mayor of Los Angeles and David Siegel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles Sports Council and Southern California Committee speak on the panel “Creating legacy before, during and after large-scale events”, joined by Mickel Beckers, Director of Sports, Culture and Education, City of Rotterdam and Rick Sleegers, International Affairs at Orange Sports Forum, which is co-producing the panel.

After a presentation on “Creating Digital Twins for Major Events to Unlock Operational and Commercial Value” from Paul Foster, CEO & Founder, OnePlan, the third panel, “Leading the World with Esports”, stars Beng Choo Low, Secretary General, World Baseball-Softball Confederation, Paul J. Foster, Chief Executive Officer, Global Esports Federation, Matt Archambault, Head of Partnerships & Business Development I Esports I North America & Oceania, Riot Games.

This is followed by a presentation from Monica Paul, Executive Director, Dallas Sports Commission

Panel 4 asks the question “Can Private Investment Save Traditional Sports?”, with Finn Taylor, CEO, Volleyball World, Matt Pound, Director, World Table Tennis and Gareth Balch, CEO, Two Circles.
The following panel, coproduced with NEP Group, explores “The Changing Media Landscape” with Peter Hutton, Director of Sports Partnerships, Facebook, Yiannis Exarchos, CEO, Olympic Broadcasting Services and Brian Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of NEP Group, with Katie Traxton, Chief Communications Officer of Formula E sharing insights on working with influencers.

Three more organising committee leaders: Niels de Vos, Executive Director, World Athletics Championships Oregon22; Nick Sellers, CEO, The World Games 2022 Organizing Committee and Chris Carroll of Lake Placid 2023 Winter World University Games; join Gary Meador, Director of Event Services Team at Aggreko North America to discuss the challenges and opportunities of “Organizing major events in the Americas in 2022 and beyond”.

Day Two opens with a workshop on Hosting Events with International Federations, in which Event Hosts and International Federations exchange hosting plans, priorities and requirements. Coproduced with the International Association of Event Hosts (IAEH), the speakers are: Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, VisitScotland; Janelle Janis, Director, Edmonton Events; Nichapa Yoswee, Senior Vice President in Business Development of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB); Sabrina Ibanez, Secretary General, FEI; Jim Scherr, CEO, World Lacrosse and Tom Dielen, Secretary General, World Archery.

This is followed by a presentation, Digital Transformation in Major Event Planning from Simon Johnson, Chair, Rugby Football League and Joe Cusdin, CEO & Founder, Iventis.

The topic of “How to Capture and Retain Audience Attention” is tackled by panellists: Emily Blitz, Digital Event Strategist, Inter-Parliamentary Union; Tom Andrus, COO, AXS; Sarah Lewis OBE OLY, Global Sports Leader, Presidential Candidate FIS 2021; and Sara Kvarfordh, Communication Manager, Stora Enso – presenting sponsor of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.

The next panel, sponsored by Aggreko, asks “How Important are ESG Criteria to Event Audiences?”, with expert views from Jimena Saldaña, Vice President, Mexican Olympic Committee, Brian Lewis, President, Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee and Karin Korb, Paralympian and Para-Sport Consultant.

The theme of sustainability continues in a presentation on "Racing for the future, racing for purpose" from Willie Cruickshank, Race Series Director, World Championship Air Race.

In Panel 9, Alan Gilpin, CEO, World Rugby, Angela Ruggiero, Co-Founder & CEO, Sports Innovation Lab and Ricardo Fort, Founder, Sport by Fort Consulting bring tips on “Expanding the Frontiers of an Event’s Commercial Ecosystem” before Gideon Clark, Business Director, Mailman Group USA presents on “The Next Age of the Global Sports Tourist”.

For Panel 10, coproduced with the Association of Global Event Suppliers, we go “Back to the Future” to find out “How COVID-19 Has (and Hasn’t) Changed Live Events” with Jim Mercurio, Executive Vice President & General Manager at San Francisco 49ers – Levi’s Stadium, Jeremiah Yolkut, Director, Major League Baseball, Russ Simons, Owner and Managing Partner at Venue Solutions Group, LLC and Tad Bowman, Venue Director, Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Denver Coliseum, City and County of Denver.

Eoghan Gill, Director of Strategy at S2|FOAMHAND gives a presentation on safe and secure event hosting. 

Host City Americas closes with a panel on how all stakeholders in the events industry can “Get fit for the future”, with David Goldberg, Senior Advisor, TPG and Board Member, GAN, Dr. Melita N. Moore, Board Member and Chair of Health & Wellness Commission, Global Esports Federation and Ricardo Trade, CEO, Brazilian Basketball Federation and former CEO of the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup.



Host City Americas is supported by:
Event Delivery Partner NEP Group; Official Sustainability Partner Aggreko; Gold Sponsor Orange Sports Forum; Preferred Events Technology Partner OnePlan and Silver Sponsors Dallas Sports Commission and Iventis.

Edmonton Events, S2|FOAMHAND, Mailman, Global Esports Federation and World Championship Air Race are Strategic Partners to Host City Americas.

The conference is delivered on the Eden platform by Creative Technology, as part of NEP Group.

Join 1,000+ participants at Host City Americas to discover the opportunities ahead as we emerge from the pandemic to a landscape defined by digitalisation and large-scale investment.

For more information visit www.hostcity.com or email ben.avison@hostcity.com

The elite of the international events sector is completing the line-up for the inaugural Host City Americas conference, taking place online on 29-30 June.

Recent additions include IOC Members and IF Presidents Ingmar De Vos and Prof. Ugur Erdener on the opening session, during which Prof. Erdener will address the safe staging of the Tokyo Olympic Games during the pandemic.

Peter Hutton, Director of Sports Partnerships at Facebook, Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services and Brian Sullivan, CEO of NEP Group join to discuss The Changing Media Landscape.

Paul J. Foster, CEO, Global Esports Federation, Dr. Melita N. Moore, Board Member and Chair of Health & Wellness Commission, Global Esports Federation and Beng Choo Low, Secretary General, World Baseball-Softball Confederation tackle conversations about leadership in Esports and its role in health.

American event hosts are showing up in force, including Monica Paul, Executive Director, Dallas Sports Commission, Nick Sellers, CEO, The World Games 2022 Organizing Committee and Chris Carroll of the Lake Placid 2023 Winter World University Games, joined by Gary Meador, Director of Event Services Team at Aggreko North America.

Jim Mercurio, Executive Vice President & General Manager at San Francisco 49ers – Levi’s Stadium, Russ Simons, Owner and Managing Partner at Venue Solutions Group, LLC, Tad Bowman, Venue Director, Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Denver Coliseum, City and County of Denver and Jeremiah Yolkut, Director, Major League Baseball go “Back to the Future” with Jeff Keas, Senior Principal, Populous to question the impact of Covid-19, on a panel co-produced with the Association of Global Event Suppliers.

Sabrina Ibanez, Secretary General, FEI and Tom Dielen, Secretary General, World Archery join the Workshop on Hosting Events with International Federations, along with Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, VisitScotland and the International Association of Event Hosts.

In keeping with the conference theme of Investing in Events, Host City Americas welcomes Gareth Balch, CEO, Two Circles and David Goldberg, Senior Advisor, TPG and Board Member, GAN.

OnePlan Founder Paul Foster brings expertise and solutions from the frontier of major event planning technology.

Simon Johnson, Chair, Rugby Football League joins Iventis CEO and founder Joe Cusdin to present on event mapping.

And David Grevemberg CBE, Chief Innovation and Partnerships Officer, Centre for Sports and Human Rights moderates the conversation on How Important are ESG Criteria to Event Audiences.

These speakers join other great experts already announced: IOC VP and LA28 Board Member Anita DeFrantz; Sports ETA President & CEO Al Kidd; UNESCO Asst DG Gabriela Ramos; Santiago 2023 chiefs Felipe de Pablo and Juan Carlos Chamy; World Athletics Championships Oregon22’s Niels de Vos; Sports Innovation Lab CEO Angela Ruggiero; World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin; Matt Archambault of Riot Games; Finn Taylor, CEO, Volleyball World; Matt Pound, Director, World Table Tennis; Sarah Lewis OBE; Emily Blitz of the Inter-Parliamentary Union; Mexican Olympic Committee VP Jimena Saldaña; Paralympian Karin Korb; Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee President Brian Lewis; Brazilian Basketball Federation CEO Ricardo Trade and World Lacrosse CEO Jim Scherr.

Host City Americas is supported by: Official Sustainability Partner Aggreko; Event Delivery Partner NEP Group; Gold Sponsors OnePlan and Orange Sports Forum; and Silver Sponsors Dallas Sports Commission and Iventis.

Global Esports Federation is a Strategic Partner of Host City Americas.

The conference is delivered on the Eden platform by Creative Technology, as part of NEP Group.

Join 1,000+ participants at Host City Americas to discover the opportunities ahead as we emerge from the pandemic to a landscape defined by digitalisation and large-scale investment.

[Source: SportAccord] The IF Forum 2021 has been brought forward to next month from its traditional autumn slot to allow the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 to be rescheduled for 7-12 November 2021 in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

The 15th edition of the IF Forum will adopt a fully virtual format with expert speakers from across the global sports movement, including representatives of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), umbrella sports associations and individual IFs, as well as sports industry executives.

The IF Forum will start with a Welcome Address by IOC President Thomas Bach and an Opening Address by Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, President of SportAccord and GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations), followed by an Address by Dr. Richard Budgett, Medical and Scientific Director, IOC.

Presentations, updates, case studies and panel sessions will be provided on several vital topics, including ‘Moving Forward, Pivoting and the Lessons We Are Learning’, ‘A Return to Competition and Lessons from the Bubble’, ‘Athlete Mental Health’, ‘Commercial Approaches for IFs in the New Normal’ and ‘The Virtual Experience and its Home within IFs’.

Immediately after the closing remarks of the IF Forum, which will be staged virtually via the Olympic Capital of Lausanne in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland, a virtual launch celebration from around the world for SportAccord 2021 in Ekaterinburg will take place on the same day, 25 May.

Dr. Chiulli will be joined by dignitaries from Russia in welcoming the international sporting community to the launch event, which will take place less than six months before the start of SportAccord 2021. There will also be further details about the conference programme for sport’s most influential global gathering in Ekaterinburg.

“We are excited to connect with International Sport Federations worldwide for what will be a timely and important IF Forum 2021,” Dr. Chiulli said.

“The IF Forum will be an outstanding opportunity for our community to come together to discuss best practice ideas as sport explores strategies to accelerate on the road to recovery.

“The SportAccord 2021 virtual launch celebration will also whet the appetite for the most highly anticipated World Sport & Business Summit so far in stunning Ekaterinburg.”

The invitation-only IF Forum 2021 will bring together more than 300 leaders from over 125 IFs, plus other virtual delegates and speakers. For further information, click here or download the brochure here.

[Source: SportAccord] Dmitry Chernyshenko, Russian Federation Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the SportAccord 2021 Organising Committee, Igor Levitin, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation, and Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin have hosted a positive meeting with SportAccord President Raffaele Chiulli and Managing Director Nis Hatt.

Dr. Chiulli and Mr. Hatt were welcomed less than seven months before the rescheduled SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 takes place from 7-12 November in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Mr. Chernyshenko said: “The Summit is one of the largest international sporting events. The preparations are being carried out on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin. We make every effort to ensure that this event is held at the highest level.”

Mr. Chernyshenko went on to say: “Particular attention will be paid to the preparation of a cultural and business program for participants and guests of Russia. Today, representatives from more than 50 countries have already been registered, such as Argentina, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, France, Germany, Singapore, etc.”

The commitment to ensuring the highest level of safety and security of delegates was reiterated with special attention being paid to the various measures that will be put in place in the context of Covid-19. Amongst others, one option being explored is making complimentary vaccines available for registered delegates.

Numerous other topics have also been discussed in recent days, including the support foreign participants at SportAccord 2021 will receive with visa processes, as outlined by Mr. Chernyshenko during an Organising Committee meeting in Ekaterinburg earlier this week.

Mr. Levitin said: “The participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the event will significantly increase its level and significance. Preparation is going on at the highest level.”

He also noted: “Sport needs to adapt to challenges such as the pandemic. And we can discuss, including at the site of the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit in Ekaterinburg, with our scientists, the issues of protecting the health of athletes and vaccinations.”

The SportAccord delegation has seen first-hand the on-the-ground preparations for sport’s most influential global gathering this week in Ekaterinburg, where they also met with Sverdlovsk Region Governor Yevgeny Kuivashev regarding the impressive preparations to date.

“There is no doubt that Ekaterinburg is ready to host SportAccord and it was especially important to reconnect with Mr. Chernyshenko, Mr. Levitin, and Mr. Matytsin and to have their full support,” Dr. Chiulli said.

Dr. Chiulli went on to say: “We are also grateful for the continued backing of the Organising Committee, the Sverdlovsk Region and the Russian Federation for the outstanding preparations that have taken place and that the vision of delivering the most important 2021 event in Russia – the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit in Ekaterinburg.”

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 19th 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.

You can follow SportAccord’s portfolio of events via Twitter @sportaccord or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, VK, and Instagram.

[Source: AIPH] The AIPH 2021 International Green City conference on 22 April is a chance to inspire people, organisations, city councils and government administrations to join this challenging movement and lead global thinking on the successful integration of nature into the built environment.  As part of AIPH’s Green City programme, the conference is offered free-of-charge to registered delegates.

Breaking old ‘progressive’ thinking after a global pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic brought issues around the planning of our urban spaces into sharper focus. Some people living across the urban landscape could escape the confines of lockdown and connect with nature to enjoy the benefits of good greenspaces. While for others, the crisis highlighted the fact that some built-up areas have insufficient quality greenspaces.

For our health and wellbeing, for tackling biodiversity loss, for our battle with climate change, new look urban areas are surely the way forward.

At the AIPH 2021 Green City Conference, you will hear about international innovations and advances in city greening from ‘Champions of Green Cities’ - a line-up of expert international speakers who can positively demonstrate that transforming our cities from grey to green need not be an unrealistic quest, but a practical solution.

Event Speakers who are inspiring change

“Transforming the urban landscape of central Melbourne – from grey to green” is the subject of our keynote speaker, Prof Rob Adams AM, City Architect, City of Melbourne. Prof Adams will describe Melbourne’s many actions over the last three decades to transform its downtown, starting from a realisation in 1985 that the City was going backwards financially, socially, and environmentally. The design was to focus on the movement of people and not vehicles. Since 1992, with the incremental and significant greening and reorientation of roadscapes, Melbourne has risen from the back of the pack to become, on seven occasions, the World’s most liveable city as determined by The Economist magazine. Many cities have followed what Melbourne pioneered, and it remains a powerfully influential exemplar for the battle against climate change.

Prof Adams continues his greening crusade and in a recent podcast he argued that recovery from the pandemic should involve refurbishing office buildings into apartments.

Carbon emissions did fall, and city centre air quality did improve during the Covid-19 lockdown from the reduced use of fossil fuel. While the latter may not be a permanent situation now, the images of clear skies overhead, and clear water in Venice showed that things can quickly change for a better environmental outcome. Ms Maria Vassilakou, Vienna Solutions draws from her previous experience as Vice Mayor of Vienna, and now independent advisor on urban transformations, to describe what makes a city liveable.

Ms Vassilakou serves as a member of the EU-Horizon Mission experts board on “Climate-neutral smart Cities” advising the European Commission on the design and implementation of the respective mission aiming at 100 European climate-neutral cities by 2030.

People reported feeling exposed to greater risk of infection on public transport during the pandemic, and during lockdown these systems were running at less than full capacity. Will this change now people look towards ‘returning to normal’? Mr Peter Massini, Director of Future Nature Consulting Ltd, UK, presents an overview of greening metrics that are used in policy development, discussing some of the challenges and drawbacks and how effective they are in practice. For the past 10 years he has led on green infrastructure and natural environment policy for the Greater London Authority.

Empowerment is a strong tool, and the green recovery needs a powerful voice. Ms Jennifer McKelvie, Councillor for City of Toronto, Canada, gives insights from her experience in inspiring the next generation of climate leaders through the C40 Women for Climate mentorship programme. This programme  builds upon the City of Toronto's commitment to fight climate change, as participants work on self-initiated projects that align with TransformTO and the Resilience Strategy. Launched in 2017, TransformTO lays out a set of long-term, low-carbon goals to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions. The Resilience Strategy sets out a vision, goals, and actions to help Toronto survive, adapt, and thrive in the face of any challenge, particularly climate change.

Prof. Tim Beatley, founder of Biophilic Cities, USA, explains the power of community in making cities more nature focussed, and the influence of biophilia in inspiring change.

Ms Ingrid Coetzee, Director of Biodiversity, Nature & Health for ICLEI Africa describes the organisation’s projects on mainstreaming nature, its benefits, and nature-based solutions into urban planning and decision-making in cities and city regions thereby helping them become healthier, and more resilient and liveable places.

Dr Audrey Timm, Technical Advisor to AIPH announces our latest update of the AIPH 2020 Green City Guidelines – a digital resource providing evidence that supports innovative policy and practice in green cities.

Ms Anne Jaluzot, UK, delivers a case study of Barcelona, the city which changed traffic patterns, replacing roadways with living green, thereby increasing social interactions, and reducing pollution.

Mr Niek Roozen, the founder of Niek Roozen Landscapes bv, Netherlands, introduces the power of plant selection in dominating landscape performance, using Almere as a case study for motivating plant selection linked to function, and the multi-functionality of urban greening.

Dr Andrew Hirons, Senior Lecturer in Arboriculture at Myerscough College, UK, explains the science of tree selection for city landscapes, and how essential this is to creating resilience in our urban forests.

AIPH Green City Chair, Mr Bill Hardy, Canada, will bring the focus onto the AIPH Green City initiative and how the content of this conference programme integrates with the AIPH vision as the world’s champion for the power of plants.

AIPH presents the Champions of Green Cities

Launching at the AIPH 2021 Green City conference is the AIPH World Green City Awards which celebrate cities that show leadership and innovation in bringing more living green into their city.

The ongoing impact of safety measures against coronavirus means that rather than a physical international conference, the event will operate using the multi-faceted Hopin platform to host this online international conference, where delegates from around the world can meet in real-time.

Register free-of-charge for the AIPH Green City conference to hear from city leaders worldwide and find out how your city can enter the AIPH World Green City Awards. https://aiph.org/event/aiph-2021-green-city-conference/

AIPH is grateful to our World Green City Award Partners  Biophilic Cities, Cities and Health, The Nature of Cities, Trees For Cities and  Urban Land Institute. Our Event Partner  ICLEI and our Media Partners China Flowers & Horticulture, FloraCulture International, HostCity and Pod Oslonami PL.

[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord has confirmed new dates for the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021, with sport’s most influential global gathering now set to take place from 7-12 November 2021 in Ekaterinburg, Russia at the IEC Ekaterinburg-Expo.

The decision to push back the dates for the World Sport & Business Summit to November was taken by the SportAccord Executive Committee. SportAccord is in close dialogue with its partners in Ekaterinburg, the Sverdlovsk Oblast region, and the Russian Federation. This move will provide greater safety and certainty to attendees in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic but certainly to allow the greatest impact for our hosts.

“We are immensely grateful for the collaborative support of our friends in Ekaterinburg, the Sverdlovsk Region and the Russian Federation,” said Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, President of SportAccord and GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations).

“As always, the wellbeing of our delegates is our priority, and we believe that moving SportAccord to later in the year will give those wishing to attend the event more time to put in place the necessary plans.”

“We look forward to welcoming the world of sport to Ekaterinburg in November for what will be a game-changing gathering to signal a major step forward in the recovery of sport and society as we look to the future, beyond the pandemic.”

As a result, SportAccord’s annual International Federation (IF) Forum, which is traditionally held in the autumn in Lausanne, Switzerland, has been brought forward to 25 May 2021 and will be staged in a fully virtual format via Lausanne in the Canton of Vaud. In addition, a virtual launch celebration from around the world for SportAccord 2021 in Ekaterinburg will take place on 25 May 2021, following the IF Forum 2021 and less than six months before the World Sport & Business Summit commences.

[Source: AIPH] The International Association of Horticultural Producers, AIPH, is the world’s champion for the power of plants. Through their Green City programme, AIPH uses knowledge exchange, advocacy, and networking to increase the quality and quantity of living green in urban spaces; motivating the multifunctional benefits that this delivers to people and the planet.

The AIPH 2021 International Green City conference on 22 April is a chance to inspire people, organisations, city councils and government administrations to join this challenging movement and lead global thinking on the successful integration of nature into the built environment.  As part of AIPH’s Green City programme, the conference is offered free-of-charge to registered delegates.

Our environment, wellbeing, social cohesion, and economies are all improved by intelligently designed green space. AIPH’s Green City principles promote the essential role of plants in creating vibrant urban areas in which people and businesses can thrive.

At the AIPH 2021 International Green City Conference, you will hear about innovations and advances in city greening from ‘Champions of Green Cities’; a line-up of expert international speakers who:

•             Share best practice and experiences of how they have increased living green in cities.

•             Present innovative thinking in how living green shapes city form and function

•             Describe case studies of cross-disciplinary benefits from city greening

Event Speakers

“Transforming the urban landscape of central Melbourne – from grey to green” is the subject of our keynote speaker, Prof Rob Adams AM, City Architect, City of Melbourne. Prof Adams will describe the many actions taken by Melbourne over the last three decades to transform its downtown, starting from a realisation in 1985 that the City was going backwards financially, socially and environmentally. Like many cities around the world the centre was emptying out in favour of the suburbs, and the car was increasingly dominant. With a breakthrough in 1992, Melbourne has risen from the back of the pack to become, on seven occasions, the World’s most liveable city as determined by the Economist magazine. Many cities have followed what Melbourne pioneered, and it remains a powerfully influential exemplar for the battle against climate change.

Ms Maria Vassilakou, Vienna Solutions draws from her experience as Vice Mayor of Vienna and independent advisor on urban transformations to describe what makes a city liveable.

Mr Peter Massini, Director of Future Nature Consulting Ltd, UK, presents an overview of greening metrics that are used in policy development, discussing some of the challenges and drawbacks and how effective they are in practice.

Ms Jennifer McKelvie, Councillor for City of Toronto, Canada, gives insights from her experience in inspiring the next generation of climate leaders through the C40 Women for Climate mentorship programme.

Prof. Tim Beatley, founder of Biophilic Cities, USA, explains the power of community in making cities more nature focussed, and the influence of biophilia in inspiring change.

Ms Ingrid Coetzee, Director of Biodiversity, Nature & Health for ICLEI Africa describes the organisation’s projects on mainstreaming nature, its benefits, and nature-based solutions into urban planning and decision-making in cities and city regions thereby helping them become healthier, and more resilient and liveable places.

Dr Audrey Timm, Technical Advisor to AIPH introduces the AIPH 2021 Green City Guidelines – an essential digital resource to support decision making.

Ms Anne Jaluzot, UK, delivers a case study of Barcelona, the city which changed traffic patterns, replacing roadways with living green, thereby increasing social interactions, and reducing pollution.

AIPH Green City Chair, Mr Bill Hardy, Canada, will bring the focus onto the AIPH Green City initiative and how the content of this conference programme integrates with the AIPH vision as the world’s champion for the power of plants.

AIPH presents the Champions of Green Cities

Launching at the AIPH Green City conference will be the AIPH World Green City Awards 2022 to celebrate cities that show leadership and innovation in bringing more living green into their city.

The ongoing impact of safety measures against coronavirus means that rather than a physical international conference, the event will operate using the multi-faceted Hopin platform to host this online international conference, where delegates from around the world can meet in real-time.

Register free-of-charge for the AIPH International Green City conference to hear from city leaders worldwide and find out how your city can enter the AIPH World Green City Awards. https://aiph.org/event/2021greencityconference/

AIPH is grateful to our Gold Sponsor PERA Events and AIPH World Green City Awards Partners 2022  Biophilic Cities, Cities and Health, Trees For Cities and  Urban Land Institute. Thank you to our Event Partner ICLEI, and our Media Partners FloraCulture International and Host City.

[Source: AIPH] The AIPH Virtual Expo Conference on 16 March presents an excellent opportunity to learn more about hosting or being involved with our major horticultural events and to network with expo organisers, city representatives interested in hosting an expo, urban developers, AIPH members, NGOs, international city and environmental organisations and suppliers to major events.

Millions are spent on developing these international spectacles that can have the ability to stimulate the development of entire cities and transform the international reputation of hosting regions. Each exhibition attracts many international participants and millions of visitors, lasts up to six months, with sites ranging from 25 to 500 hectares in size. Every Expo is carefully regulated, steered, and monitored by AIPH.

The period from now until 2027 already includes AIPH approved expos in China, Turkey, Qatar, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Japan with more to be approved in upcoming meetings. The following Expos will be submitting their progress reports on 16 March.

A1 World Horticultural Expos: The World Horticultural Expos include Expo 2022 Floriade (the Netherlands); Expo 2023 Doha (Qatar) and World Horticultural Exhibition 2027 Yokohama (Japan).

B International Horticultural Exhibitions: The International Horticultural Exhibitions include 2021 Yangzhou (China); Expo 2021 Hatay (Turkey); Expo 2023 Kahramanmaraş (Turkey) and Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo (South Korea).

There will also be news about Expos going through the approval process including International Horticultural Exhibition Chengdu 2024 (China) and Expo İzmir 2026 (Turkey).

There will also be progress news from the organisers of the International Horticultural Show Euroflora 2022.

The ongoing impact of safety measures against coronavirus means that rather than a physical international conference, we shall be using the multi-faceted Hopin platform to host this online international event where delegates from around the world can meeting real-time.

We are very grateful to our Gold Sponsors IGMPR (creators of themed floral and horticultural attractions) and PERA Event (specialising in major event management) for their support of the conference. These companies are also AIPH Preferred Partners. IGMPR Director Ibo Gulsen will be giving a presentation about creating a unique floral event within your Expo.

Registration is free and you will be able to network with delegates and sponsors starting from 7am (GMT), and all from the safety of your home office device.

AIPH extends its appreciation to AGES (Association of Global Event Suppliers), Major Events International, Biophilic Cities and media partners HOST CITY and FloraCulture International magazine.

AIPH Secretary General, Mr Tim Briercliffe, comments, “We are delighted to welcome our Expo organisers and all delegates to the AIPH Expo Conference. AIPH approved expos are beautiful events, which are enjoyed by millions of visitors wherever they are staged. Cities around the world are looking to further develop their green credentials and urban spaces, as well as driving the appreciation and benefits of plants and flowers in the built environment. In addition to seeing the interesting progress of our approved Expos, attendees will be able to network with delegates and learn more about how staging an International Horticultural Expos can bring great benefits to the host city, not just during the Expo itself, but for years to come.”