Minsk, the host of European Youth Olympic Festival 2019 (EYOF 2019), has been selected to host the congress of the European Union of Sports Press on 11-13 September, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus informed national news agency BeITA.

The gathering of European sports journalists coincides with the Race of Legends biathlon festival and Minsk International Marathon and will be an opportunity for Belarus to showcase its credentials for hosting major sports events. 

Delegates will be shown around the Minsk Arena and the National Olympic Centres in Ratomka and Raubichi.

A seminar at the NOC headquarters will include presentations about the European Youth Olympic Festival 2019 in Minsk and other sports events Belarus will host in 2015 and 2016, plus a forum to discuss mass radio broadcasting rights in Europe, the according to BeITA.

The seminar for mass media will be organised by the NOC of Belarus, the European Olympic Committees, the Sport and Tourism Ministry of Belarus and the Belarusian Association of Sports Press.

The Minsk won the hosting rights after the European Union of Sports Press wrote to the Belarusian Association of Sports Press proposing that Belarus city host the event. The proposal was backed by the Belarus NOC and approved by the European Olympic Committees.

The event forms part of the Olympic Solidarity programme, one of the IOC’s programmes of redistributing NOC’s shares of broadcasting rights from the Olympic Games. 

Attending as guests of honour will be President of the European Fair Play Movement Christian Hinterberger, Vice President of the European Taekwondo Union Igor Iuzefovici, Vice President of the European University Sports Association Leonz Eder.

The President of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) Gianni Merlo (Italy), AIPS Europe President Yannis Daras (Greece), and AIPS Europe Secretary General Charles Camenzuli (Malta), heads and secretaries general of the national associations and observers and correspondents will attend.

Representatives from Austria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Serbia, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Sweden are expected to attend.

Having led the bid for Glasgow’s universally-acclaimed Commonwealth Games and served as long-standing Honorary Secretary for the Commonwealth Games Federation, it came as no great surprise – except to her – when the news emerged that she was planning on running for the position of President of the Federation.

“It was made public much earlier than I was expecting it to come out, because we are not calling for nominations until May,” she told HOST CITY.

Despite this, she was happy to talk about her motivation.

“It’s the right time for me now because I have served for four quadrennials on the Federation as the Honorary Secretary.”

Her decision to stand was driven in part by changes to the Federation, which is being remodelled as a corporate structure with a President and three Vice Presidents. 

“The Honorary Secretary position ceases to exist, so I had to decide what to do,” she said. 

“One of the positions would be doing what I have already been doing and having done four quadrennials, it’s time for me to move – and the only way I can move is up.”

She revealed to HOST CITY that she has long had the ambition to lead the Federation. “It’s something I’ve always thought I would love to do.

“Having chaired a national sporting agency, sportscotland, with 350 staff and a turnover of millions, I know I can do it. I’ve been chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland and I’m also chair of the Commonwealth Advisory Body on Sport, so I have got experience behind me.

“The time is right for me to put my hat in the ring.”

Although she has not yet formalised a manifesto, she was happy to discuss the changes that she has in mind for the federation – particularly in relation to the role of the member associations. 

“We have to have a proper structure and good governance in place, to make sure that all the associations are more vibrant and more effective. 

“As far as I am concerned we are all equal; we all have one vote, irrespective of size or wealth. We have to deliver equally, across the board. 

“One of the things I want to ensure that we do is to communicate more effectively and more openly.”

With the 2022 Games now faced with just one bidding city, Durban – for which Martin is leading the evaluation commission – the Federation is looking at ways to boost the appeal of its major property.

The situation is analogous to the issues the IOC grappled with over the last twelve months as it handled its own 2022 Games crisis through the Agenda 2020 review of its bidding procedure. 

“I certainly want more cities to bid for the Games. We want to make it more appealing and we need to make sure that we keep it affordable,” said Martin.

“So one of the things we have to do is work very closely with the international federations to ensure that the sports and the events that we deliver are not cost- prohibitive.

“We’ve got to make sure that the events are accessible for the whole of the Commonwealth and that those bidding cities can deliver a good and successful Games.”

Although the Commonwealth contains many small countries that can’t aspire to host a

Commonwealth Games or Commonwealth Youth Games, there are still opportunities to host smaller events. 

“One of the things we want to try and take control of is to encourage the countries that cannot host either of those to host a Commonwealth Championship in a specific sport that they are good at.”

As a former athlete, Martin is keen for the Commonwealth Games Federation to boost the development of sport in the Commonwealth. 

“I want to make sure that Commonwealth sport offers more to athletes and to individuals in communities that we are working with. 

“I’ve got to ensure that we really make the most of all the opportunities that we have. We are a dynamic sporting movement and we do transform lives through sport.

“We’ve got so much potential in the Commonwealth; the momentum has started and we’ve got to keep it moving.”

Much of this momentum comes from Glasgow 2014, which was widely regarded as the greatest Commonwealth Games in history. Having led the bid, Louise Martin describes it as “a dream that took 12 years to come to fruition, and it did in a big way.

“I can’t believe it’s all over; it’s funny to say that it’s not there anymore, but everybody’s still talking about it. 

“It set the scene and we delivered exactly the way we wanted to deliver: athlete-centred, sports-led, we kept it small, we kept it the way that we in Scotland are – we didn’t try to emulate anybody.”

There may be some advice for Durban here. 

“Never try to be something you aren’t; don’t try and copy. Deliver for yourself; stay true to yourself and your own ambitions and everything will work out. 

“We proved it can be done, and I would encourage anybody to follow that example. Just believe in yourself and do it.”

Louise Martin is speaking at HOST CITY 2015 - the leading EU-based meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events - in Glasgow on 9th and 10th November.

Lisbon’s historic Patio de Gale has been selected to host the third edition of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Awards on 9 December 2015. 

The 2015 ITTF Star Awards, which will recognize and celebrate table tennis star players and coaches, will be held immediately before ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, sponsored by GAC Group.

"The ITTF Star Awards has grown into a yearly event with great stature and an important date on the calendar for all of the world's top table tennis players,” said Steve Dainton, ITTF Marketing Director. 

“This year, we head to the beautiful city of Lisbon, in conjunction with the World Tour Grand Finals, to recognize the Stars of our sport for what will be a classical and elegant evening."

Interest in the sport is high in Portugal, with the national team having won gold medals at the TMS 2014 European Team Table Tennis Championships in Lisbon and the 2015 European Games in Baku.

Eight ITTF Star Awards will be handed out in Lisbon, with the ITTF Star Breakthrough being a new award for 2015, in addition to awards for: Male Table Tennis Star; Female Table Tennis Star (presented by Nittaku); Para Male Table Tennis Star (presented by Tinsue); Para Female Table Tennis Star (presented by Stag International); Table Tennis Star Point (presented by DHS); Table Tennis Star Coach (presented by Butterfly); Table Tennis Breakthrough Star; and Fair Play Star.

Dublin has been selected ahead of a number of European cities to host a major international technology conference next year. 

The 37th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) will take place at the Convention Centre Dublin in December 2016, bringing up to 1,500 delegates to the city.

Dublin was announced as the host city at a meeting in Florida, beating rival bids from Istanbul, Munich and Vienna.  

Hosting the conference will add millions of Euros to Dublin’s economy.

According to Lero, the Irish Software Research Centre, the Dublin bid team has been awarded a grant of EUR 50,000 from Science Foundation Ireland to the host the Conference.

Other organisations backing the conference include destination marketing agency Fáilte Ireland as well as Google, Intel, Microsoft, Realex Payments and SOS Ventures.

The theme of the 2016 conference is “digital innovation at the crossroads”.

ICIS, the international conference of the Association for Information Systems (AIS) was founded in 1980 at UCLA. The first conference was held at the University of Pennsylvania as the "Conference on Information Systems". 

The conference became known as “International” in 1986, through Canadian and European attendance and participation. ICIS was first held outside North America in 1990 when Copenhagen hosted the event.

MTV is returning to Glasgow to stage MTV Live Lockdown on 30th September – the second MTV live music event to be produced in the city in less than a year. 

The news builds on the success of Glasgow’s hosting of the MTV European Music Awards (EMAs) in November 2014 and the MTV Crashes in 2010.

MTV Live Lockdown is an eight-part series in which a selection of high profile artists travel underground and emerge for a special showcase performance in front of a live audience.

MTV UK is partnering with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) and EventScotland to deliver the event, which will be produced by JJ Stereo and filmed and broadcast as a 3 x 30-minute series set to air on 30th October on MTV Music and MV Live HD. 

Confirmed performers include English rapper and dance phenomenon, Example, two piece band, Slaves and chart topping British duo, Sigma. 

The acts will perform in a coliseum style set, providing a 360 degree view for an intimate and exclusive audience of approximately 500 fans. 

Paul Bush, Director of Events at VisitScotland:  “It’s fantastic to welcome MTV to Scotland once more and hold the first production of MTV Live Lockdown outside of London.  MTV Live Lockdown forms part of a legacy from the 2014 MTV EMA which was also hosted here; further reinforcing Scotland’s reputation as the perfect stage for events”. 

Paul Bush is speaking at HOST CITY 2015 in Glasgow, the leading EU-based meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events, on 9 to 10 November.

The International Olympic Committee has welcomed an “outstanding” pool of candidate cities bidding for the 2024 Games. 

Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome all submitted applications to host the 2024 Olympic Games before the IOC’s deadline of midnight on Tuesday. 

“We are welcoming five outstanding and highly qualified Candidate Cities,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.

With four major European cities and the biggest city in North America in the running, the profile of the cities is a marked change from recent Olympic Games bidding, which has been dominated by, and awarded to, cities from outside these regions. 

The most recent IOC bidding process, for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, began with six applicant cities but only Beijing and Almaty proceeded to the candidature stage. 

Since then, the bidding procedure has been changed with the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020, the programme of reform introduced by IOC president Thomas Bach.

One of the changes brought in is the removal of the “applicant phase” – so the five cities that have applied to host the Games are immediately considered to be candidates, after an “invitation phase” that has been taking place in recent months. 

“Olympic Agenda 2020 has shaped the Candidature Process more as an invitation and the cities have responded by engaging with the IOC through dialogue and cooperation,” said Bach. 

The removal of the applicant phase means that the five bidding cities will remain in the race until the host city election until 2017. 

The central focus of Agenda 2020 is reducing the financial burden of hosting the Olympic Games and making sure that hosting the event fits with the city development plans. 

“In the new invitation process the IOC learnt that all the candidates are embracing Olympic Agenda 2020 from their respective vision for the future of their city,” said Bach. 

“Sustainability and legacy are the cornerstones of each candidature.”

A number of other cities and regions had been discussing the possibility of bidding for the 2024 Games.

A possible bid from Toronto, which hosted a successful Pan American Games earlier this year, was said to be on the cards but ruled out at the last minute. 

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Toronto mayor John Tory said that an Olympic bid would form part of the city’s future plans. 

"I can't look people in the eye at this point in our city's development and tell them that an Olympic bid is the best use of our time, our energy or our investment," he said. 

"But now I can look in the eyes of my colleagues at other levels of government and say this, together we should be making the investment talked about in the context of the Olympics."

Commitments to good governance, transparency and ethics were also key features of Agenda 2020 and the IOC has published all the documents related to the candidature, including online for the first time at this stage in the process. 

Changes to the host city contract include: reference to sexual orientation in the non-discrimination clause; the freedom of media to report on the Games; and a stipulation for organisers to comply with applicable local, regional and national legislation and international agreements “with regard to planning, construction, protection of the environment, health and safety, labour and anti-corruption laws”.

The IOC has also reduced the cost of bidding, with candidate cities expected to make just three presentations instead of nine, with the travel cost for these presentations and the cost of visiting IOC evaluation commissions to be covered by the IOC. 

The IOC has also committed to contributing USD 1.7 billion in cash and services to the organising committee for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The host city of the 2024 Olympic Games will be elected by all IOC members at the 130th IOC Session in Lima, Peru in 2017.

Changes to the IOC’s bidding procedure have attracted a “very considerable field” of five candidate cities, all of which are expected to stay the course until the host city election in September 2017, IOC Vice President Sir Craig Reedie CBE told HOST CITY in an exclusive interview. 

“The change in the candidature rules, which came out of the whole reform process called Agenda 2020, seems to have attracted a very considerable field of really good cities,” he said. 

“The big addition has been the invitation phase before a National Olympic Committee decides finally to put a city into the candidature role.”

This new invitation phase ended on 15 September. “For several months before that, cities that were thinking of bidding for the Games, and the National Olympic Committees, came to meet the relevant people in the Olympic Games department and the candidate cities department of the IOC to sit down and work out exactly how the Games would fit into their city; how it would provide legacy; how it would be sustainable; how it would fit into city plans.

“That’s a complete change from the previous process, where the IOC had a very detailed list of requirements and cities bid against that list. 

“So there is a major change there and I understand that it has been welcomed by the cities,” said Sir Craig Reedie, who is delivering a keynote speech at HOST CITY 2015, which takes place in Glasgow on 9th and 10th November under the theme of “Creative Innovation Connecting Cities with Sports, Business and Culture Events.”

The five bidding cities – Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome – have all progressed to the candidature phase, rather than going through the previous applicant city phase, and will now submit their candidature files in three sections. 

“So rather than one huge bid book being required at a set date, it’s divided into three sections. There are workshops planned; there are assistances planned to the cities throughout.”

In the previous round of bids for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, three cities pulled out of bidding during the applicant phase while Olso withdrew in the candidature phase. 

The IOC’s new and more consultative adopted now means that such a fallout is unlikely to happen, Sir Craig Reedie said. 

“It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that a city could come back and say we’re not taking it any further – I think that’s unlikely in the sense that a lot of work will have gone into this, a lot of discussions have gone on through the invitation phase. And since it’s going on through a stage by stage basis I think it’s highly unlikely that people will withdraw. 

“The end result of that is that we will have five cities presenting to the Session on the ultimate decision to be taken in Lima in Peru in 2017.”

Asked if it was a relief when Los Angeles stepped forward to take the place of Boston’s abandoned bid, Sir Craig Reedie said: “Yes, I think the USOC have all but admitted that their process might not have worked in the selection of Boston.

“But, with Boston’s withdrawal, they were fortunate in many ways that the Los Angeles people were so able to come to the party very quickly and in a relatively tight timeframe.

“Los Angeles has an Olympic record – if they win they will be like London, hosting the third time. The city has changed dramatically over the last few years and I am sure they will come forward with a very good bid.”

The IOC is very pleased to have five cities bidding, Reedie said. “It’s an interesting mix. Paris is looking to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Games in Paris and has clear bidding experience. 

“Rome hosted outstanding Games in 1960 and there seems to be considerable enthusiasm in Italy and in Rome behind the Rome bid, so they are impressive.

“Budapest has come quite late to the party but again a splendid city and Hungary has a terrific Olympic record. 

“It’s interesting that when the German Olympic Committee decided to choose Hamburg as opposed to Berlin, who I suppose before that decision would have been seen to be favourite, immediately there was strong support from Berlin for the Hamburg choice. So again there seems to be a great deal of unity there. 

“So it’s a really good field.”

Dubai has won the bid to host the World Congress of Neurology (WCN) in 2019, as the city focuses on business events for its economic development.

The WNC is organised by the World Federation of Neurology, an association of national neurological societies representing 119 neurological societies in all regions of the world. 

 “Dubai has hosted several international conferences across all fields and is known for its hospitality, excellent infrastructure and world-class facilities,” said HE Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General of the DHA, speaking at the 22nd World Congress of Neurology in Chile in November 2015. 

“We look forward to hosting this conference in 2019 and we strongly believe that conferences are a platform that brings together experts from the region and abroad to discuss latest advances in the field. 

“Exchange of latest information and know-how is vital for growth and development, particularly in the medical field, which is ever-evolving.”

Business tourism is a large and growing global industry and an important cornerstone of Dubai’s economy.

“Conferences are big business and the number is growing worldwide, with a wider range of cities gaining market share,” said IOC Vice President Sir Craig Reedie in his opening address to Host City 2015, the leading EU-based meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events. 

Previous editions of the WNC have attracted more than 5,000 delegates. 

“Presently, in the region, there are 4000 to 5000 neurologists and this conference presents an opportunity to discuss the latest advances and treatment methods in the field,” said Dr Suhail Al Rukn, head of stroke unit at Rashid Hospital and president of Emirates Neurological Society.

“This conference will help foster collaboration and cooperation with neurologists and neurological societies in the region and abroad.”

The next World Congress of Neurology takes place in Kyoto in Japan in 2017.

LA 2024 Vice Chair and four-time Olympic swimming champion Janet Evans attended Host City 2015 conference in Glasgow this week, marking the start of a busy period for the LA 2024 Candidature Committee which includes attending the IOC 2024 Candidate City workshops in Lausanne (November 19-20) and the European Olympic Committees (EOC) General Assembly in Prague (November 20-21).

The Host City 2015 conference, which took place in Glasgow on November 9-10, offered Evans, who is also LA 2024 Director of Athlete Relations, the chance to learn from the experiences of a range of leaders from across the Olympic Movement.

LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said: “We are delighted that Janet is attending the Host City conference in Glasgow with so many Olympic experts present. We are very much in our ‘looking, listening and learning’ phase and these types of events are an invaluable part of this process.

“We will also send a significant LA 2024 delegation to Lausanne for the IOC 2024 Candidate City workshops; which will provide the ideal opportunity to engage and interact with the IOC on the path ahead.

“The EOC General Assembly in Prague represents a further opportunity, after the ANOC General Assembly in Washington, D.C., to consult with the NOC family. Their athletes are at the very heart of the Olympic Movement and IOC President Thomas Bach’s visionary Olympic Agenda 2020. The NOCs have a critical role in preparing and supporting athletes, so it is vital that we consult with them whenever possible.”

The next decade is set to bring increasingly rapid growth for the meetings, incentives, congresses and exhibitions (MICE) industry in Africa as the continent achieves higher economic growth, according to Derek Hanekom, Minister of Tourism for South Africa.

“The potential of Africa for the MICE industry is exponential,” Hanekom told delegates at ibtm world in Barcelona.

“The tide has turned, we can see that our growth opportunities are now also within the African market. There are 770 registered African Associations on the ICCA database. 178 of these are based in South Africa and 592 on the rest of the continent and 218 regional conferences were registered on the continent in 2014 resulting in 610 events over the last five years. South Africa only hosted 63 of these events in the past 5 years,” said Minister Hanekom.

South Africa hosted 124 international association conferences in 2014, which attracted just below 70,000 industry professionals. Of these 124 conferences, 81% were international rotating events.

Since its inception three years ago, the South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB) has successfully bid for 163 business events between 2016 and 2020, which are expected to bring over 150,000 delegates to South Africa and contribute approximately R3.1billion to the economy.

“South Africa offer the business events industry excellent value for money, deliver authentic, memorable and enriching experiences in one of the most captivating, safest and beautiful countries that I am proud to call my home,” said Hanekom.

It was also announced that the European Cities Marketing (ECM) programme has extended its reach to South Africa, hosting an ECM Academy in South Africa just before the 2016 edition of Meetings Africa.

“We are really thrilled to have our first ECM Academy organised in South Africa,” said ECM President Ignasi de Delàs at ibtm world.

“It’s a new landmark in ECM development to host the derived version of our successful ECM Summer School. The ECM Academy is a tailor-made course for partner organisations outside Europe. 

“We will do our maximum to guarantee the success of the ECM Academy in Johannesburg by maintaining the highest standard of course content, recruiting the best speakers, and giving the latest examples showcasing the most up-to-date trends in the Meetings Industry.”