[Source: IOC] The International Olympic Committee has approved plans to target African National Olympic Committees (NOCs) as potential host cities of the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2022. The decision was made by members at the IOC Session, following the recommendation of the IOC’s Executive Board earlier this week.

A targeted approach based on the principle adopted by the IOC Session in 2016 will replace the competitive stage seen for previous YOG host city selections, making the process more streamlined, simpler and shorter.

Part of this evolution is to ensure the event is accessible to a greater number of cities, which will be encouraged to make full use of existing and temporary venues. The goal is to elect the host city at the next IOC Session, to be held in October 2018 in Buenos Aires, ahead of the YOG.

This approach has been taken in line with a recent YOG review, to ensure a more impactful and effective concept for young elite athletes, and for host cities.

IOC President Thomas Bach said, “Africa is the home of so many very successful Olympic athletes. Africa is a continent of youth.  That is why we want to take the Youth Olympic Games 2022 to Africa. The IOC will proactively approach a number of African NOCs to evaluate the feasibility of such a project.”

The next few weeks will see the IOC engaging with selected African NOCs to establish the feasibility of staging the Youth Olympic Games 2022. This will be based on the criteria established by the revised YOG model, including use of existing infrastructure and affordable temporary fields of play, enhanced flexibility and adaptation to the local context, with the event to be used as a catalyst for wider youth and sport engagement programmes.

Significant work has already been undertaken by the IOC on the African continent to use sport to protect and invest in young people and drive social transformation, starting with the Youth Olympic Development Centre in Zambia, a facility which supports over 10,000 young athletes, from grass roots through to the international level.

This is supported throughout the continent with the Olympic Solidarity programme that offers assistance to NOCs for athlete development, training of coaches and sports administrators.

Furthermore, in partnership with UNHCR, the IOC also established the Olympic Refuge Foundation in 2017, which aims to create safe, basic and accessible sports facilities in areas where there are refugees, a displaced migrant population and internally displaced people. The IOC has established projects in Rwanda and Ethiopia to ensure the safety and security of young refugees.

IOC Member from Ethiopia, Dagmawit Berhane said,  “Our youth has been hoping and always dreaming to have the world come to Africa and experience the African nations. It’s a pleasure to hear our colleagues in the IOC have the faith and belief in an African nation to host the [Youth Olympic] Games.”

Nawal El Moutawakel, IOC Member and Moroccan Olympic hurdling champion, also commented: “I would like to express my joy at finally seeing such a project being implemented on a continent which has for so long been on the margin of our Olympic Movement. This is going to be a great glimmer of hope for Africa.”

A future Youth Olympic Games edition in Africa will go one step further to build on the sports development work, youth sport events and programmes that are already gaining momentum, such as the African Youth Games, and to further engage with the largest continental youth population.

“There are two different pathways to develop sport. One is to create successful heroes – athletes like Yang Yang, who you had the honour of interviewing just now – and they will inspire youngsters, kids, the media, sponsors to create a lot of interest in the sport.

“The other way is mass participation, through activity. We are working on both solutions, both opportunities at FIS. On the one side organising competitions here in China, which will continue right through with the big progression plan to the 2022 Olympic winter games and long afterwards. This is having a great effort from the Chinese sports authorities to build up new champions to have a lot of success. That will inspire more youngsters, activity and participants.

“On the other side we have developed programmes to get into snow sports. For nearly 10 years the ‘Bring Children to the Snow’ programme has created a lot of interest in China, as well and “Snow Kids” activity and with the annual ‘Snow Day’ since 2012. And now here together with the WWSE in Beijing we will launch the ‘Get Into Snow Sport China’. This is an entrants level course designed to for people to be able to really begin being familiar with snow, learning the basics, enjoying having fun and making friends with snow sports. That’s what it’s all about.

“We are working with the Chinese Ski Association, with Beijing Sport University, with the institutions here in China and commercial partner Alisports to be able to market a course all over the country and create a lot of interest and really make it happen. So there are two ways; champions and getting kids started who have perhaps never seen snow before.

“The goal for the next generation is to have many happy and health new sports participants and, we hope, champions at future events.”

New events at Beijing 2022

“There are many opportunities to include new events. The philosophy of the IOC however is to ensure that the Games remain manageable, that there is not an over-explosion of new facilities required, so that can be many different countries and regions that are capable of hosting the Olympic Winter Games also in the future. So within the six FIS disciplines, we have an excellent blend of traditional sports and young sports and we are able to develop and adapt the disciplines and the events on the programme as society changes, as also the different opportunities – technology, skill, equipment, facilities – and this is exactly what we are doing.

“For Beijing 2022 we are looking at different opportunities. In ski jumping for example, like “friends from Biathlon”, we have a mixed team event for the ski jumping with ladies and men in one team – it’s part of the World Championships since many years. We are also proposing the inclusion of Nordic combined for ladies, which is also an activity we have within FIS, not yet at Olympic level. It will be on the programme of the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne in 2020.

“We are looking to add to the Big Air competition for snowboards, which will be at this fantastic new venue in Shougang in Beijing. Not only snowboard but also to have Ski Big Air, like we have in the World Cup. And, on proposal of Chinese Ski Association and Chinese Olympic Committee, they will also submit a bid to have mixed team aerials.

“So there are some interesting opportunities across the difference disciplines within FIS that the IOC will be asked to evaluate and to consider if they will bring additional value to the Olympic Winter Games.”

This article, composed of statements Sarah Lewis OBE made to the press at World Winter Sports Expo in Beijing, first appeared in the Winter 2017 issue of Host City magazine

Host City, the world’s largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events, took another major step forward this week, recording its greatest participation yet and with the announcement that the event will be returning to Glasgow in 2018 with a greatly increased exhibition.

More cities, event owners and organisers than ever joined the fourth Host City conference and exhibition in Glasgow to hear VIP speakers from international sports federations, cultural events, large scale congresses and mega event organising committees speak on the theme of “High Impact Events in the Current Climate”.

Attendees included more than 50 city representatives, 30 event owners, 20 organising committees, 15 media and two hundred delegates.

Around the two-day conference, Host City’s sponsors presented the event’s biggest exhibition yet, with a 500 square metre exhibition area filled with 10 large stands from organising committees, sports federations, architects and suppliers.

Host City 2017 was opened by the event’s Chairmen, Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at VisitScotland and Sir Craig Reedie CBE, IOC Member and President of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Paul Bush OBE said: “It is great to see so many city representatives, event owners, organising committees and events practitioners in Glasgow for this fantastic conference. While it is an exciting time for the industry with all the technological advancements and the rise in social media allowing events and audiences to be more engaged, it is also a very challenging time. The current security climate, the transparency and governance around the bid process, as well doping and corruption in sport, are all adversely affecting the confidence the public has in bidding for and delivering of major events. This year’s Host City programme has provided the ideal opportunity to tackle these challenges head on and ensure we maintain public support for high impact events around the world.

“That said, I’m delighted Host City will be returning to Glasgow in 2018 and shows the continued positive impact hosting high impact events can have when you have a strong legacy plan in place to build on the success. The return of Host City for a fourth consecutive year is a real endorsement and clearly shows the legacy that’s been built from hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the work Glasgow has done to re-positioned itself as an events and tourism city.”

Sir Craig Reedie said: “Host City 2017’s debate on High Impact Events, with panels and discussions on practically every aspect – the size of the city, safety, technology, entertainment and others – is interesting in the extreme.

“When Host City comes back to Glasgow in 2018 we can expect even more interest and attendance than this year, which is this best attended yet.”

Participants in Host City 2017 included: Christophe Dubi, Olympic Games Executive Director, International Olympic Committee; Patrick Baumann, President, General Association of International Sports Federations; Sarah Lewis, Secretary General, Association of International Olympic Winter Federations; David Grevemberg CBE, Chief Executive, Commonwealth Games Federation; Hiromi Kawamura, Public Relations Secretary, Tokyo 2020; Jooho Kim, Executive Vice President of Games Planning and Operations, PyeongChang 2018; Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Deputy Mayor of Budapest and senior figures from non-sports events including Cirque du Soleil and World Expos.

Conference Director Ben Avison said “We are delighted to be returning next November to Glasgow and Scotland, where Host City has developed so rapidly over the last three years. With the incredibly high standard of participation this year, we look forward to a great flourishing of the exhibition space in 2018 around this peerless, world class conference of cities and cross-sector events.”

For further information on the panel sessions and other world class speakers for Host City 2017, please visit: www.hostcity.com

The reasons behind the evolving event hosting landscape can be debated: better informed government officials; a new point of view from the public; PR-sensitive executives thinking about impact on sponsors – but there is no disputing that a major shift has occurred in the global event hosting landscape. The referendums and political hand-wringing taking place before major event bidding are prime examples of this evolution.

This “new normal” provides a unique opportunity for government and rightsholders to align on mutually-beneficial outcomes, with both sides required to come to the bargaining table with current and accurate data to develop a plan that has meaningful results for the host community.

Government can, and should, take responsibility for the pre-event work. Through online surveys, social listening and in-person attendance at community meetings, government officials can develop a firm understanding of the outcomes a host community would find most useful. This informed perspective will allow government officials to have direct conversations with rightsholders – a critical portion of the conversation that is often not addressed. Rightsholders are often willing to consider working with a government to provide them what they need, but typically, the government simply responds with “what are you offering” instead of leveraging this opportunity to create a meaningful impact. To create a meaningful environment of partnership and collaboration, government officials must approach this moment with specific deliverables the host community seeks.

Government officials should come to the table with key pieces of data in-hand:

• Preferred sport or cultural activity of your constituents, by neighborhood, would allow government and rightsholders to focus on specific areas of a city that could be more receptive and supportive of hosting the event
• Education, arts, and health and wellness needs, by neighborhood, would allow government and rightsholders to consider short-term impact and long-term legacy plans that result in locally meaningful outcomes
• Planned infrastructure development would allow government and rightsholders to accurately involve event-necessary works to be integrated into already planned and funded projects
• Economic development goals, by neighborhood, would allow government and rightsholders to understand which local businesses can be event partners
• Tourism data that explains hotel occupancy, visitors by market, interest and spend, in addition to plans for growth into future markets

Throughout the lead-up to the event, during the event and post-event, rightsholders should evolve beyond event producer to community partner. With the understanding that taking any free minute away from event preparation is difficult, elevating the needs of the host community into the day-to-day decision-making process has many benefits. This mindset has the potential to result in a host community that:

• Strives for a positive event experience for participants, staff and partners
• Understands and appreciates the event’s tangible and intangible outcomes
• Attends the main event and supports ancillary events
• Enthusiastically welcomes the event’s return

Rightsholders also have the opportunity to significantly increase their positive impact on the host community by organizing their partners, sponsors, participants, fans and investors. Each one of these stakeholder groups has a vested interest in the success of the event, and therefore, has a vested interested in the host community. The greater understanding the rightsholder has of the social responsibility and financial goals of each stakeholder group, the better alignment they can foster with an informed government and interested host community.

This approach may require rightsholders to reconsider which members of their organization have influence in their strategic planning. Specifically, rightsholders will need to examine if the most significant decisions their organization undertakes are weighed fully against commercial and community benefits. The rightsholders that can maximize commercial returns around community-focused decisions are the organizations that are most well-prepared for this moment in time.

Lastly, rightsholders must understand government. There are many factors that influence the government decision-making process and pace. For instance, your event may align with all of the goals of the government, but it may not be an ideal time for a government leader to commit to your event from a political perspective. This is just one example of the difficult and frustrating process of working with government. In these situations, try and help your government partner get to “yes”. If there’s a groundswell of support from the community for hosting your event, then committing to the event just became a lot easier.

Improved and informed dialogue between government and rightsholders has the potential to deliver results to host communities that they find meaningful and transformational, while keeping rightsholders commercially successful. With data-driven insights and measured outcomes at the center of these negotiations, plans and work, this moment of event hosting evolution can result in events driving meaningful transformation in neighborhoods, cities and countries.

About the Author

Mike Hopper has spent his career at the intersection of sports, government and community relations, while working side-by-side with Mike Bloomberg and George Steinbrenner. 

Prior to establishing Advance Brand Consulting, Mike held senior positions with SPORTS195, Teneo Consulting, NYC & Company – NYC’s Official Tourism & Marketing Bureau, the New York City Mayor’s Office, and the New York Yankees. He now leads Advance Brand Consulting, which focuses on cultivating the relationship between sports leagues and teams, governments and communities, to ensure each party achieves their goals while understanding the goals of the others.

Mike Hopper spoke at Host City 2015, the largest meeting of sports, business and cultural events.

Scotland is celebrating becoming the next host nation of The Solheim Cup following the official handover to Gleneagles at the culmination of the 2017 event at Des Moines Golf & Country Club in Iowa.
The American team triumphed over Europe in a thrilling contest which showcased the very best of women’s golf and now the responsibility for staging the biggest event in the women’s game rests with Scotland when Team USA will look to defend the title at Gleneagles in 2019.
The official handover was recognised at the closing ceremony of The 2017 Solheim Cup during which junior golfers Anna Mackay and Eilidh Henderson accepted the honour of hosting the 2019 event on behalf of Scotland.
Anna and Eilidh were chosen to represent Scotland as part of the #Project19 initiative which saw six junior girls attend The 2017 Solheim Cup as part of Scotland’s delegation to experience a major event and inspire them looking ahead to 2019.
The closing ceremony, which was broadcast worldwide, also featured a performance from up-and-coming Dundee band BeCharlotte to showcase the very best of young Scottish talent in both sport and music.
The 2019 Solheim Cup will take place at Gleneagles from 13-15 September 2019 with the PING Junior Solheim Cup played at the same venue earlier in the week. The event underlines Scotland’s commitment to supporting women’s golf and growing junior and female participation as well as showcasing Scotland as a world-class golf tourism and events destination.
Scotland’s staging of The 2019 Solheim Cup is being led by the EventScotland team within VisitScotland’s events directorate. Paul Bush, Director of Events with VisitScotland, said: “We have witnessed a truly world-class exhibition of golf in Des Moines for The 2017 Solheim Cup with huge crowds supporting both teams and a massive worldwide TV audience.  I hope this success has whetted the appetite of spectators for Gleneagles and demonstrated the sheer scale of the event coming to Scotland in 2019.
“It was a great experience for our junior golfers Anna and Eilidh, and an up-and-coming band in BeCharlotte, to represent Scotland in the handover and demonstrates our commitment to using The Solheim Cup as a vehicle to supporting young Scottish talent.”
Tickets for The 2019 Solheim Cup will be going on sale from Thursday 24th August on www.solheimcup2019.com with daily, weekly and family packages available. As well as attracting a strong golfing audience in Scotland, the event will also be aimed at families with a host of family-orientated activities available on site.
It is also a key event in Scotland’s goal of growing golf tourism with a number of Authorised Tour Operators already promoting travel packages to The 2019 Solheim Cup. Currently 12 per cent of golf visitors to Scotland are women but The Solheim Cup offers the opportunity to promote Scotland, the Home of Golf, to many more female golfers.
Golf tourism is currently worth £286 million annually to Scotland with a target to grow that to £300 million by 2020.

The IOC and the bid committees of Los Angeles and Paris have agreed to work together on what the IOC President and LA Mayor have both described as the “golden opportunity” of awarding 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously.

However, there is no guarantee of securing a host for 2028 before the next IOC session in Lima in September.

Speaking from the Extraordinary IOC Session in Lausanne, former IOC Vice President Sir Craig Reedie told Host City: “The IOC, having had issues with a shortage of candidates for previous Winter Games, now find themselves in a situation of having two outstanding candidates for the Summer Games of 2024.

“The Session decided that it would allow the creation of a tripartite solution involving the IOC and both of the cities, LA and Paris, to see if an agreement could be reached whereby one would agree to organise 2024 and a different city to organise 2028.

“This tripartite agreement is likely to take some time. If not successful, there will be a contest in Lima to award the 2024 Games. This solution was unanimously accepted by the IOC Session.”

The LA2024 bid committee welcomed the IOC decision with this statement: “This is a proud day for Los Angeles and the Olympic and Paralympic Movements in America.

“We're thrilled with the IOC's decision today, which is a major step forward in making LA's Olympic dream a reality.

“Today, two of the world's greatest cities, with outstanding but different proposals, stand ready to serve and advance the Olympic and Paralympic movements and their values. We look forward to working with the IOC and Paris in the weeks ahead to turn this golden opportunity into a golden future together.”

Paris mayor Anne Hildago tweeted: “#Lausanne marks the beginning of a great story between Olympic family, #Paris and #LosAngeles. Thanks to the members of the IOC.”

IOC member and co-president of Paris 2024 bid committee Tony Estanguet tweeted: “Today is day one of a new chapter. Three partners working together to strengthen Olympism.”

But not everyone is convinced that the IOC’s move is a result of positive factors. One delegate at Major Events International Summit on the Olympic park on Wednesday told Host City: “This is not a sign of strength but of weakness. They only have two candidates.”

In a wide-ranging interview to be published in the next issue of Host City magazine, Sir Craig Reedie gave an upbeat assessment of the bidding process for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

“Looking at the Winter Games that’s where there may be an indication of reason for hope. There is a potential bid from Stockholm, which is hopeful because if ever a country deserved a Winter Olympic Games it’s Sweden. They are a leading Winter sports country that have never hosted the Games.

"There is a good candidate in Switzerland from Sion and potential Innsbruck from Austria. Calgary are looking at it again, so perhaps we are moving out of the phase that the IOC had where, particularly in Europe, politicians seemed to be very loath to take on the major multisport Olympic events on the basis of their inability to control costs.”

Sir Craig Reedie is speaking at Host City 2017 in Glasgow on 28 and 29 November.

The membership of the IOC on Tuesday unanimously approved the proposal to award the hosting rights of both the 2024 and 2028 Games at the next IOC session in Lima in September.

The unprecedented decision means both cities currently bidding for the 2024 Games – Los Angeles and Paris – are set to become Olympic host cities, subject to agreement from the respective cities and national Olympic committees over which city will host which edition.

IOC President Thomas Bach described the IOC decision a "golden opportunity" for all involved.

"We are ready to work with them on this 'win-win-win' approach," said Emmanuel Macron, President of France who attended the IOC session in Lausanne.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said: "I am fully committed with the Paris team to putting all my energy, our creativity and my resolve into reaching an agreement for Paris to experience once again this Olympic adventure that it has been longing for for 100 years."

Prior to this decision, Paris has ruled out hosting the Games in 2028, while Los Angeles had not dismissed this possibility. The city that hosts the 2028 Games is expected to ask for concessions from the IOC.

"In Olympic history there's only been 37 times in which there has been a tie for a gold medal. Maybe today is the 38th," Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti said. "For Los Angeles, it's a golden opportunity, one that we don’t take lightly."

The IOC proposal approved by the IOC membership is as follows: "Recognising the exceptional circumstances and unique opportunities presented by the candidatures of Los Angeles and Paris for the Olympic Games 2024, the International Olympic Committee takes the following decision:

1. To authorise the IOC Executive Board to conclude a tripartite agreement with Los Angeles and Paris and their respective NOCs for the simultaneous election of the host cities of the Olympic Games 2024 and 2028 during the 131st IOC Session in Lima;

2. Should such tripartite agreement be concluded, the 131st IOC Session will ratify the tripartite agreement, thereby electing one city for the Olympic Games 2024 and the other city for the Olympic Games 2028. To that effect, the 130th IOC Session hereby waives the seven-year deadline set out in Rule 33.2 of the Olympic Charter; and

3. Should such tripartite agreement not be concluded, the 131st IOC Session will proceed with the election of the host city 2024 in accordance with the current election procedure."

Earlier in the day, the delegations of Los Angeles 2024, led by Mayor Garcetti, and Paris 2024, led by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, made outstanding and emotional presentations at the 2024 Candidate City Briefing.

"Ensuring the stability of the Olympic Games for 11 years is something extraordinary," the IOC President said later at a press conference with the two mayors and leaders from the two candidatures.

"That is why we say this is a great day for the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement, and it's a great day also for these two wonderful cities, these two great Olympic cities."

Susan Sawbridge has joined the New Zealand Major Events team at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to head up a new unit focused on event prospecting.

The New Zealand government has established a new Major Event Prospecting Secretariat and independent panel, which will see the country’s government agencies working together to drive a proactive major event prospecting programme.

Led by Susan Sawbridge and housed within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Major Events Prospecting Secretariat will work closely with central government agencies, local government and sector bodies to ensure New Zealand continues to attract and develop significant international events. 

Susan previously managed event prospecting and bidding for the city of Auckland.

 “This is a really exciting time for us and we are incredibly fortunate to have secured Susan’s talent to champion the government’s approach to prospecting,” said Devorah Blumberg, Manager of New Zealand Major Events.

Susan Sawbridge said, “New Zealand’s major events capability is now very well established, so it’s a perfect opportunity to move prospecting into an even more collaborative and strategic space – both from our perspective and also for events rights holders.”

New Zealand Major Events is a member of the International Association of Event Hosts and a participant in Host City 2017.

The IOC Executive Board on 9 June put forward a proposal to award the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games to Los Angeles and Paris simultaneously and address challenges around the bidding process for future Games.

The dual awarding proposal will be put to IOC Members at a new Extraordinary Session in Lausanne on 11 and 12 July, when a “Candidate City Briefing” had already been scheduled.

IOC Members had been scheduled to choose between Los Angeles and Paris as the host city of the 2024 Games at the IOC Session in Lima on 13-17 September. With this public statement from the Executive Board, IOC Members are now set to approve in July the proposal to award the Games to both candidates and seize what President Thomas Bach described as a “golden opportunity” and engage in a process of “discussions and negotiation” with the cities to establish when, and not if, they will host the Games.

The IOC’s four Vice Presidents – John Coates, Uğur Erdener, Juan Antonio Samaranch and Yu Zaiqing – have been leading on internal discussions around this possibility in recent months. During SportAccord Convention in April, Samaranch told a small group of media including Host City “Internally we are thinking of how we can be more flexible to have a selection system that better suits our interests and the interests of the Olympic movement.”

Throughout the bid process Paris has said it would not wait until 2028 while Los Angeles has taken a more flexible stance. LA 2024 Candidature Committee Chairman Casey Wasserman said in a statement earlier in the week “LA 2024 has never been only about LA or 2024. Even when the issue of a dual award for the 2024 and 2028 Games was initially raised, we didn’t say it’s ‘LA first’ or it’s ‘now or never’ for LA: that sounds like an ultimatum.”

Wasserman and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued the following joint statement on Twitter: “We welcome the IOC Executive Board’s decision to recognise two excellent bids from two of the world’s greatest cities. With no new permanent venues to build and unwavering public support, Los Angeles is an eternal Olympic city an ideal partner for the IOC.

“We look forward to sharing our unique story with the IOC membership in July and working together to offer the best path forward for our city the Olympic Movement’s future.”

Speaking at the press conference on 9 June, Bach said: “The situation of these candidature for 2024, having two such great cities and such great countries, having two candidatures which are really enthusiastic and really promoting the Olympic Games and Olympic Spirit in a great way – this represents a golden opportunity for the Olympic Games and the IOC.”

“Both cities have really embraced Olympic Agenda 2020 in different ways but particularly in the way they are planning to use a record number of existing and temporary facilities. This is something we have not seen in this dimension before in the Olympic Games and this will lead to significant cost reductions in the organisation of the Olympic Games and will make the Games more sustainable and more feasible.”

“We want to make this change and we can make this change and we can do it without amending the Olympic Charter. The Charter is flexible enough in this respect.”

“First of all, it is the IOC Members who have to express themselves on this proposal and only after the Members have had this opportunity will we enter in to deeper discussions with the Candidate Cities. Conversations so far have been very open. No one has closed the door. Discussions and negotiation may start, but only after Members have given the green light to this.

“The signal we are sending is very clear – a golden opportunity and a fascinating race. It is hard to imagine something better. It is also a strong signal of stability for the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games. It is an expression of mutual confidence. It is also offering a great potential for the two cities to cooperate. Transfer of knowledge could even start from day one – there could also be the joint development of some turnkey solutions.  There is a great potential in such a double allocation.”

2026 Olympic Games bids

The Executive Board also agreed on the direction of changes to the bidding procedure for future Olympic Games, including the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, which Stockholm pulled out of bidding for in April.

“There are two reasons why the Executive Board thinks a change is necessary: one external, one internal,” Bach said at the press conference.

“Firstly, the change in the decision-making procedure in many western countries. Today if the establishment is united behind one project, people now say there must be something wrong. We could complain about this change in attitude but we cannot ignore it. Even less so, because we are giving some arguments for this scepticism.

“To put it in a nutshell, the candidature procedure in this world we are living in has become too expensive and too onerous for potential candidate cities and in this way it is producing too many losers. The IOC will customize its approach to the needs of the cities in order to develop together the best value proposition for the cities and for the Games.  All this will lead to a lighter process for the cities with reduced costs.”

IOC Members will discuss the new approaches at the Extraordinary Session in July.

Ireland has submitted its formal bid document to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, promising a “tournament like no other, full of Irish spirit, that will capture the imagination of the world and help to drive Rugby’s global momentum.”

Ireland, which has never hosted the tournament before, are joined by former hosts South Africa and France in the race to stage the major international event.

Ireland’s 990-page file set out the candidate’s attributes as a host for the Rugby World Cup in 2023 (RWC 2023), including all the key Government commitments required by World Rugby, promises of “unprecedented commercial success” and the ability to “unlock and engage new audiences for Rugby, including through the infrastructure of the worldwide Irish Diaspora.”

The bid includes a full commitment from the Government of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Executive to support RWC 2023 as required by Rugby World Cup Limited, including paying the GB£120m tournament fee.

The tournament is said to a priority for the island of Ireland, which comprises the Republic of Ireland and the UK nation of Northern Ireland, who compete as a united team in the sport internationally.

Projecting an overall positive economic impact on the island of Ireland of more than €1.5 billion, the bid highlights the event as Ireland’s “sole focus in terms of a major international sporting event” from the turn of the decade.

In contrast, the French capital of Paris is currently bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 World Expo. South Africa earlier this year withdrew from hosting 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Ireland’s candidature file was submitted to World Rugby headquarters in Dublin by a delegation led 11 year old “bid kid” Alex Place from Co. Antrim – one of 120 children carrying flags to represent every rugby playing nation of the world. He said “It is a great honour to present this bid document to World Rugby on behalf of all the people of Ireland.”

Dick Spring, Chairman, RWC 2023 Bid Oversight Board, said: “This bid represents the hopes and aspirations of the entire Island and is focussed very firmly on the future, as symbolised by the children who were front and centre of the bid submission today.

“It presents World Rugby with a compelling proposition that combines all the advantages of a traditional Rugby market with the many opportunities of a new one.

“Rugby is hugely popular in Ireland and growing, from this platform Irish sports fans will light up the tournament in the manner they have lit up so many international events around the world over the years, making it memorable for all.

“This bid is grounded in certainty through: unparalleled Government support; the availability and suitability of sold out, iconic stadiums set in the heart of cities and towns; and, of course Ireland’s unrivalled access, through our diaspora, to the North American market. When one adds to that our massive tourism infrastructure one is guaranteed  a tournament like no other for world rugby, visitors and home supporters alike.

The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, said: “This Bid has the total support of the Irish Government. We can guarantee that Ireland has the capacity to deliver a wonderful Rugby World Cup in 2023 which will have the backing of people throughout the island. We will welcome the world to our shores and encourage interest in the game of rugby like never before.”

Sir Malcolm McKibbin, Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service said: “This is a historic day. The Rugby World Cup is one of the largest sporting events on the planet. North and south we are passionate about this magnificent sport that brings people together. We are united across the island behind this bid to host the event in 2023 which would give us an unprecedented opportunity to showcase our sporting talent and world class tourism on a global stage.

“In Northern Ireland we have been punching well above our weight for many years when it comes to hosting events with a worldwide audience and I genuinely believe that this bid has what it takes to deliver a spectacular event. I want to pay tribute to everyone involved in putting together the bid which exemplifies the strength of partnership working throughout the island.”

 Shane Ross TD, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport said: “Today is the culmination of almost five years of work since the IRFU first explored the idea in the aftermath of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, work by the IRFU, the Government, our counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive, and many unsung people working very hard behind the scenes.  I am fully confident we have put in a bid that best reflects Ireland’s strengths, attributes, and our capacity to host a tournament that would do Ireland and World Rugby proud.”

Stephen Hilditch, President, Irish Rugby Football Union: “Ireland has never hosted a Rugby World Cup and we believe choosing Ireland as a first-time host would be a forward-looking step for World Rugby and a signal that Rugby is a truly global game for all. We were inspired to mount this bid by New Zealand’s wonderful hosting of the 2011 tournament and believe that our ‘Global Stadium’ concept will bring a unique cultural dimension to the tournament, acting as a powerful catalyst to Rugby’s worldwide growth.”

“Our bid combines the operational benefits of a small, but dynamic and influential island with the exciting possibilities of an unprecedented international reach for World Rugby. It is a thrilling prospect for all.”

World Rugby will elect the host of the 2023 Rugby World Cup on 15 November 2017.