The International Rugby Board, which has governed Rugby Union under that name since 1886, is to be known as World Rugby from 19 November as part of a rebrand that underlines the organisation’s commitment to global inclusivity. 

The rebrand is linked to the governing body's stated mission “to build a stronger connection with fans, players and new audiences worldwide.”

"In a crowded global entertainment and sporting marketplace, the role of the IRB has evolved from Game regulator to Game inspirer," said IRB Chief Executive Brett Gosper.

"With this we must continue to appeal to those who know and love the sport and its heritage, while attracting, engaging and inspiring those who have no connection with the sport across multiple cultures and languages around the world.

"World Rugby collectively has the ingredients and tools to do just that. Rugby’s global appeal is founded and positioned on its unique character-building values and inclusive ethos and we want everyone to feel connected with the sport and Rugby’s ongoing success story." 

Further details of the new brand, including the new logo, will be revealed at the IRB World Rugby Conference and Exhibition, which takes place in London on November 17-18. 

"This move is more than just a name change, it is a mission statement,” said IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset. 

"Rugby continues to thrive, reach out and engage new audiences and participants in record numbers and the IRB has been at the heart of that growth. We are committed to furthering that growth beyond our traditional family and fan base with a public that expects to be entertained, informed and interacted with.”

Worldwide participation in rugby is has tripled to reach 6.6 million players over the past four years. The IRB cites the Rugby World Cup and the inclusion of rugby sevens in the Olympic Games as contributing factors, coupled with development strategies and record investment.

The rebrand also opens the opportunity for launching new event properties. "World Rugby clearly aligns our name with our mission and allows us to organise new and existing consumer facing properties in a way that they will be more impactful and more appealing to the sport's growing global fan base," said Lapasset. 

The branding and positioning of Rugby World Cup 2015 will remain unchanged. 

To read an exclusive interview with IRB / World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper, register to receive the next issue of HOST CITY magazine for free. 

To register for the 2014 World Rugby Conference and Exhibition at the Hilton Metropole, London, visit www.irb.com/confex

Two of football’s most influential figures are to speak at the World Football Forum in Moscow on 13th November 2014, with successful event hosting and financial fair play on the agenda

Ricardo Trade, CEO of the local organising committee of Brazil 2014 will tell the World Football Forum audience about his experience of organising the world’s biggest single-sport event. 

After playing as goalkeeper of the Brazilian handball team, Ricardo Trade became team trainer and supervisor for the Brazilian Volleyball Federation, participating in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Trade was operations director of the 2007 Rio de Janeiro Pan-American Games and participated in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games’ victorious bid campaign.

Ron Gourlay, Chief Executive of Chelsea Football Club will lead a discussion of UEFA financial fair play (FFP) regulations. Since the introduction of FFP in 2011, clubs that have qualified for UEFA competitions have to prove they do not have overdue payments towards other clubs, their players and social/tax authorities from throughout the season. 

Through this initiative, UEFA aims to prevent clubs going into debt, even applying sanctions that include exclusion from European competitions between 2014 and 2015. The World Football Forum 2014 provides the platform for one of the world’s most successful football clubs, Chelsea FC, to explain how they are tackling this current and fundamental issue in European club football, from the commercialisation of the stadium assets to grass root youth development.

The World Football Forum in Moscow, which takes place on 13th November 2014, is a partner event of HOST CITY

The company was selected following an international tender process.

Under its partnership with Rio 2016, Eventim will provide a ticketing platform for Brazilian and international customers. The company has previous Olympic experience having served the 2006 and 2014 winter Games, in Turin, Italy and Sochi, Russia, respectively. 

Rio 2016 runs from August 5-21, with the Paralympic Games following from September 7-18. A total of nine million tickets are expected to be issued across the event’s sporting programme.

Eventim said: “In its partnership with Rio 2016, Eventim will continue to contribute to the Olympic and Paralympic movement by providing a robust, state-of-the-art ticketing platform, building on those which have been delivered for Torino 2006 and Sochi 2014 and embracing technological and operational know-how.

“Through their cooperation, Eventim and Rio 2016 shall ensure the delivery of a fair and transparent system for the distribution of tickets for Brazilian and international customers.”

Rio 2016 last month marked the two-year countdown to the opening of the Olympic Games by vowing that the delays and cost overruns which hit preparations for the 2014 Fifa World Cup will not be repeated.

Brazil’s staging of the World Cup was widely judged to be a major success, but the build-up saw significant delays in the delivery of stadia and price increases in preparing the venues.

This led to fears over Rio 2016, but local organising committee chief executive, Sidney Levy, told the Bloomberg news agency: “The time has come for the Brazilian people to deliver something on time, on budget, with full transparency. We can always fail, but that’s what we are willing to do.” 

Rio 2016 said construction across the four competition zones stood at 55 per cent completion on August 5.

In advance of his presentation at HOST CITY: Bid to Win, Carlos Nuzman says Rio’s regeneration will outshine that of any previous host city.

For more information about attending HOST CITY: Bid to Win, visit www.bidtowin-hostcity.net

The companies, which were involved in the UAE’s bid to host the historic exhibition, are currently undertaking site readiness activities, and will advise the Dubai Expo 2020 Higher Preparatory Committee in a number of areas.

The Committee said that the two companies had been appointed due to their “successful involvement” with the original masterplan, their detailed knowledge of the project and experience of working on other major events.

The host location will be a 438-hectare site that stretches from Dubai Trade Centre to Jebel Ali and comprises a 150-hectare Expo area plus hospitality, logistics and accommodation facilities.

HOK and Arup will work on the Expo masterplan comprising the urban design and engineering, landscaping, signage, overlay, sustainability, transportation, logistics, facility management and event operations.

Construction work will begin when the Bureau of International Expositions, the governing body of the World Expo, approves the plan, with a decision expected by November 2015.

The plans will correlate with Dubai’s ‘Smart City’ agenda, with the Expo site being designed to serve as a prototype for information and communications technology innovations, particularly in education and entertainment.

The exhibition site is designed to accommodate up to 300,000 visitors, with average week-day attendance expected at 153,000.

“Expos have been home to some of the world’s most landmark structures, from the Crystal Palace in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris,” the Committee’s Managing Director, Reem Al Hashimy, said, according to Gulf Business.

“Dubai is committed to building on this tradition and making the entire site an experiential environment that fully embodies the essence of our theme ‘connecting minds, creating the future’.”

Committee Member Helal Almarri added: “The masterplan design and execution is driven by a clear vision for its legacy, integrating sustainable urban development with opportunities to foster economic and social development for the emirate, for the country and for our region.”

Dubai overcame Ekaterinburg (Russia), Izmir (Turkey) and Sao Paulo (Brazil) to secure the hosting rights in November last year.

The exhibition site will be designed to accommodate up to 300,000 visitors, with average weekday attendance at the six-month event, which will run from October 2020 to April 2021, likely to be about 150,000.

Cities around the world are currently expressing their interest in hosting future World Expos, with the hosts of the International Exposition in 2023 and Universal Exposition in 2025 expected to be determined over the next two to three years.

Glasgow 2014 has taken the decision to exclude the demolition of Red Road flats from the opening ceremony, concerned that public opposition might spark security incidents.

Having announced less than two weeks ago that Red Road flats would be demolished as part of the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, Glasgow 2014 has abandoned the plans in the face of widespread strong feelings of opposition.

Opposition to the proposal was led by former parliamentarian Carolyn Leckie, whose online petition gathered 17,240 signatures. On hearing the news, she tweeted “huge respect to decision makers prepared to change their mind. That’s the kind of democracy I want to live in.”

The organising committee was due to meet with Leckie early this week to discuss the proposals, with the intention of standing by its bold plan. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Glasgow 2014 told Host City: “Glasgow 2014 and Games Partners remain committed to ensuring the important story of Red Road is part of the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.  

“We want the story of Glasgow and Scotland to be real and authentic and reflecting the lives and history of communities such as Red Road, especially at such an important point in their regeneration.”

“We recognise the passion people feel for Glasgow and respect the wide range of views being expressed on how the city is represented in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games.”

On Thursday, David Grevemberg wrote to Host City readers confirming his support for the plans. “Bringing the Red Road story into the opening ceremony was opportunity to commemorate an important part of Glasgow’s social history in a unique and powerful way,” he wrote.

“There is no doubt the decision to include it in the opening ceremony is new territory. It is reflective of an opening ceremony designed to celebrate Glasgow’s authenticity, passion and ambition.”

However, in the interests of public safety, the organising committee decided to back down over the weekend. In a statement, David Grevemberg, Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014 said: “We made it clear from the outset the absolute priority was safety and that this event would only happen during the opening ceremony if it was safe to do so.

“Over the past few days it has become clear that opinions have been expressed which change the safety and security context. Glasgow 2014, Games Partners and key stakeholders, including Police Scotland and Glasgow Housing Association, are not prepared to allow what was proposed to be a positive act of commemoration to create risk for all concerned, including the communities of north east Glasgow.”

The opening ceremony will still reflect the regeneration of Glasgow, with a renewed emaphasis on public engagement. A spokesperson for Glasgow 2014 told Host City: “We are working to ensure plans for the ceremonies are properly represented and we are reviewing how we can best engage with people on this issue.

“The ceremonies create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share positive aspects of city and national life with a global audience. Over coming weeks we look forward to sharing further details of the variety of different stories our Ceremonies will tell.”

Soccerex has announced that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Royal Jordanian Airlines, PepsiCo and the Jordan Tourism Board have committed to the Soccerex Asian Forum, which takes place from 13-14 May on the banks of the Dead Sea in Jordan, in partnership with the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP).

Royal Jordanian Airlines – voted Airline of the Year by Air Finance Journal in 2007 – is now the official airline partner of the Forum. PepsiCo, the official sponsor of the AFC, and the Jordan Tourism Board have signed up as official event supporters. 

Pepsi (PepsiCo) will act as official drinks supplier of the event while the Jordan Tourism Board will sponsor a social evening taking place at the Marriott Dead Sea Spa & Resort on Tuesday 13 May.

“We are very excited to bring this impressive selection of global brands to the event,” said Soccerex CEO Duncan Revie. “These are first-class organisations that bring the sport and the community together, and we believe will help Jordan and the rest of the continent become a destination for the global industry and soccer fans alike for many years to come.”

The local organising committee of the 2015 Asian Cup will be partnering with Austrade, the Australian Trade Commission, to host Café Australia, the networking hub at the heart of the exhibition hall. 

Australia is joined by India, Korea and other Asian federations, demonstrating the Asian Forum’s status as a significant gateway to Asia for the global industry. In addition to national associations, a number of premier footballing institutions including FIFA, The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, The FA, La Liga, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona, the Japan Football Association and Galatasaray, have signed up for the event.

The AFC is also involved in the content of the event, updating delegates on the delivery of the Cup in a panel dedicated to major events. AFC Vice-President Moya Dodd will provide an outlook on the issues surrounding women’s football in Asia.

The Forum, held in partnership with the AFDP founded and chaired by HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, brings together leading figures from the world of Asian football as well as other international football experts to discuss the development of the game across Asia. The conference agenda includes a review of the opportunities and challenges facing Asian football.

The presidents of 12 national football associations have so far confirmed their attendance at the Soccerex Asian Forum, which takes place on 13-14 May on the banks of the Dead Sea in Jordan. 

These officials are the ultimate decision makers for football in major middle eastern, Asian and western markets. And with FIFA introducing new regulations on the selection of host cities for future world cups, they administrators will also have a say in some of the biggest decisions in world football. 

Leading the list of FA presidents will be HRH Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, (Jordan), Sunil Gulati, (USA), H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, (Qatar) and Chung Mong-gyu, (Korea), alongside FA presidents from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Papua New Guinea and the Honorary President for Norway. According to Soccerex, many more are expected to confirm shortly. 

“The quality and quantity of the attendees singing up for the Forum is truly outstanding. As the key decision makers behind commercial and development projects for their own FAs as well as international matters such as future World Cup host selection, these presidents are amongst the most important footballing administrators on the planet,” said Duncan Revie, CEO of Soccerex.

Other senior representatives from Asia attending include AFC Vice-President and Football Federation Board Member Moya Dodd, All-India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das and Singapore FA General Secretary Winston Lee, as well as their counterparts from Turkmenistan and Bangladesh. 

Other premier footballing institutions represented include FIFA, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, The FA (UK), La Liga, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona, the Japan Football Association and Galatasaray. 

Organised in partnership with the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP), the Forum is a unique platform for businesses looking to expand their network and to present themselves to these industry leaders. 

Chaired by HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, the event brings together the leading figures from the world of Asian football as well as other international football experts to discuss the development of the game across Asia. The conference agenda will include a review of the opportunities for growth and the challenges facing Asian football.

For further details about the Soccerex Asian Forum please read the full conference programme or contact Soccerex on +44 208 987 5522 or enquiry@soccerex.com. 

In a major blow to the organisers of the World Cup, police strikes have led to Salvador being run by armed forces. Meanwhile in Rio de Janeiro, federal police officers have threatened to strike during the World Cup. 

The Brazilian government sent 5,000 troops to of Salvador on Wednesday after the world cup host city was hit by police strikes and civil unrest. According to the Defence ministry, the military operation was authorised by President Dilma Rousseff based on a request from the Jaques Wagner, governor of the state of Bahia.

And on Sunday, a group of 300 people including federal police officers marched through Rio’s Avenida Atlântica carrying white elephants. “We have the same proposal colleagues of Brasilia and other states: Stopping during the World Cup," said André Vaz de Mello, president of the federal police’s union.

The workers include forensics professionals, crucial for security control at airports. Such strike action could paralyse the World Cup.

Describing the World Cup as "an important moment for the country," President Rousseff has committed the government to ensuring security during the World Cup in all host cities. 

"The federal government will not agree with any kind of violence and we will not let the World Cup be contaminated," she told a meeting of the council for economic and social development in Brasilia on Wednesday. “The armed forces will participate, we will use the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police and we have partnerships with all state governors."

Meanwhile, construction workers continue to strike on Rio’s Olympic Park. The widespread strike action coincides with a period of intense scrutiny on the progress of these hugely important mega events.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Worldwide IT Partner, Atos, has been appointed chief systems integrator for the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which takes place in June 2015 in Singapore.

Atos will design, build and operate the technology infrastructure and IT systems for the Games, as well as managing and integrating the contributions of all technology partners to deliver the Games in a seamless and secure manner. 

The contract encompasses operations, services and communications to athletes, spectators, organisers, officials, media, viewers, spectators and internet users in Southeast Asia.

Atos will draw on its many years of experience of providing technology for the Olympic Movement, including 12 years as the IOC’s Worldwide IT Partner. The company’s most recent project was the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. 

“There is no other sports IT project of this magnitude and complexity,” said Herbert Leung, CEO of Atos in Asia Pacific. “Each Games has been a steep but rewarding learning curve for Atos, as we overcame the myriad of challenges unique to each new location and deliver on an extraordinary scale as the entire world watched on.”

Atos delivered the IT infrastructure and systems during the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010 in Singapore. Leung said “We look forward to working closely with SINGSOC again to deliver a seamless regional sporting event against the backdrop of Singapore’s brand new Sports Hub in Kallang whilst showcasing our expertise.”

Mr Toh Boon Yi, Chief of Community & Corporate Outreach, SINGSOC said “We are pleased to be working with Atos Information Technology in hosting a major multi-sport event for Singapore once again. 

“As we prepare for the upcoming SEA Games in 2015 we are confident that Atos has the specialist skills to raise the bar and help us deliver an extraordinary regional sporting event.”

Atos has also recently signed a sponsorship agreement with the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada. As Worldwide IT Partner of the IOC, the company is contracted to provide IT services for the next five Olympic Games.

The 28th SEA Games will be held from 5-16 June 2015, with Singapore Sports Hub as the main venue. The Games is held in conjunction with Singapore’s 50th anniversary and will host more than 7,000 athletes and officials from 36 sports. Singapore last hosted the SEA Games in 1993.

Scottish supported businesses, which employ people with disabilities, have been awarded five contracts valuing £1m (US$1.7bn) to help prepare for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. 

Glasgow-based RSBi will provide a logistics workforce and handle materials for the Athletes’ Village. RSBi have also been awarded a contract for a specialist package including supply, installation and removal of curtains and blinds in the residential accommodation of athletes and team officials.

Dovetail will provide 7,500 single size mattress protectors while Haven will supply around 17,000 laundry bags for the Village. North Lanarkshire Industries (previously known as Beltane) will distribute baton-bearer uniforms for the domestic sector of the Queen’s Baton Relay, as well as being contracted to provide 7,500 pillows for the Athletes’ Village.

The supported business sector in Scotland provides employment to people with disabilities and a potential pathway into the open labour market. It employs around 1,000 people and generates a turnover of more than £32m (US$54m)per annum.

“The £1 million boost to Scottish supported businesses - on top of the 73 per cent of Games related contracts already secured by Scottish companies - is a perfect example of Scotland’s success in competing on the world stage,” said Fergus Ewing Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism.

“By helping people with disabilities to maintain and improve their overall independence and wellbeing, this announcement also reflects the crucial role supported businesses have in building a healthier and fairer Scotland.”

According to Paul Carey, Glasgow City Council’s convener of the regeneration and the economy policy development committee, Glasgow businesses and organisations have won more than £180million of Games-related contracts so far. “This is a tremendous economic legacy for the city,” he said.