The international volleyball federation (FIVB) has made no secret of its ambitious global growth plans by targeting Asia. In recent months, FIVB president Ary Graça spoke about the untapped potential for indoor volleyball and beach volleyball in China and other parts of the continent.

The FIVB’s inaugural Volleyball Nations League is billed as “a pivotal moment” for the sport by Graça. He has said it’s “the most important competition in the FIVB’s history and will revolutionise how volleyball is presented; making it more fan-centric and placing our fans, both inside and outside the stadium, at the very heart of the action”.

A joint project between the FIVB, IMG and 21 national federations – the Volleyball Nations League concluded with the men’s finals in Lille and the women’s finals in Nanjing in July.

Luis Alexandre Rodrigues is driving forward the FIVB’s Asian growth plans from a newly-opened office in Beijing. Setting out the goals, he says the federation is keen to maintain “the momentum that the sport is going in with the Chinese team and of course with the world championships in Japan in September and October and to try to attract more partners interested in working with us”.

“We believe that the future is here that’s why it’s our first office outside Switzerland,” he explains. “We are here to learn with the region and by the time we get more experience for sure we will be holding hands with the other federations we have and promoters as well to deliver what we know best… good events.”

China is ranked number 1 in women's volleyball. They have won a major international volleyball title in each of the last three years – 2015 FIVB World Cup winners, 2016 Rio Olympic title and 2017 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup champions.

Along with Nanjing, Asian cities involved in hosting the competition included Hong Kong, Macau, Bangkok, Osaka and Melbourne.

“We hopefully can engage much more with the region and do what we do in terms of delivering the best events possible,” said Rodrigues.

The Chinese government is investing huge amounts in sport, football in particular, but volleyball is also benefiting from more funding.

“When you see that volleyball is today the only collective sport in which China has such big results, like being world and Olympic champion on the women’s side, it’s something that the government for sure is foreseeing… and they will push as much as they can to make it even better,” Rodrigues said.

“And I think it’s the time to focus as well on the men’s side and make the team shine. They have a very, very strong, tall and good generation, they have hired an international coach and I think they have a good project for the future.”

Rodrigues said the growing profile of the Volleyball Nations League and finals in Nanjing are giving the sport momentum before the world championships spread around six Japanese host cities in September and October: “It’s occupied our time in Asia this year and we are very, very happy to do so. We see this as a good opportunity and we will do much more.”

Luis Alexandre Pontes spoke at Host City Asia. This article first appeared in the Summer issue of Host City magazine 

Host City: The Hammer Series is a great brand name – where did the name come from?

Julien Ternisien: The name was developed jointly by Infront and its partner Velon, the company uniting the top 11 UCI World Tour Teams, together with a leading London based agency.

We looked for a brand name that would immediately resonate with cyclists, reflect the race format and work internationally.

All serious cyclists know what it is to be hammering down the road or when a rider drops the hammer and then goes all out. It reflects the impact racing style of the series and translates well across many languages.

Host City: How does the format of the event differ from other cycling competitions?

Julien Ternisien: Firstly, it is a team versus team format, rather than individual winners.  Although cycling is a team sport, normally an individual winner stands on the podium. For the Hammer Series it is the team standing on the podium.

The other important aspect is that it is short and action packed. It is two hours of racing per day over three days including the Hammer Climb, Hammer Sprint and Hammer Chase.

The Hammer Climb and Hammer Sprint are races in which riders will attempt to win points for their team. Fans are able to see the top riders in the world sprinting against each other on each lap – approximately 10 times – during the Hammer Climb and Sprint. 

Each team’s finishing positions from days one and two are combined to determine their starting place on day three’s Hammer Chase, a team pursuit against the clock with the leading team starting first and the other team chasing them.

Host City: Who is the rights holder to Hammer Series and what is Infront’s role in delivering the event?

Julien Ternisien: Velon Ltd and Infront are the rights holders of the series, partnering with local race organisers on the events.

Host City: The event is part of the UCI Europe tour - what is your relationship with the UCI and how do you help to further their aims?

Julien Ternisien: Both Infront and Velon have a strong relationship with the UCI and we see them as our partner in the development of the Hammer Series

We have engaged with the UCI from the outside and have worked closely with them on the development of the format and the regulations necessary to facilitate this new form of racing.

All Hammer races, as well as the series, are sanctioned by the UCI.

We believe the Hammer Series is a fantastic race series for the globalisation of cycling, which is a key objective of the UCI. This new format of short form, action packed racing offers a unique opportunity to introduce cycling to new cycling markets.

This article first appeared in the Summer issue of Host City magazine

People love sharing stories and personal experiences – events are exactly that. Events uniquely connect, inspire and amaze us. For over 25 years, Party Rent Group has provided the perfect setup for international events of all sorts and sizes as the event equipment provider of choice. And all of this is about much more than just putting out enough tables and chairs. It’s about the atmosphere that is created; it's about the perfect interplay of concept and equipment.

What started in 1992 with 200 glasses and plates, 50 beer tent fixtures, 200 padded chairs and one big vision has now become an international event equipment provider supplying all kinds of events in all kinds of sizes. Back in 2001, CEO Joris Bomers opted for the franchise model in order to enable constant strategic growth. Since then, the Group has grown to include 24 owner-led branches and over 850 employees. Outside of Germany, Party Rent Group is also active in France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Scandinavia, Austria and Switzerland.

A logistical network stretching across all of Europe

Thanks to its decentralised structure, the Group can be found in many important urban centres across Europe. As a result, it can support and equip events at any time – locally, reliably and very flexibly. Its very high stock levels mean it can even supply enough equipment for large events.

The event equipment provider’s portfolio includes everything needed for an event. Besides tables and chairs, this also includes decorations; lounge and bar furniture; barstools; china; cutlery; glasses; counter and buffet systems; serving, table and buffet accessories; stages and presenting equipment; kitchen equipment; and heating and cooling systems.

However, Party Rent Group’s services also include much more than just supplying and delivering equipment. Party Rent helps its customers from the very beginning right through the event-planning process. Together with the event hosts, room concepts are developed for the event, with presentations visualised through CAD drawings and 3D renders. Experienced in-house staff can also help with the practical setup and disassembly.

High design standards

Thanks to its breadth and depth of stock, Party Rent Group is able to support all kinds of events and so offers maximum bandwidth. As well as cost-effective rented furniture for large-scale use, the Group can also supply numerous kinds of designer furniture to meet the highest standards – even in very high volumes. In order to meet its own high standards for design, the Group works closely with well-known designers and manufacturers. Party Rent Group also has its own in-house design team which regularly develops its own creations, custom-tailored for the events sector.

Together with manufacturers, the Group also makes special adjustments to many different kinds of furniture to make it fit for use at events. As a result, all of the furniture in its product range can be stored and deployed in a way that makes economic sense. Among other things, the Group also develops solutions for linking together rows of chairs at conferences. Special chair covers also protect designer furniture through transport and storage, making a decisive difference in quality assurance.

Martin Stemerdink, COO, Party Rent is speaking at Host City 2018

[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord has officially opened its doors for organisations involved in the business of sport to book exhibition space at its Gold Coast edition of SportAccord set to take place from 5 – 10 May 2019.
SportAccord will take place at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre with over 1,500 delegates expected to attend.
The event offers a unique and exclusive networking environment for organisations involved in the business of sport. It is the only annual event of its kind where all international sports federations are present with over 90% of the delegation comprising the key decision-makers in sport.
Outlining some of the principal benefits of becoming an Exhibitor and Silver Partner of SportAccord, Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “SportAccord is an extremely valuable event for EventScotland and for the Scottish events industry as a whole as it provides us with the opportunity to showcase our capability and capacity as a host of major international events. 
“Scotland’s world-class portfolio of international events wouldn’t be possible without SportAccord as over the years it has allowed us to foster strong relationships with the governing bodies and industry professionals who attend. Just recently we secured the hosting rights to the Sprint World Orienteering Championships 2022, which came as a direct result from a meeting with the International Orienteering Federation at SportAccord in 2017. It is these results that ensures our annual attendance at SportAccord and why we choose to be a Silver Partner of the event.”   
Previous editions of SportAccord have demonstrated why many organisations choose to invest as an exhibitor:
•    Year-on-year exhibition booths are a runaway success and sell-out early
•    Over 40% of exhibitors are cities and regions 
•    Last year’s new exhibition layout proved so popular in driving delegate traffic throughout the exhibition hall, it will be repeated with additional enhancements for SportAccord 2019
•    The stunning exhibition hall will host three feature zones providing excellent networking facilities for delegates
•    The ever-popular SportAccord Café at the heart of the exhibition hall, where delegate luncheons are also served, will be bigger than ever 
•    A Speaker Hub within the exhibition space – a new feature for Gold Coast – will give delegates the opportunity to interact with speakers post conference sessions
•    Delegates will pass through the exhibition hall to access conference rooms located on the same level
Entry-level booths for SportAccord will start at 6m² and include 3 delegate passes (increasing with booth size), graphics, TV, furniture, information counter, Wi-Fi, power, lights and carpet. Visit the website to view the SportAccord exhibition interactive floor plan.
 

[Source: SportAccord] Blockchain expert Oliver T Bussmann, CEO and Founder of Bussmann Advisory AG will deliver this year’s Keynote for the International Federation (IF) Forum due to take place from 5 – 7 November 2018 at the Hotel Royal Savoy in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The theme for the 12^th edition of the IF Forum organised by SportAccord is entitled: Open Doors and Open Minds – New Tools for IFs. Delegates representing more than 100 international sports federations, associates and observer members from the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) will benefit from the insights shared by leading experts on subject matter such as cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Keynote speaker, Oliver Bussmann, also President of Crypto Valley Association and Former Group Chief Information Officer for UBS and SAP commented:

“Blockchain technology is a game changer and holds many possibilities for the world of sport. Entrepreneurs and industry leaders alike have started to explore potential use cases, looking into opportunities to crowdfund athletes with potential, track athlete performance and ways to boost fan engagement.”

In his keynote, Bussmann will share a brief introduction to blockchain technology and market trends, and highlight the potential for blockchain in sport with case study examples.

Further IF Forum conference and panel sessions will cover:

• The ever-changing global landscape and its impact on sport
• 5G in live sports broadcasting: how 5G technologies are expected to transform production and distribution
• Event/Ticketing Pricing - Marketplace Trends and Success Stories
• AI, Robotics, Facial Recognition - Changing how events are delivered and who helps deliver them!

The IF Forum provides a platform for international sports federations (both Olympic and non-Olympic) to tackle global matters related to the Sports Movement. The annual 3-day gathering is also limited to a small number of industry partners and gives them exclusive access to an authoritative networking environment and recognition as a supporter of the Sports Movement. This year’s industry partners are Eurosport, Guadalajara, JLT, Sports Nevada USA and Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Deportivo.

The IF Forum also receives the support of longstanding Host City Partners Lausanne and the Canton de Vaud, as well as the International Olympic Committee.

The final day of the IF Forum will include an eSports Workshop hosted by GAISF and the International Olympic Committee. For further details on the IF Forum visit: https://www.sportaccord.sport/if-forum

Host City: How is SAMBO spreading geographically today from its Soviet origins 80 years ago?

Vasily Shestakov: Nowadays SAMBO is a sport that is spread on five continents with 4.5 million passionate and engaged participants. The sport grew dramatically over the last two decades to encompass 88 full member federations and more than 30 candidate countries. This is the result of extensive interest in martial arts in general, but thanks foremost to the strong commitment of the International SAMBO Federation and its strategy and vision to become the Olympic recognised sport.  

Host City: What are your priorities when looking for a host city and how do you go about selecting/attracting a host?

Vasily Shestakov: More than 30 major SAMBO competitions are held annually at the international level under the auspices of FIAS. The FIAS Competition calendar is composed of traditional events, which are historically organised in the same city for a number of years, such as the World Cup in Moscow and the chain of the Presidents Cups, traditionally hosted in the UK.

Moreover, we organise annual World Championships in different age categories in collaboration with our member federations, through the official bidding process opening at least three years before the events. However, we see the importance of exploring further opportunities to engage with host cities directly, as this is an important change in organisation of events globally.

Host City: What are the main benefits of hosting the SAMBO championships?

Vasily Shestakov: International SAMBO events give host cities opportunities related to tourism. The average number of participants in the international events is about 1,000 people, which together with the fans gives us about 3,000 people attending the event. This provides the host city with opportunities to generate income for hotels, restaurants, transport, touristic attractions etc.

Moreover, FIAS is strongly engaged in promoting the sustainable management of its events, with opportunities to build legacy in three pillars: economical, environmental and social. So, for host cities that would like to organise sports events with these values, SAMBO events could be the option.

Host City: How does Sambo differ from other forms of (mixed) martial arts?

Vasily Shestakov: SAMBO is the unique synthesis of various techniques and martial arts from around the world. It is an original system of physical and spiritual education of person, in which many nations of the world recognize their sporting styles and traditions.

Host City: What does the future hold for SAMBO?

Vasily Shestakov: This year marks the 80^th anniversary of SAMBO and it is due to be another thrilling year for the sport. Most importantly, we are hoping to continue with the excellent growth we have seen in recent years: making SAMBO more accessible to people all over the world. While SAMBO is still not recognised by the International Olympic Committee, we are very much looking forward to working extensively on our recognition and believe that in a short period we can reach our goal.

Michal Buchel, CEO of FIAS is giving a presentation on “Building recognition and participation” at Host City 2018 in Glasgow on 20-21 November

Since its first race in 2003, the Red Bull Air Race has been on a tireless quest to bring its unique aerial action into the ranks of the world’s most advanced sporting events. Fifteen years later, that mission has been achieved, and the sport’s development keeps advancing by leaps and bounds.

The Red Bull Air Race World Championship uses state-of-the-art technology not only to develop the sport itself – but also to provide an exceptional experience for spectators on the ground and viewers watching worldwide. Already, customization with the latest aviation technology has brought the powerful single-seat raceplanes to an unprecedented level of advancement, while high-tech timing and judging equipment, along with thoughtfully crafted revisions to the race format and rules, make the sport a can’t-look-away event. And the introduction of a second competition category, the Challenger Class, literally brings pilots up to speed, so that they inspire the best from the best when they join the top aviators at the World Championship level.

And then there are the technical innovations that take the sport even closer to the fans. At the forefront of technology, the Red Bull Air Race live TV product has helped the sport reach a massive audience and captivates a constantly expanding fan base around the globe, while mixed reality and virtual reality enable followers to share the experiences of their heroes.

Here are just a few examples of how the Red Bull Air Race has brought a new dimension to motorsport.

The unseen advantage: telemetry

One of the major factors in the technological progression of the Red Bull Air Race is telemetry data. What is telemetry? Very generally, the term refers to automated collection and transmission of data for monitoring purposes. Today, each of the raceplanes is equipped with more than 40 different sensors that report everything from airspeed and G force to critical engine measurements like RPM and fuel flow. This data allows teams to get insights on the best race lines and their own raceplane performance, which in turn inspire new training options and provide the basis for developing raceplane modifications and tactics through the racetrack. Telemetry data also makes judging more precise, enhances safety and, ultimately, improves the race performance of every team, for breathtakingly tight finishes in the riveting aerial showdowns.

Visibility on a major scale: live TV

Telemetry data is also an important contributor to the fascination of watching the race live on TV. Red Bull Air Race TV products reach a huge fan base around the world. Broadcast online and brought to 177 countries via broadcast partners, these TV productions open the motorsport to an ever-increasing base of dedicated fans, as well as new viewers who simultaneously discover the motorsport and the cities that host it from the comfort of their homes. In order to further enlarge these numbers and bring the action closer to audiences than ever, the TV production team utilizes state-of-the-art of technology and works with leading-edge collaborators to constantly develop and improve the viewing experience.

Perhaps the best example of how technology heightens audience engagement with the live TV shows is the Ghost Plane, a product based on telemetry data that has no equivalent in traditional sports broadcasting. While current conditions prohibit having raceplanes in the track simultaneously, the Red Bull Air Race can create that thrilling sensation through the use of a virtual plane – on live TV as well as on jumbo video screens onsite – that allows them to “see” two raceplanes flying head-to-head. The Ghost Plane is an augmented reality product that enhances the real camera picture with computer-generated content, developed specifically for the Red Bull Air Race. A positioning system, mounted in the fuselage of each raceplane, broadcasts the precise position of the aircraft to a ground base station, where an accurate graphic overlay of the flight is created in 3D. Then, when another competitor is racing in the track, the overlay is added, showing the position of the real raceplane and the virtual opponent in the track at any point during the run – in real time. The Ghost Plane was a hit with audiences when first introduced in 2015, and has evolved to be even more compelling in the seasons since.

A next-gen experience: holograms and virtual reality

In addition to developing its own technological prowess, Red Bull Air Race collaborates with leading technology companies, such as Microsoft and Google, to produce technical innovations that draw the fans right into the action to immerse themselves in the sport – even when they are at home. Two examples are the FlightDeck with HoloLens and the Red Bull Air Race LIVE VR experience on Daydream, both based on the live streaming of the data from the raceplanes. Each provides an exciting new viewing angle for understanding the sport, and each features the Red Bull Air Race host cities, meticulously incorporating the unique settings of these appealing global locations into the race environment. 

The Flight Deck allows fans to go right inside the race teams’ inner sanctum: This mixed reality app, developed in close collaboration with Microsoft and utilizing its HoloLens that brings holograms into the real world, gives users the chance to stand next to a virtual one-to-one scale Edge 540 raceplane as if they were in the hangar. Moreover, they can explore the rules of the sport in depth – from navigating a chicane to crossing the Finish Gate – and compare pilots in their head-to-head rounds.

The Red Bull Air Race LIVE VR experience uses real-time telemetry data straight from the pilot’s cockpit and re-creates the flight in a 360-degree virtual reality, so viewers can become fully immersed in a race from multiple angles and viewpoints, including the cockpit. Thanks to Google’s Daydream mobile platform for high-quality VR content, the combination of a Daydream View headset and any Daydream-ready smartphone transports viewers right into the racetrack. The VR experience is fuelled by live flight data like latitude, longitude, roll, pitch and airspeed to generate astounding perspectives and a real-dimensional, live visualization of the pilot’s view as the Air Gates and the local landmarks flash by at up to 370kmh, with users able to track the jaw-dropping speed and G Force. Marking a world first in data broadcasting on the platform, fans can dive into not just races that have already taken place (on demand), but also those happening live.

The future of motorsport today: with more to come

The ingenious, rapid-fire technology development of the Red Bull Air Race has brought the sport from audacious beginnings in 2003 to the official World Championship it is today, with 21 countries and an even larger number of cities featured as sensational hosts to its nearly 90 races so far. Whether fans are flocking to global destinations to see the Air Racing stars live, or engrossed by stunning scenes of the race via TV and augmented reality, technical wizardry brings them the future of motorsport today, piquing their interest in the race and everything that surrounds it. With more technical innovation in the works, that engagement is destined to become even broader and deeper with each season.

Erich Wolf, General Manager of Red Bull Air Race GmbH is speaking at Host City 2018 under the conference theme “The Future of Major Events”

Host City: 2018 has been a big year for Aggreko powering major events, starting with the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang – what were the biggest challenges there?

David de Behr: As with any winter event we do, the weather conditions are always the biggest challenge – and with the magnitude of the Olympics, the volume of equipment, processes and people needed to execute promptly are key.

We faced extreme cold temperatures and winds while building up the temporary power services requested to run the Games smoothly in PyeongChang – and this required a lot of endurance from our equipment and a lot of energy from our specialist engineers.

We adapted to meet these challenges head on. We modified all our fuel tanks by adding heat elements, generators were equipped to run in the cold climate and the project team had to plan all operations very tightly to meet the client deadlines.

The endurance level of our people deserves to be recognised; they never lost sight of the objective and their dedication in the face of some incredible obstacles was key to our success.

Host City: Your next project in 2018 was the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast – how did this compare as a project for Aggreko?

David de Behr: The Gold Coast Games were special as they were not located within one city but held in a region. Australia has always been very special to Aggreko as it is one of our oldest markets and so it was fantastic to see the synergy between Aggreko Australia and our experienced Major Events team putting together this project.

We worked with a very experienced organising committee (GOLDOC), which had a very clear view on how they wanted to deliver the Games, and the partnership with our experienced project team meant we had a very fluent build up towards the Games.

Using our design program to give financial transparency throughout the contract was appreciated by the organising committee and the rest is history: great Games in a beautiful region with enthusiastic engagement from the public – a job well done!

Host City: The European Championships in Glasgow was a new format of event, combining multiple sports – what were your perceptions of this and how did Aggreko contribute to its success?

David de Behr: Glasgow is and always will be special to Aggreko – our roots and our manufacturing plant are located in Glasgow.

This new format of event coming to our town, and being able to harness a lot of the infrastructure from the 2014 Commonwealth Games, made it a perfect match for us.

We were very impressed by the enthusiasm around the Championships and strongly believe it will grow as an event in the future.

For our teams on the ground it was a pleasant return to the venues we powered in 2014. Working very closely with the organising committee, we were able to tailor and deliver the event within everyone’s expectations.

Host City: After all those multi-sports projects, you also powered the Ryder Cup in France – what are the requirements there?

David de Behr: The difference with the other 2018 events is that the Ryder Cup is a massive single venue event.

It forms part of our long-term relationship with the European Tour. The exciting part this time, unlike our previous involvement with Ryder Cups, was that the 2018 incarnation was held outside of the UK, near Paris.

150 lorries packed full of equipment were delivered to install all temporary power and HVAC systems on the massive site. It was project managed by an English-French Aggreko project team with the first members of our team on the ground in May.

The beauty of such golf tournaments is also the main challenge – the players and public can walk almost everywhere – and so planning and design are key to the success of the event for us.

Another challenge is the seasonal weather – the climate could be very unpredictable and so we had to prepare for all temperature control eventualities. Our temperature control systems are designed to be able to cope with this changing environment.

The outcome was really impressive and the Ryder Cup week was one that many will not forget for a long time!

David de Behr is speaking at Host City 2018 on the topic of “Reimagining Major Event Delivery”. Host City 2018 takes place in Glasgow on 20-21 November

DB Schenker is proud to have been the official logistics provider for the host broadcaster of the Asian Games 2018. Held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, from 17 August to 2 September, the Asian Games 2018 is the second largest international sporting event after the Olympics. Some 45 nations participated in 463 events – covering 40 sports in various venues between the two cities.

Sports Events Logistics experts at DB Schenker from more around 16 countries worked hard behind the scenes to transport broadcasting and stationary equipment to Indonesia, so that audiences at home around the world could support their country’s athletes live on television during the 2018 Asian Games.

In early 2018, PT Schenker Petrolog Utama (DB Schenker Indonesia) and DB Schenker Sports Events Germany were appointed by the International Games Broadcast Services (IGBS) to handle the temporary importation and re-exportation of broadcasting equipment for the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.

This meant nothing less than taking on the responsibility of ensuring millions of viewers worldwide would be able to enjoy Indonesia's largest international sports event to date.

The first time Indonesia hosted the event was in 1962, the country and the whole media environment was much different back then. The 2018 Asian Games were originally slated to be hosted by Hanoi, Vietnam, but the country backed out from the appointment after stating concerns over costs.

Our logistical tasks included bringing in all the technical equipment needed for an International Broadcast Centre set up at Jakarta Convention Centre in Senayan, Jakarta, from where the broadcasting signals of the Games were spread across the world – as well as handling the deliveries and pickups for the various broadcasters from each of the participating nations in the 43 venues where competitions were broadcast live.

IGBS were very careful in choosing a good partner to do this. This is equipment coming from four continents, it was more than 2.600 single pieces and cases, all very sensitive electronic appliances and we did the whole thing door-to-door: pick up in the origin country, importation into Indonesia, customs clearance duly and in time, delivery up to broadcasting compound and respectively backwards on the re-export after the Games are finished.

Without a dedicated team working around the clock for months in the preparation and then again months in the execution, this would not have been possible.

With fully chartered cargo airplanes and many other regular scheduled flights that successfully landed between early July and mid-August at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the DB Schenker Indonesia team carried several hundred tons of broadcasting equipment owned by IGBS and other independent broadcasting companies from all over the world. This included equipment that had been used for the FIFA World Cup in Russia earlier this year.

Several shipments were also delivered by ocean freight to the Jakarta International Container Terminal. In major international sports events such as the Asian Games, time constraints are a common challenge faced by logistics companies.

Indonesia was very enthusiastic about hosting this event and it was a great success in the end. However, getting there was a wild ride on a rollercoaster of arrangements and back and forth with authorities and regulating bodies. Never had so much broadcasting equipment been brought in and out of the country in such a short period of time, so there was no one with a track record or a blueprint of how to do it. As everyone that has been around in the country for a while can tell, sometimes the simplest endeavour can turn into a most adventurous undertaking and usually, certainties are not part of the equation. Organizing this logistics project went in pretty much the same style: until everything was set up, no one could really tell how it would work out in the end.

But the experience that often in this country, the last minute before a deadline is the most powerful leverage for many things to start moving into the right place, allowed us to maintain the typical faith and calmness that are hard to explain to outsiders.

Once again, Indonesia has proven to the world and each and every one of us that here, everything that is seasoned with the right portion of patience, creativity and endurance, can turn into a success.

DB Schenker is Silver Sponsor of Host City 2018, where Future City Mobility and Event Logistics is one of many exciting agenda topics

When the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) was formed on August 3, 1948, the majority of events at the Summer Olympic Games were taking place some 50 kilometres away in London.

At the time, a meeting of 15 national pentathlon federations at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst may not have seemed like the epicentre of the action, but the decision taken by that group sowed the seeds of a sporting organism that has been growing and flourishing ever since.

Today, after 70 years of heritage and innovation, the UIPM movement is in many ways unrecognisable from those early beginnings.

Today it is a sprawling sporting organisation with nearly 120 member federations, a 106-year-old core Olympic sport (Modern Pentathlon), five other multi-discipline UIPM Sports and a new urban phenomenon that is rapidly spreading across the cities in all six of the world’s populated continents.

That phenomenon is the UIPM Global Laser-Run City Tour (GLRCT), a concept that delivers an exciting, dynamic and fun competition to participants of all ages and offers them an entry point to UIPM Sports. Who knows, maybe some of the young athletes enjoying the unique combination of running and laser shooting might even become pentathletes one day and reach the Olympic Games.

The GLRCT took place in parks, stadiums and iconic urban venues in 60 cities around the world in 2017. It is currently in the process of visiting about 100 cities throughout 2018.

Laser-Run is the newest sport on the UIPM pyramid. It was conceived as a development sport, aimed at growing participation numbers in the core Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon, but its simplicity, popularity and marketability have seen it grow an identify of its own.

The growth of that brand has coincided with the evolution of UIPM’s wider visual identity, which aims to communicate the historic pentathlon family values aligned to the dynamic future of UIPM Sports.

A branding review in 2017 led to the creation of two new logos, one for institutional and internal use and the other for external promotional use. The new institutional logo features two original colours that represent the pentathlon environment: yellow (symbolizing dynamic development) and blue (standing for longevity and power). Gender equality is also reflected with the addition of two female pictograms.

Martin Dawe, UIPM Executive Board Member for Marketing, said: “The purpose of this branding review is to make sure our logos are more up to date. It is not a completely new logo but more of an evolution, and it’s about making it more applicable for today’s audience.”

UIPM has planned a series of events and commemorations in celebration of its 70th anniversary, culminating with a special edition of the UIPM Congress in November in Limassol, Cyprus, which will feature a gala dinner with VIP guests from across the Olympic movement.

The role played by those 15 federation delegates in England in 1948 will be fully acknowledged, as well as the work of the many people who have contributed across the past seven decades to the realisation of a dream.

This article first appeared in the Summer issue of Host City magazine. Read the full magazine here