[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord is delighted to confirm this year’s LawAccord conference programme: Key Opportunities, Challenges and Threats to Institutional Sport – From Within and Without, supported by a stellar line-up of speakers and panelists. LawAccord is set to take place on Monday 6 May 2019 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Queensland, Australia.

Running for a full-day for the first time, Nis Hatt, Managing Director of SportAccord said:

“Hosting SportAccord in Gold Coast has presented a wide variety of conference opportunities for the LawAccord programme this year. With so many influencers and stakeholders in the region, it was felt that a full-day’s conference followed by a networking cocktail, would give delegates more news and current thinking, and provide the perfect platform to discuss the day’s business and insights in welcoming surroundings.”

LawAccord is of particular interest to sport lawyers and administrators, international federations, cities and regions, as well as event hosts. Organisations and legal experts can register for SportAccord here and benefit from all the networking opportunities on offer.

Francesco Ricci Bitti, Acting-President of SportAccord and President of ASOIF will provide the welcome introduction and opening for LawAccord.

The Morning Keynote: Why Good Governance is Crucial to Sport Organisations will be presented by Malcolm Speed AO, former CEO of Cricket Australia and the International Cricket Council. Speed is the Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University and Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Law at Melbourne University. A panel session discussing good governance will follow, led and moderated by Michael Lenard, Vice President, ICAS.

Other conference and panel sessions will cover: the fight against match-fixing; how to manage the emergence of rival leagues/competitions and other legal considerations supported by case studies; the annual CAS Update. A Fireside Chat with Sir Craig Reedie will also take place followed by an anti-doping panel session.

Commenting on the significance of this year’s LawAccord programme, Ross Wenzel, Partner, Kellerhals Carrard, and a LawAccord Steering Committee member commented:

“Kellerhals Carrard is delighted to be involved in putting together this year’s edition of LawAccord taking place at SportAccord 2019 in Gold Coast. The program addresses some of the most topical and significant issues that are affecting international sport today including the practical aspects of governance reforms, how to deal with the emergence of rival leagues and the changing landscape of the fight against doping in sport.

“We have been fortunate enough to line up world-class speakers, both from Australia and abroad, with hands-on experience of the regulation and administration of sport. These include the lawyers that led the FIFA and IAAF governance reforms, Sir Craig Reedie, President of WADA, Benjamin Cohen, Director General of the newly-formed International Testing Agency and Matthieu Reeb, Secretary General of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“In view of the quality of the program and speakers, the Steering Committee took the decision to extend LawAccord to a full day with a networking cocktail to follow, giving attendees further opportunities to make the most of their time at SportAccord. We are looking forward to a lively, frank and multi-faceted debate around some of the key challenges facing sport.

As part of the Official Schedule, delegates will be able to take part in over 20 networking events, the popular 3-day Exhibition, and access 50+ conference sessions, become involved in the Sports Festival and many other social occasions taking place in Gold Coast, with plenty of opportunities to explore this beautiful region further.

To become an Exhibitor or Partner contact the sales team: sales@sportaccord.com or phone +41 21 612 3070. To register as a delegate and watch past SportAccord footage visit www.sportaccord.sport.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord using #SA2019, or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn and Facebook.

For media enquiries, email the Media Relations Officer: jenny.edmondson@sportaccord.com

SportAccord

SportAccord brings together international sports federations and organisations involved in the business of sport. The annual World Sport & Business Summit is a six-day event attended by leaders of the global sports community. It engages international sports federations, athletes, industry, rights holders, organising committees, cities, government, agencies, media, technology, legal teams, medical professionals, inventors, and subject matter experts – represented at the highest levels.

SportAccord is the only global sports business event attended by all the international sports federations and their stakeholders, who host their Annual General Assemblies during SportAccord.

These stakeholders include: ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations), AIOWF (Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations), ARISF (Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations), AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport), GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations) and Associate Members. SportAccord receives the full support of the International Olympic Committee.

Follow #SA2019 and #SA2020 on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr       

LawAccord

The Steering Committee for this year’s LawAccord conference programme are:

David Casserly, Barrister, Attorney-at-law, Partner, Kellerhals Carrard

John Hewitt, Event Operations Manager, Communications, SportAccord

Michael Lenard, Vice President, ICAS

Stephen Townley, Founder, Active Rights Management Limited

Ross Wenzel, Partner, Solicitor of Senior Courts of England & Wales, Kellerhals Carrard

With the Enlarged Steering Committee consisting of:

Hayden Opie AM, Senior Fellow (Melbourne Law Masters), University of Melbourne

Malcolm Speed AO, former CEO of Cricket Australia and the International Cricket Council, Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University, Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Law at Melbourne University

Olympic Games organising committees, Asian cities, international rightsholders and experts are all lining up to speak at the second Host City Asia conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beijing on 11th April.

The conference will once again open with the Beijing Olympic welcome. Other great speakers confirmed so far include:

• Hiromi Kawamura, Public Relations Secretary, Tokyo Organising Committee of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games
• Laszlo Vajda, Senior Operations Advisor, Minsk 2019 European Games; Senior Expert, Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
• Zhao Xiaochun, Director-General of Shanxi Provincial Sports Bureau
• Kate Han, Producer, Riot Games
• Li Yidong, Director, Tanggangzi New Town Conference and Exhibition Centre, Anshan
• Tim Briercliffe, Secretary General, International Association of Horticultural Producers
  (The International Horticultural Expo is set to attract 16 million visitors to Beijing this year)
• Kelvin Fang, Senior Media & Marketing Manager, FIBA China
• David De Behr, Head of Global Events, Aggreko
• James Patterson, Director, MI Associates
• Li Jiang, Executive Director, Yutang Sports
• Hailiang Chen, Principal Architect, Wanda Cultural Tourism Planning & Research Institute
• Daniel Cordey, Chairman, Association of Global Event Suppliers
  ...and many more.

The first Host City Asia conference last May was hailed as a “complete success” and its return to Beijing in 2019 is set to surpass all expectations.

View the agenda and speakers' biographies and register your participation here.

[Source: SPORTEL] For its upcoming spring market, the world’s leading sports media and technology convention returns to the Far East, in the vibrant city of Macao from 5th to 7th of March 2019 at the luxurious JW Marriott Hotel.

“We are very excited about this edition of SPORTEL because this event has not been held in the Far East since SPORTELAsia 2014, in Shanghai” stated Mr. Laurent PUONS, CEO of Monaco Mediax.

SPORTELAsia is now positioned as an elite industry event embracing the growth markets of China and throughout Asia, providing its international community a great platform for developing business and networking opportunities with Asian Pacific markets.

The shortlist of the currently registered companies has already been released. Among them: BEIN  PORTS, DENTSU, FIGHTSPORTS, INFRONT, ITTF, LALIGA, MATCHROOM SPORT, NBA, NETCO SPORTS, NEULION, PERFORM GROUP, SPORTRADAR, TMG, VIZRT… and much more

Conference Programme overview

TELSTRA E-SPORTS PANEL

The Rise of e-Sports - Opportunities for Growth

Esports is an exploding area of interest and revenue growth for sports media and marketing companies, with significant year on year growth in industry activity and maturity over the last few years. Asia leads this trend with an established video games and esports ecosystem and exciting new investments that are further accelerating the opportunities for growth.

OCEANS E-SPORT PANEL

e-Sports in China, Challenges and the Future

The status quo of Esports in China, the possible opportunities and the problems encountered. What is the future of Esports in the bigger sports family ? Could it be part Olympic family ?

YUTANG Media Panel

Working with Chinese media to raise the influence of sports properties in China

As China upgrade sports-related domestic consumption and encourage broadcasts of sports events, the market presents more potentials for sports properties and media and are very live.

How do sports properties and media work and collaborate with each other, to increase the influence of sports and sports broadcasts in China, to make more people become sports audiences, to contribute to business growth?

LaLiga PRESENTATION

For more information visit https://www.sportelasia.com/ 

[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord is delighted to welcome Sport Event Denmark as the first Gold Partner for the 17^th edition of SportAccord taking place in Gold Coast, Australia from 5 – 10 May 2019. Denmark is one of the leading nations when it comes to hosting major international sports events, and the city of Aarhus was also European Capital of Culture in 2017, hosting hundreds of spectacular events along with 18 other municipalities in the region.

Investing in SportAccord has always been part of Sport Event Denmark’s strategy as a hosting nation.

“Sport Event Denmark has once again extended its Gold Partnership because we see SportAccord as the major networking opportunity internationally and we bring valuable insights home each year.

“SportAccord 2019 will be our 9^th time as Gold Partner.” said Lars Lundov, Chief Executive Officer of Sport Event Denmark.

SportAccord partnerships enable organisations to showcase their capabilities as a hosting nation, region and city for international events, and connect with key stakeholders and sporting leaders involved in the business of sport.

Commenting on the longevity of the partnership, Nis Hatt, Managing Director of SportAccord said:

“Sport Event Denmark has been a tremendous supporter and partner of SportAccord since its inception in 2003 and were also SportAccord co-hosts with the City of Aarhus in 2017.

“It goes without saying, this partnership is extremely important to SportAccord and we thank them for their continued support and loyalty as we head towards the Gold Coast edition of SportAccord in May.”

With 9 major sporting events coming up in 2019 including the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, CycloCross World Championships, World Women’s Curling Championship, and Junior World Orienteering Championships to name a few, sports fans and visitors to Denmark will have much to look forward to this year.

Organisations involved in the business of sport who wish to attend SportAccord should register for the Gold Coast edition which entitles them to take advantage of the many networking opportunities on offer.

As part of the Official Schedule, delegates will be able to enjoy over 20 networking events and the popular 3-day Exhibition, have access to 50+ conference sessions and the Sports Festival, taking place at the outstanding Gold Coast Conference and Exhibition Centre situated close to Queensland’s stunning coastline.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord using #SA2019, or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn and Facebook.

International Sports Broadcasting (ISB), the host broadcaster for the Minsk 2019 European Games, said it had reached agreements in more than 106 territories on 28^th January, with 150 days to go to the Games.

The organisers of the multisport megaevent say the agreements with top broadcasters in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and New Zealand will enable them to reach more than 500 million viewers.

“This is excellent news not only for the success and longevity of the European Games, but especially for the athletes, who deserve to have the biggest possible viewership while competing at Europe’s premier multi-sport event,” said European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Janez Kocijančič.

“We look forward to welcoming the world to Minsk this summer, be it in person or via our strong network of broadcasters.”

The second edition of the European Games runs from 21-30 June in the capital city of Belarus.

More than 4,000 athletes will participate in 15 sports: 3x3 basketball, archery, athletics, badminton, beach soccer, boxing, canoe sprint, cycling, gymnastics, judo, karate, sambo, shooting, table tennis and wrestling. Eight of these will act as qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while four sports will also count the Games as their official European championships.

ISB is set to produce an estimated 500 hours of live coverage and daily highlights over ten days of competitions plus Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

The company was established in 1996 by Manolo Romero, former Managing Director of the IOC’s host broadcaster, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and has served as the host broadcaster for seven Olympic Games, six Paralympic Games, numerous World Championships, World Cups and continental Games.

“We are very pleased with the agreements reached so far and expect to announce a number of other key deals soon,” Romero said. “Our ultimate target is more than 120 rights holding broadcasters and we are confident that we will achieve it.”

Host City Asia returns to Beijing’s luxurious Four Seasons Hotel on 11^th April 2019 for an even greater gathering of stakeholders in hosting major sporting and cultural events.

Host City Asia is building on the “complete success” of its 2018 launch, with 200 event owners, hosts, organising committees and experts set to participate under the 2019 conference theme “Faster, Higher, Stronger: Growth through Event Hosting”.

Who attends?

• International event rights owners
• Asian event hosts
• Local Organising Committees
• Investors, sponsors, suppliers, marketers etc.

Agenda topics include:

• Impact of AI, big data and blockchain on the events sector
• Integrating event infrastructure planning into city plans
• Nurturing your city culture
• Growing engagement

• Creating healthier cities
• Growth through brands

View the full agenda and register your participation here.

[Source: Aggreko] Aggreko plc, the global leader in the rental of power, heating and cooling, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary Aggreko Events Services Japan Limited ('AESJL') has been awarded the supply contract in the category of 'Temporary Electricity Generation' by The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As part of the supply contract AESJL will provide temporary electricity (generation and distribution) systems to support the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. AESJL's extended scope of supply includes temporary medium and low voltage power systems across 43 competition venues, the Athletes Village and the International Broadcast Centre, ensuring reliable power for all stakeholders in the venues and uninterrupted television broadcast to millions of viewers.

The value of the supply contract is expected to be in the region of $200m, and reinforces Aggreko's confidence in its ability to achieve its mid-teens ROCE target in 2020.

Aggreko has a proven track record in supporting high profile events including this year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, European Championships in Glasgow and Ryder Cup in France.

Chris Weston, Chief Executive Officer said: "We are delighted to have secured what is one of the most prestigious event contracts won by Aggreko. Our experienced team will support the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee to ensure our role in the success of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games is flawlessly delivered."

Transport and mobility are part of the event experience, providing the first and leaving the last impression to all participants. It is with this in mind that Citec plans transport operations for some of the most interesting sport events worldwide.

The mobility concept and transport planning are key to the success of an event. Quite often, the complexity and interdependence of the transport plan and its operations are under-estimated: a complex set of ingredients to be mixed by experienced event transport delivery professionals.

Most recently, the Ryder Cup in France 2018 was a transport success for Citec. The latest appointments for Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Organizing Committee and UEFA Euro 2020 are further proof of Citec’s commitment and expertise.

The next European Ryder Cup in 2022 will be in Rome, and Citec has already started to work with the Italian Golf Federation to deliver a mobility plan by end of 2018 to initiate the work with public authorities.

The 42^nd Ryder Cup France 2018

For the first time in 20 years, the Ryder Cup took place outside of the UK. The 2018 edition was held in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, 25km south of Paris, from 25 to 30 September. A total amount of 250,000 spectators came during the event week, with a peak of 60,000 visitors a day being transported to Le Golf National venue.

“This was the first time the Ryder Cup was organised in close proximity to a big metropolitan area,” says Stefano Manelli, Director of Citec.

Citec delivered the mobility and event transport operational plan, with a four-year process to get all the public authorities, transport operators and other stakeholders working together towards a common goal.

The project was carried out in close cooperation with Ryder Cup Europe, PGA European Tour, French Golf Federation and the relevant transport local authorities, such as Ile de France Mobilités and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. In the very last year, the Ryder Cup preparation was also seen as the best test towards Paris 2024 Olympic Games transport operations, where the Golf National venue will again host a worldwide mega event.

 “We could implement a holistic approach to mobility; great added value was in being involved immediately after the bidding process was over and France was successfully chosen. The French Golf Federation and Ryder Cup Europe operational management strongly supported the transport project as well,” says Manelli.

Analysing demand

Among the most important planning tools was accurate transport demand, which helped considerably during operations, allowing the correct amount of resources to be allocated to each origin-destination. With reliable planning scenarios, the design of transport malls and parking areas was simplified and optimised, allowing cost reduction.

A study was carried out to predict when and where spectators were arriving from, based on ticket-holder surveys and revised venue capacity figures. This data made it possible to adjust the need for additional operations on the day from train-and-ride and park-and-ride.

Another element was to set the size of the venue to the size of transport capacity. The notion behind this is “Level of Service”.

“This was a real achievement. Most of the time, this makes the difference between a good and a bad service,” says Manelli.

The project’s final goal was to identify all areas within Ryder Cup official locations with specific transport operations such as road closures and restrictions, traffic management and temporary deviations. All activities connected to this project aimed to find the correct balance between Ryder Cup transport operations and the need to minimise impact on residents.

The whole plan represented a total surface of 500,000 m² of transport operating areas. This could give an indication to future organisers on how many logistic resources and spaces are needed for such a big event.

Operational phase

A total fleet of 400 urban buses and coaches served the four park-and-ride (for a total capacity of 12,000 car spaces) and two official train stations in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Massy, operating four different RER lines (from/to Paris downtown), specially enhanced with 50 additional trains on the six days of operations (extra capacity of more than 100,000 passengers).

All flows reached two main temporary bus terminals on the edge of Le Golf National (East and West wing). Each terminal, specifically designed by Citec, managed up to 10,000 people per hour. During peak times, at the end of a competition day, each terminal was able to dispatch an average of 100 buses and 50 coaches.

1,000 people were directly involved in transport operations, including volunteers, drivers, parking stewards and operational managers, under the supervision of 12 Citec on-site managers coordinating transport, parking, traffic and security operations on their dedicated site.

The transition from planning to operations always requires deep and attentive work. The Citec on-site team was trained in the peculiarities of transport operations in two full-day training sessions. Site visits and liaison with the other providers were also part of the on-site training.

Contingency plans were also designed to face weather difficulties, overflows, bus breakdown and transport shortage.

Enzo Calabrò, operational project manager at Citec says: “European Tour declared that this edition was the ‘best transport ever for a Ryder Cup’ and we are extremely proud to have planned and delivered such successful transport operations for one of the most followed events worldwide!”.

Key learning

Transport planning and adopted solutions can be scaled up with regards to different levels of service, according to the needs of a specific event.

Transport can help to fit the venue to the scale of the area and adapt local supply to fit the event. Transport can offer innovative and pragmatic solutions to allow optimising the operational setup of the venue, especially now where most efforts are made on mega-events to keep these to a reasonable scale – not least according to the IOC’s “New Norm”.

Saan Trucking is a young independent company that originated in 2012 from Royal Dutch Saan, a family-based company with a great history in logistic services.

For the last couple of years, many touring-shows and complicated logistic projects have been trusted to our expertise. We strive for quality and continuity, which results in long term partnerships with our clients, the allocation of extraordinary one-off projects and a growing market share in fast trucking services. Our focus lies on the road in front of us, but our view is beyond the horizon.

Saan Trucking makes sure that live entertainment can be truly live. Any time, any place in Europe. We offer custom-made transport solutions for live entertainment productions. Our strength is characterized by high quality service and our engagement with our customers all along the road. With a small committed team, we provide the best trucking service for the best price.

We do many different types of live entertainment trucking projects; family entertainment, one-off projects, some smaller orchestras, sports events, music performances.

Disney on Ice

As one of the most popular family-entertainment shows in the world, Disney on Ice has been around for many years. This special show casts more than 50 well-known Disney-stars, performing over 30 sing-alongs from the entertainment company.

The show “100 Years of Magic” was touring Europe in the winter-season 2016-2017, performing more than 250 shows in 31 cities within 6 months. For this show, Saan Trucking was chosen to arrange the transports within the continent, deploying 22 trailers on average and driving over half a million kilometres. The show includes two ice-sets that move separately to the other equipment. The result is a production that requires three separate planning and routing operations that need to be overseen.

Holland Heineken House

Holland Heineken House is the national home of the Dutch Olympic Committee and the overseas home to all the Dutch athletes, families, fans and sponsors during the Olympic Games. In 2014 Saan Trucking was granted the full logistics operation for building the Holland Heineken House in Sochi, Russia during the Olympic Winter games.

This logistics project took about five months and covered the whole operation from planning until the return of all equipment to all vendors. Due to safety regulations and driving bans as an effect of the Olympic Games, we faced a tight timeframe to get all the equipment into Sochi. The operation consisted of loading on various locations, transfer, parking and just-in-time delivery at the venue.

We executed the transfer of 19 trailers from the Netherlands to Sochi using two ferry transfers. The first from Germany to Latvia was used to reduce turnaround time and economic reasons. A 2,500 km drive brought us to the second ferry; this ferry was mandatory due to a driving ban for the route to Sochi. Together with all the extra safety regulations, this was the biggest challenge for this job.

Thanks to our experience and extending network in Russia we concluded this project with a quick return home. The Holland Heineken House is a typical example of a close cooperation with our client and our experience with a-typical one-off projects.

Volvo Ocean Race

The Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier offshore race which is held every three years since 1973. It belongs to the largest sailing events in the world and it is considered the toughest sailing competition for teams. For the 2014-2015 edition Saan Trucking supported the official logistics supplier GAC Pindar with extra coordination, storage and flexible transport service.

We supported the race in three different ways. First, we provided full coordination and storage of an extra mast and accessories in a strategic location in Amsterdam. The mast should be 24/7 available if it was to be used as a substitute on one of the boats of the race.

Secondly, we transported several supplies from suppliers of the Volvo Ocean Race in the Netherlands to the start of the race in Alicante, Spain. Therefore, we used 10 trailers to Alicante, collect containers, lift-offs and one of the chassis was provided by us at the suppliers. Finally, we provided the transport for several stopovers in Europa, from Lisbon to the finish in Gothenburg, Denmark. Because of the tight race schedule, the challenge was to provide all the equipment in time. Therefore, we combined ferry and road transport, most of the time overnight.

The Volvo Ocean Race is a typical example of a successful sports event collaboration between the client, Saan Trucking and a third party in logistics.

Our fleet consist of tractors, box, softside and flatbed trailers, both mega and standard. All our trailers are equipped with the necessary facilities such as e-tracks at various heights, ratchet straps and load-bars. Recently we have expanded our fleet with five new trucks, all branded in our company colours to match with our current fleet.

We believe it’s not only about the trucks on the road, it’s about the people who drive the trucks. Our dedicated drivers speak fluent English and are very experienced in handling any live entertainment production successfully. Our drivers think beyond transport and provide additional services on site where possible. We offer transport solutions suitable to your needs. We put great care in personal contact with our clients, therefore you can contact us 24/7 by email and phone. If necessary, even in the middle of the night. So please do not hesitate to contact us about the possibilities of supporting your live event.

This article was contributed by Saan Trucking. For more information visit www.saantrucking.com

Opening the 2-day Host City 2018 conference, Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, reflected on the busy year it has been for the global events and festivals sector as well as looking at the opportunities and challenges facing the industry going forward.

He said: “The last 12 months has seen a packed calendar of major events across the world, kicking off with the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, followed by the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the FIFA World Cup in Russia and most recently the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

“It has also been pretty historic year for Scotland. We saw the opening of V&A Dundee, Scotland’s first ever dedicated design museum and the only other V&A museum anywhere in the world outside of London.

“We’ve also had our first themed year dedicated entirely to Scotland’s young people off the back of our bid to host the Youth Olympics that were recently held in Buenos Aires. As a legacy of that bid, and by putting our young people at the heart of Scottish society, the themed year has been one of the most successful things we’ve done.

“And one of the shining lights of the year was the inaugural European Championships with co-hosts Berlin. Those 11 days in Glasgow and Berlin were quite spectacular. There were many doubters and many doomsayers but it reached an estimated audience of 1.03 billion viewers and its success has created real momentum for the future that international federations need to look at.

“As a new event we didn’t have a manual on how the Championships should be delivered, giving us the opportunity to be innovative and find new ways of working. And while there were undoubtedly some challenges as we navigated our way down this new path with our co-host and the seven sports federations, overall the sector really responded, creating a delivery model that has caused real disruption within the events market.”

It is this delivery model that Paul believes we will see more of in the future.

“Already we’ve seen the 2026 FIFA World Cup awarded to the Unites States, Canada and Mexico as part of a joint bid and in 2020 the UEFA EURO 2020 will be hosted by 12 countries.

“In line with Agenda 2020, I think the International Olympic Committee need to be brave and give the Games to two or three countries. For me, it is the only way it will be sustainable in the future by spreading the benefit but also spreading and mitigating the risk.”

“Co-hosting across cities, regions or countries is an important trend for the future. It allows for more sustainable impact by using existing infrastructure as well as developing those social and cultural benefits across a much greater geographical area.

As well as new delivery models, technology was another area Paul believes will continue to have a big impact on major events in the future.

“Digital integration will also play a big part in the future of how major events are presented. We need to think how technology plays a part not only for the audience sitting in the stadium or concert hall but sitting at home whether that’s down the road from the venue or in a living room on the other side of the world.

“From augmented reality, live streaming to the availability of real-time data, all these tools are now at our fingertips to enhance the fan experience and drive greater engagement with an event.

“We’ve also seen the evolution of new events thanks to technology. The growth in esports and with it major live esport events, represents a massive opportunity for the sector. With an estimated 130 million competitive gamers who watch games online, and the huge growth market of esports, the alignment between traditional major events alongside an esport equivalent is massive.”

While it is an exciting time to be involved in the events and festivals industry, Paul strongly believes the sector still has more to do to ensure it articulates the short and long term legacy benefits if we are to continue to have meaningful impact.

“I know I said this at last year’s conference but I still believe we have a lot of work to do to truly showcase the impact hosting major events can have on a city and a country to our politicians.

“As an industry we can create impact across global governments like no other sector can. It is about ensuring a 360-degree holistic model approach to the planning and delivery of events, ensuring they are that are enshrined in policy whether its health, education, transport or sustainability. It is quite a change in mind-set moving forward.”

Concluding his opening remarks, Paul took a moment to remember two titans of the international sporting world – Mike Lee OBE and Patrick Baumann.

He said: “Their recent passing has come as a great shock to everyone. Over their careers they both made huge contributions towards the Olympic movement and they will be greatly missed.”

Host City is Europe’s largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events, attracting a large number of senior representatives of cities and destinations from around the world, who are interested in sharing strategic and sustainable approaches to hosting the world’s greatest sports, cultural, business, science and entertainment events.

[Source: EventScotland]