The global conference and exhibition of cities and sports, business and cultural events is off to a flying start with 19 partners and sponsors already on board this year.

Launched in 2014, the annual Host City conference and exhibition is the first and largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events

EventScotland is Supporting Organiser for the 2017 event that is taking place in Glasgow on 28-29 November.

Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, said: “EventScotland has a strong heritage with the Host City conference and exhibition and we are delighted to be supporting them to bring leading events professionals together for what promises to be an insightful and informative two days.

“Scotland is the perfect stage for events and Host City 2017 will really set the tone ahead of some amazing world-class events including the Glasgow 2018 European Championships, the 2019 European Athletics indoor Championships and the 2019 Solheim Cup.” 

Host City is a unique event combining high-level panel discussions featuring renowned industry figures with an effective marketplace where cities of all sizes can meet with rights holders, event suppliers, event organisers and their procurement officials.

Host City 2017 is backed by
Supporting Organiser: EventScotland 
Supporting Partners: Glasgow Convention Bureau and Glasgow 2018
Silver Sponsors: Aggreko, FarrPoint, Marsh and Red Bull Air Race 
Branding Sponsors: Arena Group and De Boer

Host City 2017 also enjoys the support of Media Partners signed up so far, including: Exhibition World; fcbusiness; isportconnect; Major Events International; Orange Sports Forum; Sportcal; SportBusiness; World Academy of Sport; Yutang Sports.

“We are immensely grateful for the support of all the fantastic organisations that make Host City the great event it is today,” said Host City’s Editorial and Conference Director Ben Avison. “In particular we are delighted with the renewed support from Event Scotland as Supporting Organiser and Glasgow Convention Bureau and Glasgow 2018 as Supporting Partners.”

Many more sponsors and partners are set to join in the coming months. 
To find out more about the opportunities visit www.hostcity.com or contact Adam Soroka on adam.soroka@cavendishgroup.co.uk or +44(0) 203 675 9531.

For information on the conference agenda or speaking opportunities contact ben.avison@hostcity.com

SportAccord Convention has announced ‘Marketing and Sponsorship’ as the theme of the Plenary Conference following feedback from International Federations and delegates.

For sport and entertainment organisations, sponsors spend millions to build brand equity and it’s not just about eyeball exposure. The Plenary Conference will look at how to tap into the spirit of the sport by marketers who are sponsoring to leverage the enthusiasm and loyalty of sports fans, and transfer the fan’s passion to the brand as well as meet international sports federations expectations. Sessions will also focus on best practices to create and measure sponsorship activation. The 16th edition of the Convention in Bangkok, Thailand will take place from April 15-20, 2018.

SportAccord Convention is the world’s premier and most exclusive annual event at the service of sport. Held in a different city each year, the Convention takes place over six days and is focused on driving positive change internationally and dedicated to engaging and connecting; international sports federations, rights holders, organising committees, cities, press and media, and organisations involved in the business of sport.

In addition to the two-day Plenary Conference, SportAccord Convention offers the ever popular City Forum which saw a packed conference hall at this year’s Convention in Aarhus, Denmark. The City Forum is designed to address the needs and concerns of cities and regions bidding for major international sporting events. It does this by bringing together cities, event organisers, sports commissions, host cities, development authorities, international sports federations, and commercial organisations to share their insights and proven advice as well as practical takeaways. The Forum’s aim is to help cities obtain and host world class sporting events.

“SportAccord Convention is flying again following its great success in Aarhus, Denmark. This included meetings with 15 cities interested in hosting future conventions from Asia, the USA, the Middle East and Europe. This confirms how relevant SportAccord Convention is for the international sports community.” said Francesco Ricci Bitti, president of SportAccord Convention.

The conference programme also includes LawAccord and offers the opportunity to examine the most pressing and relevant legal issues for the international sports movement and the cities that host them.

In addition, the MediaAccord conference enables international sports federations, media organisations and media experts to work together to share best practices and winning ways to capture fan engagement and build strong brands across all media platforms with the SAC2018 conference theme providing a strong focus.

Bangkok is the next destination and global sports gathering for SportAccord Convention 2018 and serves as an international hub for this region. A key opportunity for any organisation involved in the business of sport, Bangkok provides organisations with unique opportunities to deepen their relationships in this region, or use #SAC2018 as a springboard to kick-start their involvement and tap into the region with over 90% of the delegation being key decision-makers and in a position to take action. Organisations will have access to the Who’s Who in the world of sport and achieve many of their business goals in one location within days – the No. 1 key objective for delegates who attended SAC2017 in Aarhus, Denmark.

Ask any elite athlete what it takes to win an Olympic title and you will probably hear an answer including words such “hard work”, “lots of training” and “perseverance”.

Well, the same thing can be said for any city or country bidding to host a summer or winter Olympic Games. 

After missing out on both the 2010 and 2014 events, the Korean county of PyeongChang finally won the bid for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games when it secured 63 votes compared to Munich (Germany) 25 votes and Annecy (France) seven votes in the 2011 IOC election.

In both the 2010 and 2014 bids, PyeongChang actually won the first stage of voting but lost out in the final rounds to Vancouver and Sochi by three and four votes respectively.

Losing once may be tough, losing twice may be soul destroying, but the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee were not going to give up on its Olympic dream easily. So once PyeongChang finally secured the bidding rights the organising committee was going to make sure that the “third time is a charm” – especially for its long-term sporting and social legacy plans.

A major test for Korea

Thirty years since the capital city Seoul held the Summer Olympic Games of 1988, Korea is preparing to welcome back the Olympic movement in February.

PyeongChang 2018 will see 102 events in 15 sport disciplines taking place at various locations, including six new venues purposely built for the winter games.

In order to be ready for 2018, a rigorous testing schedule under the “Hello PyeongChang” banner has seen the delivery of 25 test events (20 Olympic and five Paralympic) since February 2016 with thousands of athletes competing at 12 competition venues.

Speaking to Host City, Hee-beom Lee, the president and CEO of the PyeongChang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG), explained the importance of learning from the test events.

He said: “Overall the hardware [venues and infrastructure] and software [operational know-how, sponsorship and promotion] preparations are progressing as the POCOG team, Gangwon Province and the Central Government continue to work closely together.

“The average completion rate for six of our new competition venues is 97%. For our non-competition venues, construction is also well underway and we expect them to be completed by September 2017.

“Even with the end of the test events, our team will still use opportunities from milestone events and other activities to further fine-tune the Games preparations to ensure we can deliver the best Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018.”

Thirty years after Seoul 1988 put Korea on the global sporting map, PyeongChang 2018 has the potential to do the same again for winter sports. Lee added: “We saw the impact of the Summer Games back in 1988 on Korea and the perception of Korea by the outside world and we know that 30 years on the Winter Games can do the same for the country.”

Progress and legacy of the venues

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games will see events held in two main clusters in the Gangwon-do province – the PyeongChang Mountain and Gangneung Coastal clusters.

Located in the north-east of the country, the mountainous Gangwon-do province has multiple ski resorts and national parks. A key factor to the hosting bid was that all PyeongChang 2018 competition venues are within 30 minutes’ driving distance from the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium.

POCOG’s president Lee said: “Out of the six brand-new competition facilities, four have been completed and two are still on-going. As for the non-competition venues, they are well on track for completion.”

In the long-term, the 2018 venues will have a lasting legacy for Korea’s elite level sportsmen and woman and also its residents. “We have developed a post-Games venue legacy plan to keep the Olympic spirit alive,” said Lee. “The venues for PyeongChang 2018 have been designed as much around what happens after the Games as during it. These world-class facilities will serve communities and athletes for years to come.

“Many of the competition venues will continue to be used by athletes from Korea and all around Asia. The Sliding Centre [will be used] by the Korea National Sports University, Gangneung Hockey Centre by the new Daemyung ice hockey team and Alpensia Sports Park for Nordic skiing.

“Other venues will be open to the public and benefit the local residents. Ice arena as a multi-use sport-for-all facility and the Kwandong Hockey Centre used by the university.”

Accessibility is key

While the sporting venues are either complete or in the final stages of construction, there’s also much work being done to make sure athletes, officials and visitors can easily access the games.

Transport links between Seoul and the games clusters have had huge upgrades and improvements as part of PyeongChang 2018’s long-term legacy plan. New motorways and high-speed railway are among the major projects.

“Looking at transport, the constructions of the high-speed railway, expressways and the road networks are on schedule,” said Lee. “The 2nd Yeongdong Express Highways was completed last year. We have seen great improvements in the traffic flow from Seoul to PyeongChang as congestions have been reduced. There is also an increase in traffic with more people driving into PyeongChang.

“The high-speed railway will be completed in June this year and it will undergo thorough testing throughout the rest of the year. Once completed, people can travel easily from Incheon Airport to PyeongChang and Gangneung in just 98 minutes and 113 minutes respectively.

“This is great news for those travelling from Seoul who can now reach PyeongChang with ease and at a much shorter time – around 70 minutes via train and within two hours by car. The transport system will make the Games very accessible to many people.”

Transportation within the venue clusters is also high on the agenda for POCOG and the host locations. The transportation system in host cities comprises of two categories – the one provided by POCOG, and the other provided by host cities. 

The POCOG transportation system for spectators includes a total of three transport malls (Jinbu and Hoenggye Mall in the Mountain Cluster and North Gangneung Mall in the Coastal Cluster) and 10 parking lots with a total 11,170-car capacity.

Dedicated free shuttle buses will be also provided to the public from the transport malls in the mountain and coastal clusters to the various Olympic venues.

Sporting legacy

The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games marks the start of a memorable six years for Asian sport as the first of three Olympic events scheduled for the region, with Tokyo 2020 and then Beijing 2022 taking over the baton.

But while the 2018 games will again put Korea in the spotlight, the event is as much for Asia as it is for the republic.

“We have realised our dream by being given the honour of hosting the 2018 Games and we are now working hard to bring that dream to life,” said Lee. “We want to create many more life-changing experiences and open up new horizons for everyone that will be touched by the Games.”

Grassroots sport is one sector that POCOG and the local authorities have focused on since winning the bid. Schools have been engaged by the POCOG education department to create lesson plans and multi-media materials for teachers to deliver to students so they are given the opportunity to take part in the Olympic movement by participating in competitions and try out different sports. This education programme will grow in the months leading up to the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Another initiative launched by POCOG is its ‘Dream Programme’, which began in 2004. POCOG’s aim with the programme is to promote winter sports at grassroots level but on an international scale.

Lee said: “The aim of this programme is to offer young people from countries that lack the natural environment for winter sports, the opportunity to experience winter sports and advance the Olympic and Paralympic movement worldwide.

“A total of more than 1,500 people from 83 countries have participate in this programme by this year. We want to engage the younger generation and get more of them involved and excited by winter sports.”

Long-term tourism

With sporting and social legacy plans now in place one of the major industries that is looking to capitalise on the 2018 Winter Olympics is Korea’s tourism sector.

From the upgrades in venues and facilities to the new transport links, POCOG is working with government departments such as the Korea Tourism Organization to promote the country as a winter sports destination – not just in the run-up to next year, but also in the years after the event is held.

Lee said: “With the ‘New Horizons’ vision, we aim to develop winter sports and relevant industries in Asia, leaving a lasting legacy in the host region by transforming PyeongChang and Gangwon Province into an Asian winter sports hub and year-round tourist destination. This is part of the sporting legacy of POCOG 2018.

“The Gangwon province has the potential to go from a small region in Korea into a hub of winter sports. Its proximity to Seoul is a really strong selling point making the slopes and snow more accessible for everyone, especially with the new transport links that are currently being developed.”

Seunghyun Hwang, director of the Korea Tourism Organization in London, agreed that PyeongChang and the Gangwon-do province have the potential to be a winter sports hub. But Korea can also, according to Hwang, play a huge part in the run-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“North Asia is quite lucky that in the two years after PC2018 there will be the Tokyo summer Olympics and then Beijing 2022, which gives our region a huge opportunity to solidify North Asia as a winter and summer sporting hub,” said Hwang. “The 12 venues and the Gangwondo province as a whole will become ideal training camps for athletes ahead of 2022. Asia is likely to see a major winter sport increase over the coming years with both 2018 and 2022 putting spotlight on region.

“The fact that Korea tried to get the Winter Olympics in 2010, 2014 and was successful for 2018 means there has been much time to create such things as a ‘ski school’ to encourage the best young Asian ski athletes from across South East Asia to get involved in elite [and amateur] and encourage a new generation to these type of sports.”

Why is sustainability so important for major events?

Gary Meador (GM): Organising committees and bid cities are always weighing up the cost benefit of permanent versus temporary infrastructure; and creating a lasting legacy versus leaving things as the way you found them. A lot of the LOCs (local organising committees) are considering, along with the public consciousness, the most efficient and sustainable way to host major events, whether it is an international sporting event or music festival.

What a lot of the events are looking at now is they don’t necessarily need to build everything as a legacy. Not every city has the need for a permanent velodrome or a rowing venue. One of the things that Aggreko is really good at is working with customers to find innovative solutions to challenges around temporary power, air-conditioning and heating, or whatever their needs may be – to come in and help them make as little impact on the venue. At the end of the event we pick our stuff up and go away.

On the other hand, we also work with event organisers to help design what are meant to be legacy venues. We use our experience and key learnings during the planning phases, acting as a strategic partner as early as possible, to contribute to ideas on how infrastructure can be built or where it will have a fair use afterwards for example.

The benefit of adopting temporary power and cooling systems means you don’t have to build a venue to meet its peak requirements. You can build it to be somewhat less than that and supplement with on-site services to meet the additional capacity demand during the event.

For example, for a building that would normally seat 20,000 for a regular sporting event but has to seat 30,000 for a major event, you don’t have to put in an air-conditioning system that will cool 30,000 people, just one for 20,000 people that can be supplemented.

There’s all kinds of different ways we can work with LOCs to help them meet those goals.

You mentioned LOCs, do you work with them at this stage when they become an organising committee or is this something that potential event bidders can be thinking about earlier in the game?

GM: I think it’s definitely beneficial to think about sustainability earlier because a lot of people don’t have a great deal of experience with the temporary. Their only base of knowledge is working with a design-engineering firm, for example, that have only ever designed permanent structures. The earlier we can get involved the greater the opportunity is to improve efficiency and help create lasting benefits for the organising committees as they move forward.

It doesn’t have to be an organising committee, it could be the PGA of America, the US Golf Association or Formula 1, that’s just something we have developed a special niche for in the past 30 years.

Do you think that the rights holders and event organisers are fully aware of the possibilities of how solutions, like your temporary power solutions for instance, can make an event more sustainable?

GM: We are trying our level best to raise awareness of the benefits of temporary systems, but no I think that knowledge is still low. We have a lot of work to do moving in that direction. It’s not just our discipline; it’s the tent companies, the bleacher companies, the restroom trailer companies, everyone. We have mastered the ‘art of the temporary’ and either supplement or fully provide services for an event from start to finish but need to spread the word on the benefits of this approach.

Which particular events have you been working on recently to enable these sustainable solutions?

GM: We have supported quite a few major events on the world’s stage lately: the Ryder Cup in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Trump inauguration in Washington DC. We didn’t have a huge amount of time to think about sustainable solutions for the inauguration as it comes together virtually in a week after the election, but at the Ryder Cup we were able to do some neat things.

We introduced some LED lighted balloons that replaced standard diesel-generated light towers. We took some of those to the site, plugged into the on-site power source we were already providing, and helped the PGA of America eliminate the need for 20 light towers they would have had to rent. I think this saved about 40,000 tonnes of carbon across the length of the job.

We are trying to find innovative ways to work with event organisers and help them to meet their sustainability goals too. We are looking at battery technology to come in and maybe take over a small load at night, so the generator can shut off and the load can run on battery. Then when the load grows larger than the battery system, the generators start back up during the day.

We are continuing to look at new innovations likes these to really help events lower their carbon profile and meet their sustainability goals as well as cost savings. We owe it to our customers to help them find better and economical ways to do things. That’s part of our mission.

Energy storage is becoming increasingly important for a whole range of industries, but you can see why in the major events sector…

GM: Yes, we are waiting for that magic battery to be built that makes it ultra-efficient to store this power too. The technology isn’t quite there on the batteries, but it’s getting better.

The boom in China's sports industry presents huge potential for foreign investment, especially from the UK.

Speaking at the Telegraph Business of Sport conference in London, Liu Xiaoming, the ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the UK, said that sport has become one of the country's new economic highlights and a national strategy for business.

From sports events and venues to retail and sponsorship, China has major opportunities for collaboration said Liu.

"There's no doubt China is a big sports nation, but China is not yet a strong sports nation," he said. "There are challenges. But in the long run China's sports sector has a huge market to offer.

"Many compare China's sports industry to a huge gold mine.

"The sport sector is fast emerging as a new growth point. By 2020 the total output will exceed US$450 billion. All this indicates a growing demand for domestic and foreign investment. [China's] sport industry is booming.

"[There is] great potential for China and the UK to collaborate in many aspects of the sports industry."

When asked about China's potential of hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, Liu added that it is a dream for the Asian superpower.

"Chinese people have three dreams for football," he said. "Dream one is to be a champion of Asian Games. They want to see the Chinese team perform better.

"Second dream is to host the World Cup. Maybe not 2030 but looking down the road we hope Chinese will host the World Cup.

"Third dream is to win the World Cup."

To discover more opportunities in China's sports, business and cultural events market visit Host City Asia in Beijing on 18 October.

IAAF president Sebastian Coe believes the creation of the new independent Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) will not just benefit competitors but also puts policies in place to combat any threat to the sport’s ethics.

Launched at the SportAccord Convention, the AIU will be chaired by David Howman and replaces the IAAF’s former anti-doping department. It will manage activities including education/prevention, testing, intelligence gathering, investigations, results management, prosecutions and appeals.

The AIU’s focus will not only be on anti-doping but will also address integrity breaches in other areas of concern such as bribery and corruption, betting, the manipulation of competition results, age manipulation and misconduct around transfers of allegiance.

Coe said that from now on athletes must be the centre of the sport and the framework for the AIU will provide them with a “safer ecosystem”.

“At the heart of the governance reform is the creation of the Athletics Integrity Unit,” said Coe. “So often the athlete has been the first thought, but actually in reality the last consideration. This will place the athlete absolutely at the centre of that ecosystem. So they are the first thought and also the first consideration.

“It [the AIU] will have a very different approach to anti-doping. It will be independent, will remove national interest and will speed up the process. We need to resolve these issues quickly, we need to resolve them in an independent way and we need to do them so we don’t have national interest obscuring that process.”

Coe added: “It’s really important in a sport that has 214 federations that the ultimate goal is not just to make your headquarters safer or the academic process of putting corporate governances in place. They have to have practical applications through area associations, in our case the continental associations, and then it’s got to have an alignment, an impact and practical support to the 214 federations.

“This will take time but we needed a constitution that was both fit for purpose and can deal with not just one or two issues but for the first time we will have a unit that can deal with all these problems.

“Yes there is a disciplinary element to it, yes there is a sanctioning element to it, there will be investigative powers – but it is fundamentally there to help the athlete make the right decisions throughout their career.”

With the launch of the AIU, the sport is putting systems in place to safeguard its future off the track. But with the introduction of events such as Nitro Athletics, Coe says that innovation must also happen on the track if the sport is to survive.

Not seen as an event for the purists, Nitro Athletics was headlined by sprint king Usain Bolt and is a team-based competition that combines strength, endurance, power and extreme energy.

What did Coe think about the Nitro Athletics spectacle held in Melbourne in February? “It’s very simple, you innovate or you die,” he said. “If sport is our activity then our business is entertainment. We haven’t adapted [to the modern world] as well as we should have done.

“What I liked about Nitro is it’s not that you are suddenly in the World Championships in London or the [Olympic] Games in Tokyo going to see elimination miles, power plays or mixed relays, but there were clues there as to why young people felt more engaged in what they were watching.

“I did throw down the challenge when I became president to ‘do things differently’. It’s important that we evolve and it’s important that we engage young people.

“Yes, sometimes that will be uncomfortable for the purists.”

Neven Ilic, the newly-elected president of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), is travelling to Lima to discuss preparations for the Lima 2019 Pan American Games with president of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and the Lima 2019 organising committee.

On his first international trip as PASO President, Neven Ilic will meet President Kuczynski at the Lima Government Palace on Tuesday at 10:00 local time.

President Kuczynski and the Lima 2019 Organising Committee will use the senior PASO delegation’s visit to the Peruvian capital as an opportunity to present the preparations underway for delivering a world-class event that leaves a positive legacy for Peru and the PASO region.

Lima 2019 president Carlos Neuhaus said: “We very much look forward to welcoming President Ilic to Lima. The new president has made it clear the Pan American Games is a strategic priority for PASO and that is a responsibility all of us here at Lima 2019 take very seriously. We are grateful for the opportunity to show him our progress to date and our plan of action for the coming months.

“We are confident that this is the beginning of strong relationship between Lima 2019 and the new PASO leadership as we work together to deliver a Games that PASO and Peru can be proud of, a great experience for every participant, and a meaningful legacy for the people of Peru and beyond.”

Following his meetings at the Lima Government Palace, President Ilic will travel to the Lima 2019 offices where he will receive presentations on the current status of preparations before being taken on tour of Lima 2019 venues and construction sites.

The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games organising committee is working to enhance and develop accommodation after concerns were raised over a shortage of rooms.

At February's PyeongChang 2018 Chef de Mission Seminar, it was reported that while construction and planning for the Games venues were impressive, accommodation and transport links were an issue.

Because of a potential lack of rooms in the mountain and coastal clusters, spectators may be forced to book accommodation outside of the Olympic areas. Some may even have to travel from the capital city Seoul, which is more than an hour away by high-speed rail and more than two hours away via the expressway.  

At a PyeongChang 2018 roadshow organised by the Korea Tourism Organization in London, officials were asked what is being done to allay the fears of a shortage in rooms. Hyung Koo Yeo, secretary general of the PyeongChang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG), told media that adjustments were being made for accommodation.

He said: "Regarding the client groups there are 21,000 rooms accredited by the IOC. The accommodation development plan is in progress regarding the contracts with various stakeholders and there are some changes such as cancellations, some additional reservations. We are in the process where we adjust these type of things.

"Regarding the spectators the host cities are preparing for this. We are in the process where we enhance and develop the quality and environment of these accommodations."

During the 2018 Winter Olympic Games 12 competition venues will be used, with six new venues purpose-built for the event. Four of the six venues – Gangneung Oval, Gangneung Ice Arena, Gangneung Hockey Centre and the Kwandong Hockey Centre – are 100% complete. The Jeongseon Alpine Centre and Alpensia Sliding Centre are 86.7% and 94.15% completed respectively.  

According to POCOG overall construction progress of venues is at 96.8% as of April 17.
 

[Source: ITU] The International Triathlon Union is pleased to announce that ITU President and International Olympic Committee member, Marisol Casado, has been appointed to four of the IOC Commissions. During the next year, Casado will serve on the Women and Sport, Olympic Solidarity, Public Affairs and Social Development Through Sport and Evaluation for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Commissions, while ITU Honorary Member Dr. Sarah Springman will serve on the IOC Sustainability and Legacy Commission.
 
“I am absolutely delighted to be involved in the four Commissions at the IOC,” said Casado. “To be able to present the IOC with the voice of an International Federation is always remarkable, and I commit myself to serve with dedication, transparency and loyalty to help develop not only our sport, triathlon, but also the whole world of sports.”
 
IOC President, Thomas Bach, announced the composition of the 26 IOC Commissions, highlighting the fact that 38% of the places are now held by women. “These changes are aligned with the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020 and show that a stronger participation of women and a more diversified continental representation are our top priorities,” said IOC President Bach.

For the first time, female members are present on each of the Commissions. The IOC has also approved to increase the number of members from America, Africa and Asia, guaranteeing a more diverse continental representation.

Ms. Casado was appointed a member of the IOC in 2010, and since then she has been playing an active role on multiple commissions and activities. She joined the Women and Sport Commission in 2014, being also the only female president of a summer Olympic International Federation.
 
In 2015, she was appointed to the Public Affairs and Social Development through Sport Commission, presided by Mario Pescante, and the following year, in 2016, she was elected as a member of the Evaluation Commission for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, to which the cities of Los Angeles and Paris are bidding.
 
The last commission to be joined by Casado is the Olympic Solidarity, presided by the Sheik Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, which is focused on giving assistance to all the National Olympic Committees, particularly those with the greatest needs, through multi-faceted programmes prioritizing athlete development, training of coaches and sports administrators, and promoting the Olympic values.
 
ITU Honorary member and former Vice President, Dr. Sarah Springman, has also been appointed to serve on the Sustainability and Legacy Commission, presided by Prince Albert II of Monaco.
 
The new make-up of the IOC Commissions, which will provide assistance to the IOC and the Olympic Games Organising Committees, is also marked by the inclusion of young men and women who represent a new generation and will be the sports leaders of tomorrow.
 
“I am really excited that some young faces are joining us working on the Commissions. Mentoring the new generations is always a great investment for all, as we’ve been doing during the last few years, also at ITU,” said Casado.

UK International Trade Minister Greg Hands has signed an arrangement with the organisers of the 2019 Pan-American Games, making the UK the lead partner in helping deliver the fourth largest sporting event in the world.

The games, hosted in Peru for the first time in Lima in 2019, will bring together the nations of North and South America, with more than 5,000 competitors in 36 different sports. As part of the agreement, a team of UK experts with experience running more than 100 major sporting events including the 2012 London Olympics, will work closely with the Lima 2019 organising committee, helping it deliver the infrastructure and organisation of the games on-time and on-budget.

Contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds will be open to UK companies to help deliver the organisation of the games in areas like event management, security and construction where the UK is a world-leader having been involved in the organisation of every major international sporting event since the 2000 Olympics.

Carlos Neuhaus, president of the Lima 2019 organising committee, said: “This arrangement with the UK government is fundamental to our progress in successfully organising and delivering the Lima 2019 Games. We are thrilled to be working in close collaboration with our British partners, benefitting from their extensive expertise to make the Lima 2019 Games a success.”

Hands added: “Since the Sydney Games in 2000 the UK has been involved in every major global sporting tournament offering support in areas like construction, transport and event organisation. This new agreement will deliver that world-leading expertise to help make the Lima 2019 Games a success, creating opportunities for UK companies and a lasting legacy for the Peruvian people as we did at London 2012.”

British ambassador to Peru, Anwar Choudhury, added: “This is a significant new milestone for our two countries. We are in this together, as friends and as long-standing partners. Through our support and expertise, we are confident we can make the Lima 2019 Games a tremendous success and leave a lasting legacy for Peru, just as the 2012 Olympic Games did in London.”

Knowledge transfer is also part of the bilateral arrangement. The team of British experts has an accumulated experience of more 100 large sporting events, including the 2012 Olympic Games in London, to help the Special Project ensure effective time-management and quality delivery of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games.