Gou Zhongwen, director of China's General Administration of Sport, has been named president of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC).

He succeeds Liu Peng, who has served as president of the COC since 2005 and is now honorary chairman.

The appointments were made at the COC session in Beijing at the end of 2016 and announced by state media agency Xinhua.

In November 2016, the 59-year-old Guo was appointed director of China's General Administration of Sport following Liu’s retirement from this position at the age of 65. In April 2016 he was appointed deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China's Beijing municipal committee.

In 2008, Guo was appointed vice-mayor of Beijing in 2008 responsible for education and technology. He also ran the leading group for Beijing's campus soccer development.

He was deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology from 2002.

Under Liu Peng’s leadership, China rose to prominence in several Olympic sports, including table tennis, badminton and diving, at three summer and three winter Olympic Games, topping the medal table at Beijing 2008.

Liu also played a lead role in Beijing’s successful bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As this Olympic Year 2016 comes to a close, we see that sport is one of the few things with the power to unite all people in an increasingly fragile world. Sport is an anchor of stability for so many people, regardless of background, nationality or belief. For me, this is the underlying reason that explains the success of the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Like no other event in 2016, it brought the entire international community together in celebration, with athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees as well as the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team. It was a rare moment of unity and solidarity for all humankind. We saw new records, great emotions, fair-play and sportsmanship. The participation of the Refugee Olympic Team sent a strong signal of hope to the millions of refugees in the world. The world’s best athletes set a powerful example that it is possible to engage in peaceful competition. For all these reasons, the Olympic Games Rio 2016 will be remembered as the marvellous Games in the Marvellous City. 

This unique power of sport to unite all of humanity is one of the most important things that the Olympic Games can give us in our troubled times. In a world where mistrust and uncertainty are on the rise, sport is a source of joy and inspiration for so many people, giving us hope that our shared humanity is stronger than the forces that want to divide us.

Half the world’s population tuned into Games coverage, making Rio 2016 the most-consumed Olympic Games in history, when one takes into account broadcast and social media. The explosion of social media platforms in recent years meant that more people than ever followed these Olympic Games via social media, with 7.2 billion views of official video content. An international survey has found that these Olympic Games are strongly associated with positive attributes such as “excellence”, “friendship” and “respect”, among many others.

With this global visibility comes responsibility for the world of sport. Because of the unifying power of sport, there are high hopes and even higher expectations for sports organisations from the general public – and rightly so. The role of sport in society is more relevant today than ever before. Consequently, sports organisations everywhere, need to justify the trust that people have placed in sport.

Outside of Rio 2016, we saw the growing relevance of sport in society in a number of different areas during this landmark Olympic year. It began with the very successful Winter Youth Olympic Games Lillehammer 2016, where the spirit and energy of the next generation of young athletes set the tone for the rest of the year. There was unanimous support for the Refugee Olympic Team from the UN Secretary-General, the UN General Assembly and from many heads of state and government. In a further expression of the close cooperation between the IOC and the UN, a resolution with consensus from all the Member States reaffirmed the UN’s recognition of the autonomy of the IOC and the role of sport as an important enabler of sustainable development. The first global conference on faith and sport held at the Vatican at the initiative of Pope Francis brought together the UN Secretary-General and the IOC with faith leaders to discuss the promotion of common values. The launch of the Olympic Channel gave the sports movement a digital platform to spread our messages and values to young people everywhere. Making the magic of the Olympic Games available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, we already have more than 382 million video views of Olympic Channel content across all of its social media pages.

So as 2016 comes to an end, we have many reasons to celebrate a successful Olympic Year. At the same time, there are no reasons to be complacent.

In sport, the success of today means nothing for tomorrow. As an athlete, I learned that your performance will ultimately be judged by how you rise to the occasion. The success of today only gives you the strength to address the challenges of tomorrow.

This is the same approach that the Olympic Movement will take to tackle the challenges that lie ahead in 2017. There are many challenges on our agenda, so we cannot afford to stand still. We need to rise to the occasion in the New Year.

The most immediate challenge is the shocking findings of the recent McLaren report on doping and manipulation in Russia that have caused damage to the credibility and integrity of sport. Two IOC commissions have been set up to coordinate our response. They will respect the due process and give all sides a fair chance to be heard. Following this, the IOC will take all appropriate measures and sanctions.

We will continue and extend the work of Professor McLaren. Since his mandate did not include a full re-analysis of all samples, we will re-examine all 254 urine samples collected from Russian athletes at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. We will do the same with all the Russian athletes’ samples from the Olympic Games London 2012. It is only fair for the credibility of the Olympic Games and for peace of mind of the athletes that we take these extra measures.

The latest developments underscore the urgent need for a strengthened, centralised anti-doping system under the leadership of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that is independent of sports organisations and governments alike. This is why the IOC will continue to call for a more efficient, more transparent and more robust anti-doping system, as unanimously supported by all stakeholders at the most recent Olympic Summit.

Another priority on our agenda is the preparation for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, which will be the first of three consecutive Olympic Games to be held in Asia. The many test events in PyeongChang this winter will be an important milestone on the road to what will be exceptional Olympic Winter Games in 2018.

The implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020 remains an ongoing priority, with more than 90 per cent of the expected deliverables completed or ongoing. The IOC has already implemented all good governance measures that were called for under Olympic Agenda 2020 and we expect other sport organisations to follow this lead. Another major step towards the realisation of Olympic Agenda 2020 will come in 2017 at our Olympism in Action Forum in Lima, Peru, where the role of sport in society will be addressed under the key themes of credibility, sustainability and youth.

Even though Tokyo was selected as Host City for the Olympic Games 2020 before the adoption of Olympic Agenda 2020, it is one of the first organisers to benefit from the new focus on flexibility, feasibility and sustainability. Following these principles has already helped Tokyo 2020 to realise significant overall savings, which we will continue to pursue with the local partners. In fact, the budget of the Organising Committee is privately funded, which means zero cost to the public purse.

With the excellent candidatures of Los Angeles, Budapest and Paris, we can already say with confidence that the world can look forward to outstanding Olympic Games 2024, whichever city is chosen as host. All three cities submitted projects fully in line with Olympic Agenda 2020 of how the Olympic Games can best fit into the long-term vision for the sustainable development of their cities. It is also clear that without the new flexibility under Olympic Agenda 2020, there would be no Candidates Cities at all for the Olympic Games 2024.

On a more long-term perspective, we need to recognise that the current candidature process produces too many losers. Therefore, we need to study ways to reform the candidature process beyond 2024, to ensure that the best host city is selected for the Olympic Games while minimising the losers.

Following the successful launch of the Olympic Channel, our focus must now lie on growing the audience and our reach. In 2017, efforts will concentrate on developing localised versions of the Olympic Channel, offering region- and language-specific content on linear and digital platforms. A significant milestone in this process was just recently announced with the new linear Olympic Channel in the US, set to launch during the second half of 2017.

The success of the Olympic Games Rio 2016 has shown us what it is possible when the world comes together in peace and solidarity as it did at the Olympic Games. So it is with this firmly in mind that we look towards 2017 with a renewed sense of purpose.

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year,

Thomas Bach

IOC President

[Source: IOC]

The number of sports events worldwide has been growing rapidly since the beginning of the 21^st century. And with new markets comes the appetite to create more competitions, or redesign existing competitions.

Right holders, cities and companies invest large amounts of resources from early stages in feasibility studies and more, but one thing is usually left off the table – even though it is crucial for making a tournament profitable: the competition format.

Since the original Olympics Games in Ancient Greece, tournament formats have remained the same: Round-Robin Groups and Direct Elimination (Play-Offs). Practically every competition world-wide that involves two competitors in each match uses these formats, even though it has caused several issues, supposedly unfixable – such as score-manipulations, low competitiveness and above all an inability to optimise number of participants, matches and match-days.

What do we mean by this inability to optimise the number of participants? Well, try to come up with a short tournament that has 10 competitors. Can’t think of any? Neither can I. Yet Googling the phrase “Top 10” shows 350 million results, while the phrases “Top 8” and “Top 12” returns around 20 million.

Obviously branding an event as a Top 10 would then be much more beneficial for all the stakeholders. Then why don’t we see more tournaments of 10 competitors? Probably because we can’t really imagine a tournament that doesn’t use the traditional format, so the number 10 is a “weird” number.

So in order to avoid having two groups of five teams, organisers opt to reduce the number of participants to eight as the ATP World Tour Final does (in a sport that is obsessed with Top 10 ranking), or increase the number of participants to 12, even at the expense of hurting the brand by including unattached teams, as Copa America does with Japan or Jamaica instead of just the 10 CONMEBOL teams.

There is an alternative. MatchVision, a game-changing company that helps federations and competition organisers to fulfil their competition objectives, has developed numerous simple, fair and transparent tournament formats that best fit the reality of the tournament, either new or re-branded.

Using innovation in formats, the parameters that define the competition (e.g. number of competitors, matches and match-per-competitor) are flexible, and changing one does not impose the other. For instance, increasing the ATP World Tour Finals to 10 players can be done without changing the number of matches-days or matches per player.

How would that tournament look like? There are several ways, but a simple example would be to divide players into two “zones”, instead of groups. Each player would face three opponents from the opposite zone, depending on previous ranking, and all players would be placed in one general standing. After everyone has played three matches, the best four players in the general standing would continue to the Semi-Final, with the first facing the fourth, and the second facing the third.

This simple system has many other benefits as well, such as a better tournament calendar that uses the first weekend of the tournament to its fullest, or having all players competing against all others, encouraging fans to follow all matches and not just the ones played by their favourites.

Another optimisation is the number of match-days. Under the groups format it is mathematically impossible to have an even number of match-days – a group of four teams would have three match-days, the same as a group of three teams, while having groups of five teams (or six teams) requires five match-days, and so on.

That is a death-blow to some competitions, due to issues such as the calendar and player endurance. Between 1987 and 1995 a tournament involving ex-players of World-Cup winning nations was played biennially, yet in spite of interest it ceased to exist. All recent attempts to create a similar tournament have failed for one major reason: finding players.

Very few important ex-players have shown willingness to join a tournament that would force them to play not less than three matches, not only due to the physical effort required but also due to time commitment of having to stay at least two weeks in the host nation. Yet with an innovative format that requires not less and not more than two match-days in the first round, and with the correct number of teams, this tournament could become a reality.

Last but not least, the competition format also affects the infrastructure costs of the tournament, not only due to the number of participants and matches but also the number of venues required and travel expenses. A multi-hosted event usually means long and numerous travels for competitors, fans and press. For instance, in the 2014 FIFA World Cup the United States national team travelled more than 10,000 miles inside Brazil alone. Yet with an optimised competition format, number of travels could be reduced to a minimum, even allowing smaller events to be held over few countries.

Whether you’re a rights holder, a city or a company looking to endorse a tournament, analysing the competition format is of your interest. With an innovative design, you could create a highly competitive tournament, deciding the number of participants, matches and match-days based on your requirements, breaking the restrictions imposed by the usage of traditional formats.

Itay Ingber is Chief Operating Officer of MatchVision

Take Modern Pentathlon and remove the dynamism of Swimming, the dexterity of Fencing and the heroism of Horse Riding. What do you have left?

What you have left is a sport with two disciplines, Running and Laser Shooting, and too big an audience to be counted.

A sport that can take place on a beach, in a park or in a city centre.

A sport where Olympians, beginners and veterans can test themselves on the same terrain, in the same conditions, with the same equipment and with the same sense of enjoyment through competition.

A sport whose compact format creates the possibility for organizing cities to enjoy extensive outreach and exposure, aligning sport with culture and entertainment.

What you have left is Laser-Run.

This sport, this new offspring of the core Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon, was conceived in 2014 and born in 2015, when the 1st UIPM Laser-Run World Championships were held in the south of France.

There, in downtown Perpignan, the sun shone through the fountains to create a kaleidoscope effect in harmony with the diversity of the competitors: women, men, girls, boys, competing individually and in concert, all ages, nationalities and races.

Twelve months later, in the capital of Portugal, another armada of athletes - 421 from 22 countries - gathered once more to transmit the message that this is a sport for everyone, and that rule applies to spectators as well as athletes.

Perpignan 2015 and Lisbon 2016. The Laser-Run World Championships. Two disciplines, two cities, two success stories.

So why does this format work so well?

By common consent, for spectators the most gripping stage of a Modern Pentathlon competition is the Combined Event. The Run/Shoot. The climax.

Laser-Run is the Combined Event with the slate wiped clean. It is Modern Pentathlon stripped of the complications of water, epees and horses. Laser-Run is not about elegant posture on horseback or razor-like reflexes or continuity of stroke, it is back-to-basics sport and it pulls off the trick of generating a thrilling spectacle with a simple format.

Everyone starts at the same time and the winner is he or she who finishes first. The laws of combat are straightforward. Run smartly, conserve energy, pick up your pistol and don’t miss. Don’t get stuck on the range, or you will be left behind and there will be no second wind. No tired legs to hunt down.

It is a concept that marries the most attractive aspects of running and gaming. Laser-Run combines outdoor athleticism and electronic fun to offer the best of both worlds.

What more could an active young audience wish for?

Well, they might also wish to be able to try out their Laser-Run skills against their friends, and ultimately chase national and international titles, and they might wish to do this in front of their families and other spectators and receive the acclaim on the finish line that they see elite athletes enjoy on TV.

Dr Klaus Schormann, President of UIPM, says: “As we saw during the inauguration of this competition in Perpignan in 2015, and again in Lisbon in 2016, the combination of Running and Shooting which replicates the climax of a Modern Pentathlon competition creates its own exciting World Championships.

“The Laser-Run World Championships has been another big step for the development of Modern Pentathlon and UIPM Sports.”

By the time the time the athletes on the track hear the starting pistol, the team from DB SCHENKERsportsevents has already completed most of its work. The logistics experts are organisation specialists for major sports events. They begin their preparations long in advance, developing logistics plans for management committees, associations, hospitality firms, sponsors, and service providers.

DB Schenker is the leading name in international sports and events logistics. Its partners come from every sporting discipline – football, winter games, sailing, athletics, motorsport and a lot more besides. Around the globe, DB SCHENKERsportsevents employs some 150 people who put their expertise at their customers' disposal, combining precision logistics with a passion for sporting pursuits of all stripes.

Always on the ball

In sports terms, 2016 was a superlative year. DB SCHENKERsportsevents toured the planet as it delivered logistics services at the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio, the UEFA EURO tournament in France, and a host of big-name tracks for the Formula One season.

These major events required months of preparations, which covered everything from long-distance planning to on-site services, and which were then followed up by the necessary activities following the events' conclusion.

An Olympian task

From delivering canoes for the competition itself to champagne for the party afterwards, the German team at DB SCHENKERsportsevents dispatched over 1,030 shipping containers of material to Rio. They contained essential provisions for the Olympic Village, the German national team, the house that served as their residence during the Games, as well as for the opening and closing celebrations and the VIP catering service organised for every stadium.

"As long ago as September 2015, i.e. almost a full year before the Games, one of our team was already in Rio to coordinate and oversee our planning activities on-site,” Christian Schultze, SVP at DB SCHENKERsportsevents.

“The most intense period for us was just before the Games, and then the whole team was involved. The Olympics and Paralympics represent a challenge, but it's one that we enjoy taking on time and again."

The Olympic Village has accommodated some 17,000 athletes during the course of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. DB Schenker sent some 940 containers of material to Rio to equip the village, which is often described as the "heart" of the Games. At no other sporting event do so many world-class athletes live in such close proximity, and the village is designed to provide every possible service from accommodation and catering to training facilities and platforms for meetings and events.

Similarly, the German house served as a place where athletes and figures from the worlds of sport, politics, business and the media could congregate. DB SCHENKERsportsevents had 100 per cent responsibility for all logistics activities at the site. As the exclusive logistics partner for the German house at Rio 2016, DB SCHENKERsportsevents planned and performed everything connected with the logistics pertaining to this traditional hub for meetings and mingling at the event.

As the official logistics partner of the Olympic teams from Austria, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland, DB Schenker made use of its respective national offices to make sure that the athletes' equipment made it to Rio on time. Similarly, DB Schenker staff in China, Japan and South Korea played a role in transporting television equipment from these countries, while employees in Singapore organised the transportation of the Singaporean sailing team's boats and other equipment.

Following the end of the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games, the work of DB SCHENKERsportsevents continues. Once the television broadcasts stopped and after the last athletes embarked on their homeward journeys, the logistics specialists spent about two months working on returning and forwarding the items sent to Brazil for the Games.

A race between racing events

DB SCHENKERsportsevents is also responsible for the pan-European logistics needs of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team, which relies on the experts for support between Formula One races. Whenever an event is held somewhere in Europe, DB SCHENKERsportsevents is in the thick of things.

Sometimes, races are just one week apart, a week during which the racing team needs to have a new home built for them at their next destination. When the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS drivers, cars, mechanics and other team members arrive for the new racing challenge, their motorhome needs to be ready and waiting for them.

In other words, everything has to be dismantled, loaded and transported to the next destination in the shortest time possible. It's the logistics provider's very own race between races. The moment the equipment arrives, 18 experts set to work in several shifts to complete the motorhome's construction in around 36 hours. Every step of this process has to run completely according to plan so that the construction team can hand over the keys on time.

The Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach in Lausanne on December 11 to discuss how China can strengthen its cooperation with the global sports organisation.

On his visit to Switzerland Wang also met with the director-generals of the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), as well as the president of Switzerland.

According to China Daily, Wang told Bach, “China is willing to strengthen cooperation with the IOC while upholding the Olympic spirit.”

Wang also expressed his confidence in the Beijing and Zhangjiakou’s ability to stage the Winter Olympic Games in 2022, highlighting the success of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

"With the all-out efforts of the Chinese people and the substantial help of the IOC, I am confident that the 2022 Winter Olympics will be another huge success," he said.

According to Yutang Sports Marketing, Wang stressed the importance of sports in human and national development, recognising the great contributions the IOC has made to promoting global sports development and strengthening the friendship among people from different countries.

Bach reportedly said China’s plans for sports development are at one with the IOC’s, noting the tremendous contributions China has made to the IOC and expressing gratitude to China for its cooperation with the IOC.

The IOC also looks set to strengthen this cooperation beyond the hosting of the Winter Games. "The IOC will be a full helping hand in delivering a fruitful 2022 Winter Olympics, while expecting to team up on further cooperation with China," Bach said.

In the meeting with UN Director General Michael Moller, Wang said "Against the backdrop that the global situation is continuously becoming more complicated, the role of the United Nations can only be strengthened instead of weakened."

Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, told Wang "China has set an excellent example in poverty alleviation and health undertakings, and I believe it will contribute more to improving global public health and sustainable development."

The 2015 FIG World Gymnastics Championships, hosted by Glasgow, received the award for Sports Event of the Year, one of several awards issued at the International Sports Awards 2016 in Geneva.

The 2015 FIG World Gymnastics Championships had already been hailed as superlative by the most influential figures in world sport. In his keynote address at Host City 2016 in Glasgow in November, WADA President and IOC member Sir Craig Reedie CBE – who was himself the recipient of the “Lifetime Achievement” award – described it as “the best presentation of indoor sports that I have ever seen”.

FIG President Bruno Grandi described the event, which sold more than 55,000 tickets, 60 per cent of which were sold outside Scotland, as “even better than the Olympic Games”.

This award marks a hat-trick for the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships, as the event already collected The Sunday Mail Scottish Sport Award for Event of the Year 2015, and the West Regional Scottish Thistle Award for Best Sporting Event of the Year 2016/17. 

Other awards at the International Sports Convention included: International Equestrian Federation (FEI) for “International Sports Federation of the Year”; STAIRS for the “Sports Community of the Year”; IMG Productions for “Sports Media”; Laureus for "CSR Campaign of the Year"; and Parc des Princes Stadium for “Sports Venue of the Year”.

The 2015 World Gymnastics Championships were held in The SSE Hydro from 23 October – 1 November 2015 and delivered in partnership between Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), Glasgow Life, Glasgow City Council, EventScotland, British Gymnastics and UK Sport.

Not only was the Championships one of the largest single-sport events ever to be hosted in the UK, with a record 594 gymnasts from 87 nations travelling to Glasgow to compete, but it also provided a number of historic moments for gymnasts including record All-Around titles for both Japan’s Kohei Uchimura and USA’s Simone Biles.

Following the event, Glasgow cited a dramatic increase in participation levels at gymnastics clubs and development programmes across the city. Attendances at pathways programmes went up by 15% between 2014/15 and 2015/16, and participation at the city’s seven gymnastics clubs increased by 28%. 

Councillor Archie Graham OBE, Depute Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow Life, said: “To win the International Sporting Award for Sports Event of the Year only reinforces what we’ve known all along – that the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships truly was one of the best sporting events Glasgow has ever seen. 

“Bringing more than 50,000 spectators and a massive £4.9million economic benefit to our city, it’s safe to say the event was one of a kind and more than worthy of the many rewards it has received to date!

“Here in Glasgow we’re still feeling the benefits of the 2015 World Championships, with participation in our gymnastics classes and programmes significantly increasing since the event – showing that major sporting events really do deliver lasting legacy benefits for the local community.”

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “The World Gymnastics Championships was supported through EventScotland’s International Programme and is without doubt one of the most successful events that Scotland has ever seen. 

“Not only did the event promote Scotland as the perfect stage for events to a worldwide audience through widespread broadcast and media coverage, it raised the bar in terms of the championships’ delivery, speaking to Scotland’s ever-strengthening capacity as an elite host of major events. 

“I am delighted the event now has the International Sports Awards Sports Event of the Year to add to a growing list of accolades and would like to congratulate all partners on their outstanding contribution to the historic success of the event.”

Jane Allen, CEO of British Gymnastics, said: “The 2015 World Gymnastics Championships, held in Glasgow’s SSE Hydro, was a historically successful event for British Gymnastics and for the sport as a whole. It is also a breath-taking example of an excellent world-class event that was so successfully held in Scotland, with the help of many, including the FIG, UK Sport, Glasgow City Council, through Glasgow Life, and EventScotland. 

“We delivered an event that has propelled gymnastics into a brand new and exciting era in the UK. We also delivered an event that has set such a high standard for future World Gymnastics Championships events to aspire to.”

Simon Morton, Chief Operating Officer at UK Sport, said: “The 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow was genuinely a pioneering event that set new benchmarks in the way this inspiring sport is showcased.

“Its success demonstrated the enduring power of hosting big sporting events in the UK, with packed crowds, outstanding British athletes, many of whom went on to make the nation proud at Rio 2016, and an incredible economic impact."

Many of the leading decision makers in the events sector gathered in Scotland in recent days, as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and annual Host City conferences took place in Glasgow.

In a first for WADA, one of the most important bodies in sport, the decision was taken to hold its Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre from 19-20 November.

Around 100 delegates attended the weekend-long event, among whom were members of the International Olympic Committee, International Sports Federations and National Olympic Committees, to discuss how to combat doping in international sports. 

The event, supported by VisitScotland’s Business Events team, reflects Scotland’s world-wide reputation as the deliverer of successful major business events and conferences and a world-leader in staging sporting events.

This occasion was closely followed by the annual Host City 2016 conference, where hundreds of event owners, city representatives and suppliers from across the globe enjoyed a busy programme, including top-level speakers from some of the most influential organisations across the spectrum of sporting and cultural events.

The event at the University of Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre, from 21-22 November, is well established as the perfect opportunity for cities and event owners to network with and learn from peers in the business of bidding for and hosting cross-sector events, from mega sporting occasions to live entertainment and congresses.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said:  “The decision by both WADA and Host City to bring these crucial and high-profile conferences to Scotland at this time is representative of our status as the Perfect Stage for events of all varieties.

“Scotland has a wealth of state-of-the-art facilities which allow us to host major conferences year round, generating significant value for the national economy, and I am delighted we continue to offer the ideal solution for many of the world’s most important organisations.”

“In its third year, Host City conference and exhibition is firmly established as the leading international meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events. We are delighted to see Host City continuing to grow in Glasgow, Scotland,” said Matthew Astill, CEO of Cavendish Group and Host City.

Leading figures from the world of sport governance and major event ownership convened in Glasgow on Monday and Tuesday for the Host City 2016 Exhibition and Conference to discuss how to attract and host secure and engaging sports, business and cultural events.

It was also announced that an additional “Host City Asia” event will take place in Beijing on 18 October 2017. 

“In its third year, Host City conference and exhibition is firmly established as the leading international meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events. We are delighted to see Host City continuing to grow in Glasgow, Scotland,” said Matthew Astill, CEO of Cavendish Group.

“In response to incredible market demand, we are pleased to launch an additional Host City Asia event in Beijing in 2017, where international event owners and suppliers will meet Chinese and Asian hosts and investors.”

Speaking at Host City 2016, Wang Dong, Vice President of Chinese sports media company Alisports: said “This is the spring of the Chinese sports industry… we want to get more people involved in the beauty of sport.”

Host City is the largest and fastest growing international meeting of its kind. At the third edition, the topics of future major events and integrity of sport were high on the agenda.

In his opening keynote address heading up a list of world-class speakers, Sir Craig Reedie CBE, IOC member and president of the World Anti-Doping Agency talked about how in an ever-more competitive field, hosting events is a “very active place” in contrast to the major multi sports events like the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games who, he said, have struggled to attract bid cities in recent years.

During the first panel discussion on the topic “What does future hold for major events?” Dimitri Kerkentzes, deputy secretary general, BIE (World Expos) said: “World Expos cannot be viewed from home. They must have participation and support from the public… We need to ensure that the event will benefit people from the host cities, and that it doesn’t leave white elephants behind.”

Simon Clegg CBE, Chief Operating Officer, World Expo Dubai 2020 highlighted the large ticket sale expectations and expansive physical set-up of World Expo Dubai 2020.

Francesco Ricci Bitti, President, ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) said: “The tangible and intangible impacts of sporting events on the community are very important.

"We need to be cautious about the fairness of the bidding process.”

He also commented that the level of flexibility afforded by the new bidding rules set out in IOC’s Agenda 2020 programme of reform needs to be carefully considered, saying “Changing venues from the bid book is taking it too far."

Sarah Lewis, Secretary General of the international Ski Federation (FIS) and the Association of Olympic International Winter Federations (AOIWF) said: “It is necessary to maximize the usage of existing facilities that would change the focus on having compact events. Compact events are convenient but don’t offer the best legacy opportunities”. She said “multi-city and multi-country events may be the future”.

Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, VisitScotland said: “The benefits of hosting major events are both hard and soft. The soft benefits, which you have to articulate very carefully, are becoming very important.

“The importance of transparency in the bidding process is crucial right now and is growing every year”.

The issue of good governance was further explored in the following panel session on “Has sport lost its integrity and how can it win confidence back?”

Dr. Bridget McConnell CBE, Chief Executive, Glasgow Life said: “A city’s values must shape and drive what you bid for and how you do it. If you lose public confidence in sport integrity you lose countries and cities bidding.”

When asked whether cities would turn their back on hosting events that can’t prove their integrity, she said “I can certainly say this of Glasgow. We would not want to be connected to any sport that had major controversy associated with it”.

Yves Le Lostecque, Head of Sport, European Commission said “In Europe we are defending values and we have to promote them. Integrity and governance are key parts of the EU mandate for sports. Our member states are keen to have the values maintained and we can help through policy cooperation and financial support.”

Adam Pengilly, IOC Member, VP of International affairs, International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) said: “Sport has an inherent value. The Games is loved all over the world… but sports politicians are sometimes lowly viewed.”

He also said "the perception of sport as a utopia needs to be changed. We need to be more realistic when looking at it".

Risto Nieminen, President, Finnish Olympic Committee said: “We need to create standard for doping control that spans across all countries” and added “business and entertainment are not the basis of sport. Instead, inspiration, well-being, optimism, and happiness.”

Ignacio Packer, Secretary General of children’s rights charity Terre des Hommes said: “The sport sector is opening up increasingly to the human rights sector”. He also questioned the tendency to limit the definition of “success” in hosting events to financial outcomes. “We believe that success is about people”. Ignacio also commented on his participation at the Host City Conference saying “I like coming to Host City because I am not with usual colleagues. I learn a lot here.”

The delegates, which included several IOC members, were also addressed by senior figures involved in bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games from Budapest, Los Angeles and Paris.

The Host City brand began life in China in 2003 as a bilingual magazine for the Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic Games. The Deputy Mayor of Beijing in 2009 presented the CEO of Cavendish Group with the “Great Wall Friendship” award in recognition of Host City’s role in bringing foreign technology content to China and creating an Olympic infrastructure partnership.

Cavendish Group is also known as the owner of the ICC (www.internationalcapitalconference.com ), China’s largest outbound investment event that is now in its seventh edition.

Host City’s Editorial and Conference Director Ben Avison said: “China is investing $850bn in sports by 2025 and is looking for global partners to develop its entertainment and cultural sectors. Host City Asia provides the platform to connect the international industry with this booming market.”

All the Host City 2016 Conference keynote addresses and plenary session content be streamed at www.hostcity.com/hc2016/audio – provided by sound-sharing platform audioBoom.

Glasgow prepares to welcome a unique collection of city and government leaders, cross-sector rights holders, event owners and suppliers to explore the challenges and benefits of bidding for major global events on 21^st and 22^nd November.

Sir Craig Reedie CBE, President of the World Anti-Doping Agency will give a keynote address on Monday morning followed by other headline speakers Jean-François Martins, Deputy Mayor of Paris and Angela Ruggiero, IOC Executive Board Member.

Prof. Dr. Ugur Erdener, President of the World Archery and NOC of Turkey and Vice President of the IOC will give a keynote address on “Rio 2016 and Beyond: How Events Showcase Cities” and Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, Chairman of Budapest Olympics Foundation will address the topic “Creating Safe and Engaging Events”.

Other speakers include Francesco Ricci Bitti, President, ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic Sports Federations); Sarah Lewis, Secretary General, FIS and AOIWF (Association of Winter Olympic Sports Federations); David Grevemberg, CBE, CEO, Commonwealth Games Federation; Dimitri Kerkentzes, Deputy Secretary General, BIE (World Expos) and Yves Le Lostecque, Head of Sport, European Commission.

The format of Host City 2016 is structured into separate segments with Day One dedicated to panel discussions and keynote addresses including ample opportunities for networking and a dinner reception in the evening. After three opening plenary sessions on Day Two, participants will split into concurrent roundtables discussing “Hosting Opportunities: How to Make Your City and Event Stand Out” and “Delivery and Legacy: How to Maximise Sustainability, Security and Revenues” which will be interactive sessions actively encouraging audience participation.

Other topics on the agenda include:

• What Does the Future Hold for Major Events?
• Has Sport Lost Its Integrity And How Can It Win Confidence Back?
• Building Sports and Entertainment Brands; China’s Investment Strategy
• Transformations in Multi-City and Multi-Sports Events
• A Safe Pair of Hands: How Cities Can be Secure Hosts
• Creating Entertaining Experiences for Visitors
• Making Event Infrastructure More Sustainable
• Business Events and Economic Development

For further information about Host City 2016 please visit www.hostcity.com or contact Ben Avison, Editorial and Conference Director, Host City ben.avison@hostcity.com.