Representatives of cities, regions and countries attending this year’s SportAccord Convention, are invited to attend the City to City session at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne on Tuesday 19 April 2016.
The session will be hosted and facilitated by members of a working group who have been investigating the feasibility of forming an organization for “not-for-profit” investors to share knowledge of hosting international events.
Subjects of importance to bid cities and regions will be discussed, and all conversations will be designed to permit open exchanges of experience and ideas. Issues on the agenda will include those relating to the bid process, economic impact, legacy, governmental and private sector support, and matters of concern to any bid city or region.
An additional topic will be the potential development of an international association or collective of cities and regions who host major events. In recent months a working group has met several times in an attempt to develop the concept to the point where all cities and regions can become involved. Members of the working group to date include:
- Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development
- Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance
- EventScotland
- Fáilte Ireland, National Tourism Development Authority
- London & Partners
- New Zealand Major Events
- Sport Event Denmark
- USA National Association of Sports Commissions
The meeting will be held from 9:30 am to 12:30pm at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne.
“The impact of hosting international sport events has provided a significant boost to the Canadian economy,” said Rick Traer, CEO of the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance. “The legacy facilities provide much needed infrastructure for athletes to train and to encourage a healthy lifestyle for all Canadians. The tangible and intangible benefits of hosting these major events are important reasons for working together, sharing our knowledge and learning from the experiences of other countries.”
Iain Edmondson, Head of Major Events at London & Partners said “Cities like London have come to recognize the value of major events in developing our economy and society. We are always seeking to learn from colleagues around the world and we hope to see representatives from every continent participating in the discussion.”
Lars Lundov, CEO of Sport Event Denmark commented: “From a rather small country point of view I am convinced that sharing best practice and knowledge across borders and continents would benefit all of us, the right holders and the hosts as well.”
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events added: “Major events make a vital contribution to the Scottish economy and, in recent years, staging some of the world’s most prestigious events, such as the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup, has brought about substantial benefits for the nation.
Our progress has been greatly aided by knowledge sharing and discussing best practice with other leading event-hosting nations and I look forward to the further opportunity of doing just that at the City to City session at SportAccord.”
About the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA)
The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance is a non-governmental, member-based, capacity building organization that promotes sport tourism as a grassroots economic development initiative at the community level. The CSTA services over 500 members across Canada, including 150 municipalities, 300 national and provincial sport, multi-sport and major games organizations and a variety of other sport and tourism industry partners. Sport tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry in Canada with approximately $5.2 billion in annual spending by domestic and international visitors.
About London & Partners
London & Partners is the official promotional company for London. We promote London and attract businesses, events, congresses, students and visitors to the capital. Our aims are to build London’s international reputation and to attract investment and visitor spend, which create jobs and growth.London & Partners is a not-for-profit public private partnership, funded by the Mayor of London and our network of commercial partners. For more information visit www.londonandpartners.com
About Sport Event Denmark
Sport Event Denmark is the national Danish sports event organization. Established and supported by the Danish Government. Our objective is bidding for and hosting world class sporting events in Denmark, for example World- and European Championships in different sports as well as major sports congresses. Sport Event Denmark is working in close collaboration with the Danish host cities and the national governing bodies. Today Denmark is one of the leading countries in terms of hosting world class sporting events (in top-15 globally according to SportCal).
About EventScotland
EventScotland is working to make Scotland the perfect stage for events. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programs and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org. Follow EventScotland on Twitter @EventScotNews.
EventScotland is a team within the VisitScotland Events Directorate, the national tourism organization which markets Scotland as a tourism destination across the world, gives support to the tourism industry and brings sustainable tourism growth to Scotland. For more information about VisitScotland see www.visitscotland.org or for consumer information on Scotland as a visitor destination see www.visitscotland.com.
CONTACT:
Rick Traer, CEO
Tel: 613-688-5843