From the Mayor of London’s office
London has seen off tough global competition to host the prestigious 2011 international SportAccord Convention, raising prospects of a multi-million boost for the capital’s economy.
The SportAccord Convention will see over 1,500 of the world’s top sporting officials and business people from more than 60 countries come to the capital for the six-day event. The convention will initially contribute over £3m to the London economy. However, it is expected to be worth many more millions through contracts for new businesses and more major events coming to the capital and the UK beyond 2012.
Hosting SportAccord is a key milestone in delivering the capital’s long-term aims to position London and the UK as the world’s leading city and country in the business of sport. With the 2012 London Games around the corner, the convention is a unique opportunity for the capital and the UK to showcase British expertise and increase its market share in the US$111 billion global sports business industry.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This is a truly fantastic opportunity for the capital. Delivering a legacy for London after the Games is crucially important and SportAccord will now play a significant role in helping us achieve this. Sport is at the heart of this great city and I am looking forward to welcoming all sports leaders, IOC members and Olympic bidding cities to London in 2011 to give them a taste of what’s in store for 2012 and after.â€
Tessa Jowell, Olympics Minister and speaker at the 2012 Games Sport Business Summit today, said: “The SportAccord Convention is an excellent opportunity for UK businesses to showcase their expertise gained from working on London 2012 to key players in the international event supplier sector. With preparations for the London Games reaching fever pitch in 2011, SportAccord will be a vital forum for British companies looking to capitalise on the business benefits of 2012 and take their experience overseas.”
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Hein Verbruggen, Chairman of SportAccord Convention commented, “Our constituents comprise the top leadership in all areas of international sport and have a vested interest in any city that is hosting an Olympic Games and other top-level sporting events. With London preparing to welcome the world for the Games in 2012, there is no better time for the SportAccord Convention to come here and witness the final preparations taking place in your city. We look forward to working with our colleagues here over the coming year and a half, and to together creating an event which will show the world what a wonderful host city London will be – for the SportAccord Convention, the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and future major sports events in the city.”
The bid to bring this prestigious sport’s convention was co-ordinated by the Events for London team at Visit London and has been heavily supported and funded by a number of the UK’s sporting and business bodies. Those bodies include the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) whose key role is to build Britain’s capabilities to compete in the global economy. The government’s sporting body UKSport has also proactively supported the bid as well as the Greater London Authority (GLA), LOCOG, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the London Development Agency (LDA), VisitBritain, and Events for London.
The convention is a unique annual event organised by the International Sports Movement. It will be attended the top officials from the Olympic and non-Olympic International Federations of sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board, rights holders of major sports events, media, sponsors and other commercial businesses in the global sports industry. The six-day gathering from 3rd — 8th April will be the first time the convention is hosted in the UK and will be held in the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London.
Notes for editors:
The first SportAccord Convention was held in Madrid in 2003. Each city to be successful in hosting the Convention has to provide an itinerary of engaging events and activities, which allows the attendees to experience the culture and hospitality of that city.
London follows on from previous host cities including Beijing, which also hosted SportAccord in the year before the 2008 summer Olympics. Other previous host cities include Dubai, Denver, Lausanne and Olympic cities Seoul and Athens.
The SportAccord Convention comprises networking activities and a select series of high-level conference sessions centered on a comprehensive exhibition, which showcases over 80 organisations. The event attracts a global audience of about 1,500 delegates from 60 countries around the world, representing 500 different organisations, including 85 cities and national event bodies, consultants, lawyers and a wide range of companies, as well as media covering the event.
Owned by SportAccord/GAISF (General Association of International Sports Federations), ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) and AIOWF (Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations), the SportAccord Convention encompasses the annual Congress and General Assembly of each of these association, while also offering the sports community a powerful opportunity to come together in an exclusive and authoritative networking environment to build relationships, exchange knowledge and develop ideas.
These three associations have a collective membership of over 100 international sports federations who turn own and manage over 1000 international sports events in over 100 different sports disciplines.
The International Olympic Committee have organised the spring meetings of the IOC Executive Board at each convention to date. In addition to its Executive Board Meeting, the IOC also hold their annual joint meetings with SportAccord/GAISF, ASOIF and AIOWF during the Sportaccord annual gathering.
UK Sport
UK Sport is the strategic lead body for high performance sport in the UK. It invests Exchequer, National Lottery and private funds in Britain’s best Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes to maximise their chances of success on the world stage.
UK Sport also leads the campaign to bring strategically important sporting events to our shores; works with National Governing Bodies and other partner organisations to help them build positive working relationships with International Federations and other international bodies. For more details go to www.uksport.gov.uk
â–¡ UK Sport is the longest standing lead sponsor of the Sports Journalists’ Association, with a partnership that goes back more than a decade. Sky Bet is the SJA’s newest partner, the sponsorship being announced in October 2008.
Both partners support the SJA’s two prestigious annual awards events, including the presentation of a special UK Sport Award for excellence at the SJA’s Annual Sports Awards and the sports betting writer of the year at the SJA’s British Sports Journalism Awards.
The SJA Annual Sports Awards are the longest established of their kind in the United Kingdom, having been first staged in 1949.
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