FIFA has sent bidding documents to 31 member associations that have declared their interest in hosting eight tournaments.
The relevant member associations now have to sign and return the documents before the FIFA Executive Committee begins the process of assigning the hosting rights.
The available events include the 2019 Women’s World Cup, the 2018 U-20 Women’s World Cup, the 2018 U-17 Women’s World Cup and the 2015-2019 Club World Cups. An unprecedented 12 countries have put themselves forward for the 2017 Beach Soccer World Cup.
FIFA has made it clear that it would prefer the 2019 Women’s World Cup and the 2018 U-20 Women’s World Cup to take place in the same country. Four countries have put themselves forward for these two events, namely England, France, Korea Republic, New Zealand and South Africa.
South Africa has also declared an interest in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, hopeful that its hosting of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2016 will enable it to qualify to host the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
For the 2018 U-17 Women’s World Cup, FIFA has received five declarations of interest, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Finland, Northern Ireland and Sweden.
The deadline for submitting the hosting agreement together with all the signed bidding documents for all of the women’s events is 31 October 2014. The election of the host nations is scheduled to take place at the first FIFA Executive Committee meeting in 2015.
The 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup has attracted a particularly large pool of associations, with 12 countries hoping to host the tournament: Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, UAE and USA.
All bidding and hosting documents for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup must be signed and submitted by 1 October 2014. The FIFA Executive Committee will appoint the host at its meeting in December 2014.
FIFA has also opened the bidding process for four editions of the FIFA Club World Cup. India and Japan have put themselves forward for the tournament in 2015 and 2016, while Brazil, Japan and UAE are aiming for 2017 and 2018.
The deadline for submitting the bidding documents is 25 August 2014 and the host will be selected by the Executive Committee in September 2014.
“FIFA is delighted to see the impressive interest from its member associations in hosting a FIFA competition,” football’s world governing body said in a statement.
Category: Event Bidding
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31 countries declare interest in FIFA World Cup events
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South Africa woos continent for 2022 Games support
Seeking support for its bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) treated representatives from fellow African Commonwealth countries to dinner in Botswana on Sunday.
Representatives from 16 African Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) attended the dinner.
Africa holds great sway in the voting procedure: with 18 of the 70 CGAs, the continent is home to more Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) members than any other region.
Tubby Reddy, CEO of SASCOC said in a statement “We do believe that with your support, our brothers and sisters of Africa, our bid will be successful, and to show the rest of the Commonwealth that it is indeed the African continent’s turn.”
Gideon Sam, President of SASCOC added “If there is any honesty in the world it’s Africa’s time. It’s been to Canada, it’s been to Australia, it’s been to England, it’s been to Scotland, it’s been to Asia but it’s never been to Africa. And we believe that it is our time. We have the infrastructure.”
The CGF does not employ a system of continental rotation for hosting the Games, but its constitution states: “The Commonwealth Games shall not be awarded in succession to countries in the same Region if countries from other Regions are making acceptable applications to act as hosts to the Commonwealth Games.”
In all its 22 editions, the Commonwealth Games has only been awarded three times to emerging cities outside Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
In a previous interview in the Spring issue of HOST CITY magazine, David Grevemberg, CEO of Glasgow 2014 said “Durban is emerging in some ways, but it’s got some regenerative aspects it could use the Games for – it’s hosted a World Cup competition.”
Discussing the future of the Commonwealth Games, Grevemberg said “One of the biggest challenges is to continue to make sure that the Games represent quality, quantity and universality.
“As the Commonwealth Games Federation moves forwards and future hosts come down, it’s about really making sure that the Games can manage all of that and perpetuate itself further by ensuring that it is continually relevant.”
Appealing to his African peers, Sam said “Hosting the World Cup gave the country vital experience and the necessary infrastructure which includes big stadiums, world class swimming pools, athletic tracks and cricket clubs to name but a few.
“We ask for your support as our fellow African counterparts so that we win this bid and host this prestigious event in South Africa.”
The Canadian city of Edmonton is also bidding for the Commonwealth Games in 2022. Formal bid proposals are due to be lodged in March 2015.
The host city will be elected at the Commonwealth Games Federation’s General Assembly in Auckland, New Zealand in September 2015, when the 70 CGF Members will vote by secret ballot. -
Almaty, Beijing or Oslo can profit from 2022 Games
Impressed by their legacy plans, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Executive Board today unanimously agreed to progress applicant cities Almaty, Beijing and Oslo to the candidate city phase as they vie to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
The IOC would have had a larger pool of cities to choose from, had Krakow, Lviv and Stockholm not already pulled out of the race. Despite losing half of the potential bidders along the way, the rights holder of the world’s greatest multi-sports event asserted that candidature was by no means a guarantee for the three remaining contenders.
“Three is a good number to go forward,” said IOC vice president John Coates. “If there was one of those that wasn’t of quality we wouldn’t have sent it forward.”
The decision of the Executive Board was based on a technical analysis of applications submitted earlier in 2014, assessing areas such as venues, transport, accommodation and security.
The IOC noted that all three bids have the potential to benefit the host cities and regions.
“Each city was encouraged to produce a bid best suited to their own unique circumstances, with plans that reflect their own specific vision for how the Games can benefit their cities and regions and ensure positive, sustainable legacies for their populations. Oslo, Almaty and Beijing have done that,” the IOC said in a statement.
The legacy plans differ in focus: Oslo aims to engage young people and the population as a whole in a healthier lifestyle; Almaty plans to use the Games to attract people to the city for future events of all kinds; while Beijing’s plans focus on boosting Winter sports in China.
”It was good to see that each of the bidding cities understood the difference between the Olympic Games budget and the long-term infrastructure and investment budget, which will benefit their communities for decades to come,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.
“The Executive Board is confident that the future hosts of the Olympic Winter Games can break even with the Olympic Games budget – as Vancouver has just announced for the Olympic Winter Games 2010. Or, as in the case of Sochi, make a considerable profit, which they project to be in the range of 200 million dollars.
“This is possible not least because of the extensive financial assistance given by the IOC. In the case of Sochi, this amounted to USD 750 million and it is likely that figure will be even higher for the host of the Olympic Winter Games 2022.”
The three cities must submit their detailed candidature files – or “bid books” – by January 2015, when the IOC will begin the process of evaluating the bids and finally electing the host city at the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur on 31 July 2015.
To find out more about the bidding process for the Olympic Games and other major events, register to attend HOST CITY: Bid to Win, which takes place in London on 28th October. -
World Fireworks Championship attracts host cities
The World Fireworks Championship has launched the process of identifying a host city for the event for 2015 and beyond, making it one of the world’s biggest artistic events that moves from one city to another.
“We are incredibly excited about the opportunity that the World Fireworks Championship has to offer a host city, as one of only a few major arts events that move from city to city around the world delivering very significant economic returns,” said Angus Buchanan, joint managing director of The Sports Consultancy.
The Sports Consultancy has partnered with event producer, World Fireworks Productions with the aim of making the championships into “one of the world’s great travelling arts events”.
The process of identifying a host city for the event from 2015 onwards begins today.
“We are realistically looking for a 2015 host who will then host the next two editions before it rotates annually,” said Lucy Caillé, senior consultant at the Sports Consultancy told HOST CITY.
The launch of the bid process coincides with an overhaul of the format of the event. Choreographing fireworks to music, the new look World Fireworks Championship will pit six of the world’s most celebrated fireworks companies against each other, competing for their countries over three weekends to become World Fireworks Champion.
An interactive ‘Art of Light Festival’ will run alongside the championships with the aim of creating a busy programme of family orientated exhibitions and installations.
The event has also just announced its first commercial partner, global travel provider, TUI Event Group, who will will create and market bespoke travel packages to the host destination.
“We believe the World Fireworks Championship event will be an enormously attractive destination marketing package,” said Chad Lion-Chachet, managing director, TUI Event Group.
“The event blends fireworks’ universal appeal with the ability to showcase the city in, literally, the best possible light. We’re really delighted to work with the team to develop the event as a “once in a lifetime” experience.”
The 2010 World Fireworks Championships in Oman attracted an audience of over 750,000 making it the largest ever spectator event in the Sultanate’s history and was won by Lacroix-Ruggieri representing France.
World Fireworks Productions CEO Mark Wooding said: “The 2010 Championship in Oman was incredibly successful, by far exceeding expectations and creating huge public excitement and enormous crowds.
“Our plans for the future promise to take the Championship to new heights and we’re really looking forward to finding a host partner to share in our development of the World Fireworks Championship to make it one of the world’s greatest festivals.”
Potential host cities have been invited to submit an expression of interest by contacting the organisers at hosting@worldfireworkschampionship.com -
Delhi in last chance saloon for Asian Games bid
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA)’s request for a 15-day extension to Tuesday’s deadline for bidding for the Asian Games has been refused.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has instead told the IOA that they have a “couple of days” to submit the bid documents required for New Delhi to be considered to host the Asian Games in 2019.
Hanoi was originally selected as the host of the 2019 Asian Games at an OCA meeting in Macau in November 2012. However, the Vietnamese government withdrew Hanoi from hosting the event, leaving the OCA seeking a replacement.
The deadline for applying for candidacy for the Games was set as 1 July 2014. The IOA wrote to the OCA requesting a 15-day extension on this deadline, a request that was refused in a letter replying to the IOA.
“I regret to inform you that due to the extreme shortage of time, it is impossible for the OCA to extend the deadline any further,” said OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam in a letter to IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta.
“Within this two month period we need to establish the evaluation team that will visit the bidding cities and submit its report to the OCA Executive Board on 19th September.
“However, if you are able to still submit the guarantees within the next couple of days, OCA is willing to consider IOA’s bid very positively.”
Gaining the necessary approval from the various government ministries involved in such a short space of time will be a major challenge for India.
The Indonesian city of Surabaya, which lost out to Hanoi in the original bidding process, is no longer a candidate as it is hosting the 2021 Asian Youth Games.
However, a bid from another Indonesian city is considered mostly likely to win the race to host the 2019 Asian Games. On a visit to Jakarta in May, the OCA’s honorary life vice-president Wei Jizhong said “I don’t think other competitors can offer better conditions than Indonesia for the time being.”
Singapore, Malaysia and possibly Qatar are also said to have expressed interest in hosting the 2019 Asian Games.
The OCA is due to announce the new host city on 20 September, 2014. -
World Expo bids should link to new regions
Cities around the world are expressing their interest in hosting World Expos, with the hosts of the International Exposition in 2023 and Universal Exposition in 2025 expected to be determined over the next two to three years.
The geographical location of the city and the sustainability of the project will be among the decisive factors, according to Vincente Loscertales, secretary general of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).
Speaking to HOST CITY about why Dubai was awarded the right to host World Expo 2020, Loscertales said “The policy of the organisation is to move Expos to new regions and particular regions which are the link between continents, between other regions.”
Traditionally, World Expos have either taken place in Western Europe, North America or Japan. However, in recent years, as with many major global events, the trend has been towards moving Expos to pastures new such as the Far East – in the case of Shanghai 2010 – and most recently, the Middle East.
Expo 2017 was awarded to the Kazak capital Astana whilst Expo 2020 will take place in the emirate of Dubai. “Moving the Expo to the Middle East is to take the Expo to a hub; to a place that is a link in trade, transport and financial systems between continents. From this point of view, Dubai is an excellent showcase,” said Loscertales.
“In the case of Dubai, it’s to bring it to a region which is sometimes better known because of conflict, and to show how an Expo in this area will contribute to a better knowledge of the whole region. It is the first time an Expo will take place in an Arabic, Muslim country.”
A whole range of cities from both East and West, are lining up to be considered for the 2025 World Expo. Whilst there are possible bids from Chinese, Russian and Iranian cities, the Expo’s founding fathers London and Paris are also in the mix.
“We are also in talks with some American cities – Houston and San Francisco. We have also received news from Azerbaijan that they would like to host an Expo in Baku in 2025.”
With the cost of bidding for a World Expo running to as much as US$ 100m, the BIE is keen to make sure that interested cities proceed with their eyes open. Before a city formally bids to host a World Expo, the requirements of hosting the event are explained in a preliminary conversation with the BIE – what Loscertales describes as a “pre-dialogue”.
The result should be a handful of strong candidates. “I anticipate that we will consolidate three to five bids from all the applications,” says Loscertales.
Sustainability must be at the core of both the theme and the planned delivery of an Expo bid. “The duty of our organisation when we evaluate an Expo project is first of all to see how this Expo project is integrated with the environment.”
Loscertales also discussed the progress of Expo 2015 in Milan, which has been hit by construction delays and police investigations into alleged corruption in the awarding of contracts.
“The political environment is complicated,” said Loscertales. “We have to be optimistic and I am convinced that in May we are going to open the gates of a very beautiful exhibition in Milan.”
To read the full interview with Vincente Loscertales, register to receive HOST CITY magazine -
Delhi misses 2019 Asian Games bid
With the extended timeframe for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) now passed, any hope of a bid from New Delhi for the 2019 Asian Games has now faded.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Thursday told the IOA that they have a “couple of days” to submit the bid documents required for New Delhi to be considered to host the Asian Games in 2019.
That window of opportunity has now closed, the IOA confirmed on Monday.
To submit a bid, the IOA needed full political backing and had requested an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was only elected in May.
“We failed in our efforts to meet the Prime Minister,” IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta told Reuters.
The IOA had sought a 15-day extension, but this request was rejected by the OCA.
“Honestly, the time was too short. There’s no one to blame … neither the government nor the IOA. We tried our best but it was not enough.
“There is no more chance of bidding for the 2019 Asian Games.”
The host of the 2019 Asian Games was originally elected to be Hanoi at an OCA meeting in Macau in November 2012. However, the Vietnamese government withdrew Hanoi from hosting the event, leaving the OCA seeking a replacement. The deadline for applying for candidacy for the Games was set as 1 July 2014.
New Delhi had already put in a bit for the 2014 Asian Games, which takes place from 19 September to 4 October, but it lost out to the South Korean city of Incheon. The OCA is due to announce the new host city of the 2019 Asian Games on 20 September, 2014. -
IOC Vice President to speak at HOST CITY: BID TO WIN
After extensive consultation with several senior figures in the business of major events, cities and sports, HOST CITY has identified a demand for a forum that addresses three major concerns:
Cities are often on the fringes of the debate about bidding for and hosting major events
There is a pressing need to create a dialogue between cities and rights holders
The rights holders of sports, business and cultural events don’t have enough opportunities to meet with cities and each otherHOST CITY: BID TO WIN, which takes place in London on 28th October 2014, with a reception on 27th, will satisfy this demand.
Confirmed speakers include: Sir Craig Reedie, Vice-President, IOC; Hasan Arat, Executive Board Member, European Olympic Committee (EOC); Dimitri Kerkentzes, Counsellor and Chief of Staff, BIE, David Grevemberg, CEO designate, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Mike Lee, Chairman, VERO; Peter Tindemans, Secretary-General, EuroScience; Janez Kocijan?i?, Vice President, International Ski Federation and Robert Datnow, Managing Director of The Sports Consultancy.
“Often, the subject of creating and maintaining long-term relationships between the federations and their public sector hosts is not fully explored,” Robert Datnow told HOST CITY.
“So, I am interested to see a conference which focuses equally on the perspective of host cities and rights holders which will I think create an invaluable dialogue on the relationship between the two, outside the context of any particular bid, which spans cultural, entertainment and business events as well as sport, where there are similar themes and much cross-industry best practice to share.”
Topics to be discussed include: Olympic Agenda 2020; evaluating bidding & hosting, insights into successful bids, infrastructure, transport & security strategies; campaigning to win, and winning for the future.
“As a speaker, I am hoping to be able share insights from working with some of the world’s most major events and rights holders, particularly on bid structures, themes and components which rights holders specifically look for from bids,” said Datnow.
“Cities, along with regional and national governments, are often not given the voice they deserve at the major conferences, and often cities do not speak with one voice about the issues of common interest and concern.
“Governments have much to say to rights holders on the subject of bidding for major sporting, cultural and entertainment events, as one of the greatest investors in events and as one of the most major long-term beneficiaries. They also have much in common. Rights holders too have much to learn from serial bidders and hosts of the world’s most major events.”
HOST CITY: BID TO WIN takes place in central London on 28th October, with a networking dinner on 27th October. Visit www.bidtowin-hostcity.net to register -
Durban and Edmonton pitch for 2022 Commonwealth Games
The South African city of Durban and the Canadian city of Edmonton are the only two cities in contention for the 2022 edition of the Games after a series of cancelled bids.
The president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) Gideon Sam presented the bid alongside chief executive Tubby Reddy, the head of sport for the City of Durban Vuzi Mazibuko and South Africa’s minister of sport Fikile Mbalula.
The Durban presentation highlighted the city’s previous hosting successes including the football, rugby and cricket world cups and emphasised Durban’s current sporting facilities, its tourist attractions and the city’s infrastructure capabilities.
A video was screened alongside the presentation and referenced the late Nelson Mandela and his beliefs about the power of sport. It ended by saying: “It’s Africa’s turn to host its sons and daughters for the first time on home soil… in the city where Nelson Mandela chose to cast his first vote. Let Durban be the first African city to host the Commonwealth Games,”
Minister Mbalula vowed his support for the bid and guaranteed the country’s commitment to the Games and called upon the federation to award Africa its first ever Commonwealth Games. “We guarantee the government will play its part in hosting the most successful sporting events in South Africa,” said Mbalula. “The Commonwealth Games to us are important Games in terms of what we seek to achieve collectively over the years. It’s our turn as the African continent.”
Meanwhile, Edmonton’s bid was introduced by Commonwealth Games Canada president Andrew Pipe before chairman of the 2022 bid, Reg Milley, made the presentation. Milley focused his address around learning from the upcoming Games in Glasgow. “We’re in Glasgow to listen. We’re here to learn,” said Milley.
Durban’s bid presentation has already been highly praised by sections of the South African media but the final vote will not be cast until September 2015 when the Commonwealth Games Federation meets in Auckland, New Zealand.
CEO of Glasgow 2014 and incoming CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation, David Grevemberg will be speaking at the HOST CITY: BID TO WIN conference. To find out more, register for HOST CITY: BID TO WIN on 28th October.
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IOC members back new Agenda 2020 proposals
As part of the Olympic Agenda 2020, a “strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement”, the summit addressed a raft of potential reforms which are set for further deliberation at the Extraordinary IOC Session in December.
A reform to the Olympic Games bidding procedure was one of the proposals discussed at the summit. The alterations, which were broadly supported by the summit, place a new emphasis on the legacy aspects of host city bids and how that can be brought to the population of the city as well as the surrounding area.
Potential hosts would have to exhibit how the Games would be a part of the long-term development plan not only for the city, but for the whole region and would include scrutiny into the social and environmental aspects of the developments. The summit also supported the need for Olympic Movement stakeholders to remain open to adaptation on these issues.
According to the Agenda 2020 proposal the new bidding procedure would also give more flexibility to bid cities but there would be greater emphasis on what the bid process, and the resulting Games, would bring to the host and its citizens from the very beginning of the bid procedure. These reforms reflect a growing trend in the standards set for host city candidates to provide more sustainable and legacy driven bids that take into account the wider ramifications of their event.
Convened by IOC President Thomas Bach, the summit centred on the three major themes of sustainability, credibility and youth, as well as 14 other sub-themes.
As well as proposed changes to the bidding procedures the summit focused on a new methodology to the Olympic Programme. This alternative approach would provide an event-based, rather than a sport-based, composition to the programme, which could lead to a greater range of events than seen previously while continuing to restrict the number of athletes involved.
The establishment of an Olympics Television Channel was also considered, with the notion of promoting the Olympics and its values in between Games, as well as new measures to ensure the protection of clean athletes in conjunction with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
To find out more, register for HOST CITY: BID TO WIN conference on 28th October and get the inside track on Agenda 2020 reforms.