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.
Blog
-
Delhi in last chance saloon for Asian Games bid
-
Glastonbury Festival secures 10-year hosting license
The Glastonbury Festival has secured a new premises licence that will enable it to continue to hold the event at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, until 2024.
The new application received only a few representations, of which all concerns were satisfied by the deadline. In the past, Glastonbury Festival’s licences have been subject to scrutiny in a public hearing because of objections from the public or concerns from those with an interest in the safety of the event such as the police, fire or ambulance services.
As one of the world’s largest cultural events without any permanent infrastructure, Glastonbury Festival requires large amounts of temporary event infrastructure and seasonal operational expertise.
Ensuring safety at the music festival will fall under the watch of Nigel Hunt, building control manager at Mendip District Council and interim head of the proposed Somerset Building Control Partnership.
“This is an enormous festival and no one can afford to be complacent – we will continue to work with the organisers to ensure this remains one of the safest events anywhere, and if we have any doubts about this we will take action,” said Mr Hunt.
“Thankfully, this year everything went without a hitch and my team did a superb job as ever.”
His structures monitoring team, which already has many years of Glastonbury Festival experience, is responsible for all temporary structures including the Avalon Inn, the Irish Piano Bar and the new BBC studio in The Park, as well as all the stages and platforms.
Building control teams are involved as part of the licensing team at sporting and cultural events.
“This is my second year working at Glastonbury and I still can’t believe the size and scale of the festival, the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes and the number of miles the building control team have to walk every day on their shifts,” said local authority building control (LABC) director of training Anna Thompson, who attended this year’s festival as part of the structures monitoring team for Mendip District Council.
-
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 -
Tradition prevents women from fulfilling potential
HOST CITY: How has the influence of women on sports administration developed throughout your career?
Liz Nicholl: I have held positions at national level in sport for over 30 years, and when I started out the industry was male-dominated and the voice of women in sport was rarely heard.
My breakthrough came as a young CEO of England Netball in the 1980s; my national leadership role placed me in an environment where I was able to see that I was just as good as the majority of individuals in similar, significant roles. I gained confidence from colleagues and I now say to others “Don’t hold yourself back. If someone you respect thinks you can do it, you can!”
Over the years I have seen some progress but it’s been slow. The need for diversity in leadership is now much more widely accepted in business. Change is happening in sport but it is slower and held back by tradition.
At a government level, ministers are more outspoken on equality matters and more people are listening. This national profile and debate is ensuring that the momentum is increasing but there is still a long way to go.
There are now more role models and more signs of change. Baroness Sue Campbell was Chair of UK Sport for over 10 years and now across the five UK, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland government agencies for sport, four or the five CEOs are women.
HOST CITY: How successful is the sports sector at boosting women’s representation at executive / senior management level?
Liz Nicholl: When I look across the cohort of CEOs and chairs of National Federations of sport, there are a relatively small number of women – but we are seeing a shift at board level.
There is an expectation placed on funded sports by UK Sport and Sport England that all sport boards should be made up of at least 25 per cent women by 2017. Currently over 90 per cent of the sports we fund have women Board members and the UK Sport Board is made up of 40 per cent women.
HOST CITY: What still needs to be done to make further progress?
Liz Nicholl: We need more women in coaching generally and especially at a high performance level. We are looking into what some of the barriers might be while at the same time providing and a programme to support athletes, with an emphasis on women athletes, transitioning into coaching.
The biggest challenge is the limited media coverage of women’s sport. Better, balanced media coverage would unlock enormous potential and sponsorship and could massively increase the momentum for positive change. We will be hosting the Women’s Hockey World Cup in 2018 and have ambitions for other events to shine the media light more specifically on women in sport.
Personally, as a woman working in an influential role within British sport, I know there is more I could be doing to keep this issue visible and to challenge where I see inappropriate inequalities and I am determined to do so.
Liz Nicholl OBE is the Chief Executive of UK Sport. To read the full interview, register to receive the next issue of HOST CITY magazine -
Tokyo 2020 makes Koji Murofushi Sports Director
Tokyo 2020’s 39-year old Executive Board member and Olympian, Koji Murofushi, has been appointed Sport Director of the organising committee.
The position of Sport Director is a crucial role within the organising committee and one that requires the experience of a top athlete.
“I’ve had the honour of competing in four Summer Olympic Games from Sydney 2000 to London 2012 and I know what it takes to make a great Olympic experience for athletes,” said Murofushi.
“In 2020, we will host the entire world and I want to create an environment at the Tokyo Games that will enable athletes to compete and perform to the peak of their abilities. I am 100 per cent committed to making these Games the best ever,” said Murofushi.
Murofushi won gold in Athens 2004 and bronze at London 2012 Games. Earlier in June, he won his 20th successive hammer throw title at the national athletics championship.
Tokyo 2020 is making efforts to actively involve athletes at all levels of its preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. He was appointed as a member of the TOKYO 2020 Executive Board last January.
Appointing the 39-year old will also help the hosts of the 2020 Olympic Games to deflect criticism that its leadership has not yet represented younger people sufficiently.
The appointment will be particularly welcome to Murofushi, given that he missed out on the opportunity to join the IOC Athletes’ Commission in 2012. Despite ruling against Murofushi’s appeal against claims of excessive lobbying, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Murofushi’s “reputation and sportsmanship were intact.”
“I am delighted and flattered to have been chosen as the TOKYO 2020 Sports Director,” he said. “I want to contribute to organising an athlete-focused Games that will deliver a long-term legacy and benefit for the sporting community in Japan and beyond.” -
IOC hails Tokyo 2020’s quick start and strong partnership
For the first time, Tokyo last week welcomed the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission, which found that the city was on the right path towards hosting an excellent Olympic Games in 2020.
“The Organising Committee and its government partners have got off to a quick start and are putting in place solid foundations for the next six years of preparations,” said John Coates, the chairman the body of experts tasked with assessing and facilitating the city’s progress.
“We are very pleased with Tokyo 2020’s progress under the leadership of President Yoshiro Mori.”
In addition to chairing the Coordination Commission for Tokyo 2020, Coates is on the Coordination Commission for Rio 2016. His praise of Tokyo 2020 is in direct contrast with the concerns he raised over Rio 2016 in recent months.
Where delays have been described as “critical” in Rio, Tokyo is off to a “quick start”. And while Rio 2016 has been criticised for poor communication between different levels of government, Tokyo 2020 has benefited from good coordination within government.
“The close cooperation of all levels of government with Tokyo 2020 was clearly felt by the Commission, particularly following our meeting with Prime Minister Abe and with Governor Masuzoe’s participation in the visit,” said Coates.
“Their support for the Games, as well as the support of many high-profile Japanese personalities through the Tokyo 2020 Advisory Meeting, are greatly appreciated, and will stand the 2020 Games in good stead. Their commitment underlines that Tokyo 2020 is for all Japan, and is encouraging Japanese everywhere to get behind these Games and see how they can engage in helping Tokyo to welcome the world in 2020.”
Yoshiro Mori, President of Tokyo 2020 said “Even though our team consists of members of the sporting community, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the national government and various related organisations, I was able to gain a real sense that all members of the Organising Committee were pulling together in the same direction as a truly integrated unit. Over the next six years, the members of the Coordination Commission and the Organising Committee will work together as a united team, all sailing in the same boat towards a shared objective, and I believe we have got off to an excellent start.
“However, the members of the Commission did point out one or two things that need addressing. We will of course be incorporating all the advice we received into our preparations for the Games at the earliest opportunity.”
Venue review
The Commission visited many venues in the “Bay Zone” including the Velodrome, Gymnastic Centre, Tennis Park, Olympic Village, Tokyo Big Sight, Aquatics Centre, Wakasu Olympic Arena and Sea Forest venues. Twelve of Tokyo 2020’s venues are already existing, including four originally built for the 1964 Olympic Games.
The visit took place at a time when Tokyo 2020 has been reviewing the venue plans outlined in its bid, amid widespread speculation about the implications of this review. This review was sparked by the observations of the IOC Evaluation Commission, which monitored the city’s bid for the Games.
In a statement, the IOC said “The review will not affect the core principles of the bid. The objective is to refine the legacy and operational assumptions of Tokyo’s plans. The Tokyo organisers are looking to ensure that their Games leave a sustainable long-term legacy to the host city and its citizens. The review is being carried out in cooperation with all the key national and international stakeholders.
“The legacy vision and objectives are consistent with discussions around Olympic Agenda 2020, a process that will provide an ambitious strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement.”
Mori said “With regard to the review of our venue plan, I informed the Coordination Commission that, based on such aspects as the kind of legacy we will leave, the impact of the Games on the lives of Tokyo residents and the cost of construction and maintenance of the venues, the Organising Committee will examine all issues closely and collaborate with the IOC, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and both domestic and international sports federations, to ensure the success of the Games.”
-
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. -
2014 Ryder Cup turns to Aggreko for power
The contract to provide temporary power to the 2014 Ryder Cup has been awarded to Aggreko.
The leading lessor or power and temperature control solutions will provide 17 MW of power and back-up support on location at Gleneagles.
Aggreko will also air-condition the media centre, hospitality units, tented village and other temporary infrastructure.
In total, Aggreko will be helping to power and cool around 40 different major temporary structures at the Gleneagles site.
The 2014 Ryder Cup will deploy Aggreko’s especially quiet TwinPack generators, which will minimise sound emissions from power production in and around the golf course.
An half a billion homes in 183 countries worldwide are expected to watch the event. As technical power is crucial for broadcasting, Aggreko will use around 600 distribution boards to connect and feed power supplies around the course.
“Aggreko has vast experience of providing temporary power and temperature control solutions at golf tournaments,” said Angus Cockburn, interim CEO of Aggreko, which has its headquarters in nearby Glasgow.
“Doing so at The 2014 Ryder Cup, which is on our doorstep and is perhaps higher profile than any previous tournament is a great privilege.”
Other major sports events that Aggreko has provided services for include nine Olympic and Paralympic Games, five FIFA World Cups, four Ryder Cups in Europe and the XX Commonwealth Games.
“Aggreko is yet another global business with firm Scottish roots to join us at The 2014 Ryder Cup,” said Edward Kitson, match director of the 2014 Ryder Cup. “Their expertise and experience at previous sporting events, both at golf tournaments and others with international broadcast power requirements, will be invaluable.”
The 2014 Ryder Cup takes place at The Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland from 26-28 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 -
Global survey shows growing appeal of Olympic Games
A survey commissioned by the IOC has found that the awareness and appeal of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games was higher than any other sports or entertainment events surveyed.
The research, conducted by Kantar Media after Sochi 2014, took on board the views of 36,000 people in 16 countries.
Announcing the results, the IOC said in a statement that Sochi 2014 reached a broadcast audience of 2.1 billion people, up 13 per cent since Vancouver 2010. The individual broadcasters at Sochi totalled 250, more than twice as many than at Vancouver.
The proliferation of digital media has boosted the reach of the Winter Games, with the number of broadcasting hours doubling to 114,000 at 2014 as compared to 2010. Digital video views reached 1.4 billion, up 334 per cent from 2010.
Athletes and spectators surveyed at the Games in Sochi rated their enjoyment of the Games very highly, citing the standard of the sports competition, the quality of the venues and the atmosphere as factors contributing to their enjoyment.
The Olympic symbol remains the most widely recognised of brands surveyed, with 93 per cent of respondents showing awareness. This brand recognition showed little variation across regions, gender and age.
The values that people surveyed associated with the Olympic rings included global, inspirational, friendship, diversity, peace and excellence. In a further boost to brand integrity, the IOC was seen to be strong and strict on doping.
The survey also showed “widespread recognition that hosting an Olympic Games brings benefits to the host country” – a welcome finding as the IOC conducts its Agenda 2020 review into the appeal of the Olympic Games.