Queensland’s calendar of activities features events of all genres from professional to mass participation sport, to arts and culture, music festivals and business events, across the length and breadth of the Australian state. Like Glasgow in 2014, Queensland’s Gold Coast hosted a highly successful Commonwealth Games in 2018.
As Gold Partner, TEQ will send a delegation to Host City 2019 led by CEO Leanne Coddington, who is giving a keynote Destination Showcase address.
She said: “We are very excited to partner with Host City and look forward to reconnecting with old and establishing new relationships with a range of entities across the conference and exhibition.
“Host City will provide us a great opportunity to share experiences, thoughts and learnings with industry leaders from around the world, while also showcasing what makes Queensland a great destination for successful major events, whether sporting, cultural or business events.”
Ben Avison, Editorial and Conference Director at Host City, said: “We are delighted to welcome Tourism and Events Queensland as a Gold Partner of Host City 2019, and particularly pleased to welcome Leanne Coddington as a keynote speaker. Tourism and Event Queensland’s focus on all kinds of events – sports, business and cultural – is an ideal match for Host City’s network.”
TEQ is a member of the International Association of Event Hosts (IAEH), with which Host City enjoys a Strategic Partnership.
Host City is delivered in partnership with EventScotland, its primary Supporting Partner.
Read Host City’s exclusive interview with Leanne Coddington here and in the next issue of Host City magazine.
About Tourism and Events Queensland
As the Queensland Government’s lead tourism marketing, experience development and major events agency, Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) identifies, attracts, develops and promotes major events that drive visitors to Queensland, contribute to the Queensland economy, raise the profile of Queensland and generate community pride.
Working strategically with event owners, rights holders and promoters, TEQ’s focus centres largely on growing the number of visitors from outside of Queensland to events on the calendar.
TEQ works closely with regional tourism organisations and local councils to assist event owners better connect with and promote tourism experiences, dining, entertainment and transportation to optimise the event experience of visitors.
https://teq.queensland.com/
Blog
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Tourism and Events Queensland joins Host City as Gold Partner, sharing success stories
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South Africa to host Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022
[Source: World Rugby] South Africa will host Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 after the World Rugby Council awarded the hosting rights for the premier tournament to South Africa at its Interim Meeting in Tokyo today.
In September 2022 the eighth edition of the showcase event will take place in Cape Town in what will be the first time that Rugby World Cup Sevens has been hosted on the African continent.
The world’s best 24 men’s and 16 women’s rugby sevens teams will take to the field at the Cape Town Stadium in Green Point where they will compete for world champion status over three days of exhilarating action.
The 55,000-capacity stadium is the same venue that has hosted the hugely successful HSBC Cape Town Sevens since 2015, and for the first time this year will host both men’s and women’s teams across three days of competition as part of the new-look HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
The 2022 tournament follows an exceptional Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco which attracted a record attendance for a rugby event in the USA of more than 100,000 fans as well as a huge domestic broadcast audience of more than nine million viewers.
The three-day event, hosted at AT&T Park, generated a US$90.5 million economic contribution to San Francisco (Nielsen Sport) and saw both New Zealand’s men’s and women’s teams retain the title.
The awarding of the tournament to South Africa comes after an initial record of 11 unions – Argentina, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Qatar, Scotland, South Africa and Tunisia – confirmed an expression of interest to the international federation.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “Congratulations to South Africa on being elected Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 hosts. We were impressed with South Africa’s detailed and comprehensive bid and we look forward to working in partnership with them on another inspiring and record-breaking tournament.
“South Africa have a proven track record of delivering a sell-out event in the HSBC Cape Town Sevens, which is an esteemed tournament on the world series and will be of huge value to the planning and execution of Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022.
“About to make its second appearance on the Olympic Games programme at Tokyo 2020, rugby sevens is an innovative and thriving format of the game that has enormous appeal, and we are excited about the positive impact that another successful Rugby World Cup Sevens will have on our sport.
“We would like to thank all of the unions who expressed an interest in hosting this growing event and hope to welcome them back to bid for future events as rugby sevens continues to go from strength to strength.”
SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux added: “We’re delighted that South Africa and Cape Town has been confirmed as hosts for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022.
“We have been eager to host global rugby tournaments for a number of years and to have the flagship event in the growing sport of sevens come to South Africa is exciting.
“We saw how the sport engaged the audience in San Francisco last year and we are certain that it will be just as big a success in Cape Town.
“The HSBC Cape Town Sevens has established itself as a rugby bucket-list tournament in the past few years and we’re sure that international visitors to the event will experience a great tournament at an ideal rugby venue in a fantastic city.”
The appointment of Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 hosts falls at the beginning of an Olympic season for rugby sevens as the sport prepares to make its second Olympic Games appearance at Tokyo 2020.
Rugby sevens made its Olympic Games debut at Rio 2016 when the sevens format provided a captivating showcase for the game that saw its fan-base increase by almost 17 million in six key territories, with Tokyo 2020 expected to unearth an estimated 30 million new fans worldwide (Nielsen).
Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 will be played during September of that year considering the international calendar, including the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and the Commonwealth Games that will take place in Birmingham, England, in July 2022. Competition dates will be confirmed in due course. -
Glasgow hailed as one of the world’s top five cities for sustainable business tourism
[Source: Glasgow Convention Bureau] Glasgow has been recognised as one of the world’s top five cities for its commitment to sustainable business tourism.
The Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) published its 2019 rankings today (Thursday, October 31), with Scotland’s largest city climbing three places from joint-seventh to fourth.
The announcement comes at the close of the 58th annual International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) World Congress, which has been taking place in Houston, Texas this week.
It’s a huge boost for Glasgow as the city prepares to host the United Nations’ 26th Conference of the Parties Climate Change Conference (COP26) next year.
Governments and destinations around the world are responding to the global climate emergency and Glasgow’s ambitions include a pledge to become the UK’s first carbon neutral city by 2030. The Scottish Government has set a net zero emissions target for Scotland by 2045.
The GDS Index was launched in 2016 and promotes responsible business tourism best practice.
Compiled by global sustainability academics and policymakers, it ranks nearly 60 cities around the world based on four key criteria – environmental strategy and infrastructure; social sustainability performance; the strategy of the host city’s Convention Bureau; and industry supply chain support (from the likes of convention centres, meetings venues, hotels, restaurants and transport operators).
To date, Glasgow remains the only UK city to feature in the Index, which also includes Sydney, Barcelona and Kyoto.
Glasgow’s ranking recognises the city’s People Make Glasgow Greener campaign, which was launched by Glasgow Convention Bureau in 2017 and updated again this year.
A key feature of the campaign is a toolkit identifying some of the city’s leading sustainable businesses – from hotels and restaurants to conference venues, transport operators and corporate entertainment providers. It’s geared at simplifying the process of organising a sustainable conference in Glasgow and helping meetings organisers to find the services they require from suppliers with similar green objectives.
Glasgow’s ambition is to be at the forefront on climate action and we are determined to become the UK’s first carbon neutral city by 2030 and a world-leading centre for sustainable policy and innovation.
Being named as one of the world’s top five sustainable conference and business events destinations by the Global Destination Sustainability Index shows the great strides that we are making in that respect.
Glasgow is home to some of the world’s biggest energy companies and we’re internationally recognised as having one of the healthiest and most diverse energy industries globally; particularly in terms of low carbon industries, which has had a hugely positive impact on the volume of conferences that we’re attracting in these sectors.
Glasgow hosted 25 energy, sustainability and carbon reduction related conferences in the 2018/19 financial year, boosting the city’s economy by nearly £8m.
Aileen Crawford, Head of Conventions at Glasgow Convention Bureau said: “Today’s announcement is a fantastic achievement for Glasgow and it would not have been possible without strong partnership working and collaboration between the city’s tourism sector, academic and business communities, and the City Government.
Kathleen Warden, Director of Conferences Sales at the SEC said: “This is fantastic news for the city and we are proud to play a key role in helping to position Glasgow as the world’s 4th most sustainable conference destination. At the same time, being named a finalist for the GDS-Index’s Leadership in Sustainability Award is testament to our ambitious goals as a city.
“The SEC has been nominated to host COP26, which will put both our venue and the city on the global stage in terms of showcasing our green credentials. This is an incredibly important event for Glasgow, Scotland and the UK at a crucial time for governments across the world as they address climate change. We’re looking forward to working with partners across the city to build on our sustainability efforts and ensuring that we provide the best possible environment for world-class events.”
Guy Bigwood, Managing Director of the GDS-Index said: “Glasgow as a meetings and events destination has made a significant jump in sustainability performance in 2019. We are delighted to see that a UK city has risen to number 4 in the Global rankings, and has a strong strategy to develop even further. Glasgow is in the first division of pioneering cities that is defining what sustainability leadership stands for.” -
Glasgow named best destination for culture, business and EU Capital of Sport
In the run up to Host City 2019, the largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events, Glasgow has been identified as the UK’s most cultural and creative city.
The latest recognition follows the city being named European Capital of Sport for 2023, and one of the world’s most sustainable business event destinations – all three accolades arriving in the space of just a few days.
[Source: SEC]: The naming of Glasgow as the UK’s top cultural and creative city is part of a landmark report by the European Commission.
The report puts Glasgow ahead of London, Bristol, Brighton and Manchester which make up the rest of the top five in the UK. Edinburgh is ranked 6th in the list. As befits the city’s ‘People Make Glasgow’ slogan, the report also ranked Glasgow as Europe’s leader for ‘openness, tolerance and trust’.
The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor 2019 report looked at 190 cities from across 30 European countries and ranks 29 different aspects of a city’s cultural health, including its cultural vibrancy, creative economy and ability to attract creative talent and stimulate cultural engagement.
The report states: “Glasgow was one of the first European Capitals of Culture, in 1990. Known as an industrial city, it has now gained recognition as a creative and cultural centre of European importance.”
Dr Bridget McConnell CBE, the Chair of Glasgow Life, said: “We always knew Glasgow was a global cultural leader and we’re delighted that the European Commission has confirmed our position of the UK’s leading cultural and creative city.
“Glasgow is a city bursting with energy, passion and creativity and filled with artists, designers, creators and innovators. We have world-class museums and galleries, incredible architecture and history and as a UNESCO City of Music, there’s nowhere better to enjoy a gig. A focus for the performing arts and a hub for the creative industries, it’s no wonder that we’ve come out top of the ranking.
“What’s more, our openness, tolerance and trust has been rated as the best in Europe, confirming what we already know, that our people make Glasgow the best city in the world.”
Glasgow is home to more than 100 cultural organisations and five of Scotland’s six internationally renowned national performing arts companies, namely the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; National Theatre of Scotland; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet. It is also home to music venues including the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, City Halls and Old Fruitmarket.
More people visit Glasgow’s museums each year than in any other UK city outside of London, with both Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the Riverside Museum attracting more than 1.3 million visits each in the last year. The city is also investing £66 million in a full refurbishment and redisplay of The Burrell Collection, which is set to re-open to the public in 2021. Glasgow’s nine city museums are home to Europe’s largest civic arts collection, with masterpieces by Dali, Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, Whistler and Monet as well as stunning works by the Glasgow Boys and the Scottish Colourists – all on show for free in the city’s museums. In terms of contemporary art, Glasgow has no fewer than eight Turner Prize winners and 12 nominees who have hailed from, trained in, or worked out of the city in recent years.
The city is also the place to come to admire the genius of architect and designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, or a gig at the SSE Hydro which in 2018 was named the world’s best performing music venue by size, or to enjoy shows by trailblazing companies such as The Citizen’s Theatre. Glasgow is also home to a year-round calendar of major cultural events from the UK’s biggest Mela to the Merchant City Festival and the World Pipe Band Championships. Every January, the city’s Celtic Connections festival welcomes more than 2,000 artists from across the globe to take part in some 300 events on 35 city stages as part of an incredible celebration of traditional and folk music. The city is also home to the Glasgow Jazz Festival, Glasgow International Comedy Festival and the Glasgow Film Festival.
Dr McConnell added: “We’re proud to have a huge and diverse cultural offer that’s open to everyone, whether that’s enjoying a community pantomime in venues across the city or being inspired in our world-class museums. We also recognise that we need to invest in our cultural legacy and we are doing just that with a £66 million refurbishment of The Burrell Collection. I have no doubt that when we once again reveal Sir William’s incredible gift in its new home, Glasgow’s cultural credentials will be lifted to even greater heights.”
Work is progressing on a new Culture Plan for Glasgow which will set out ambitious new targets to build the city’s reputation as globally recognised creative and cultural world city, with citizens at its heart.
Dr. Bridget McConnell CBE is speaking on the opening panel of Host City 2019, “Let’s Do This Together!” on 26-27 November in Glasgow. Register here. -
Munich to host multi-sport European Championships in 2022
[Source: European Championships Management] The EC2022 Board is pleased to announce that Munich will host the 2022 European Championships following unanimous approval of their bid by the participating European Federations.
Munich 2022 will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Games held in the German city, with the iconic Munich Olympic Park set to be the heart of the second edition of the multi-sport championships.
Six sports that were part of the 2018 edition have already confirmed their participation and the staging of their respective continental championships in the event that will take place Thursday 11 to Sunday 21 August 2022: Athletics, Cycling, Golf, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon.
Eurovision Sport, a division of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), will again be the media rights partner for the Championships, ensuring extensive free-to-air coverage through EBU Member broadcasters and partners.
The majority of events and activities will take place in and around the Munich Olympic Park in order to create an extraordinary festival atmosphere that allows athletes from different sports to experience the event together and visitors to embrace multiple events.
The EC2022 Board is also pleased to confirm the dates of the 2026 edition of the European Championships. Following consultation involving the participating European Federations (European Athletics, UEC, FISA, UEG, ETU, ET-LET), the dates are: Thursday 30 July to Sunday 9 August 2026.
European Championships 2022 Board Chair and European Athletics President Svein Arne Hanfsen said: “I speak for all the participating sports in saying how delighted we are to be going to the wonderful city of Munich in 2022, and for athletics we are especially happy to be heading back to Germany, after the success of Berlin 2018, where we know there are so many passionate sports fans. It is testament to the fantastic legacy of the Munich Olympic Park that we will bring our individual European Championships together again there, on the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Games, and use many of its iconic venues.
“We are very pleased to partner again with Eurovision Sport, meaning that millions of sports fans will be able to experience the unique excitement of the European Championships 2022, via free-to-air broadcasters.”
The inaugural European Championships in 2018 took place through 2-12 August, with Glasgow and Berlin successfully staging seven European Championships with 13 disciplines.
A television audience of more than 1.4 billion watched this memorable first edition on free-to-air channels via EBU Member broadcasters and partners in 44 territories across Europe and worldwide. There were 1.9 billion visits on websites registered and the reach on social media was 745 million.
Across the two host cities, a total of one million people attended a sports session at the likes of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, watched a road race on the cities’ streets, or experienced the festival-like atmospheres in George Square in Glasgow and the Breitscheidplatz in Berlin.
Hear Stefan Kuerten, Executive Director of Eurovision Sport, discuss the challenges and achievements of developing the European Championships at Host City 2019 in Glasgow on 26-27 November -
Leading the content revolution
Host City 2019, the largest meeting of sports, business and cultural events, is delighted to be working with Strategic Partner and Silver Sponsor, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) – the world’s leading alliance of public service media.
We spoke with Franck Choquard, Head of Content & Servicing at Eurovision Sport, which is a division of the EBU. With contracts with 25 Federations representing 20 sports, Eurovision Sport’s coverage equates to 30,000+ hours broadcast from 200+ events a year, 75 per cent of which feature women-only or mixed events – including 30 European Championships and 30 World Championships.
Host City: What do you see as the most pressing issues facing the broadcasting sector today?
Franck Choquard: As for any other actor within the entertainment industry, the overall broadcast sector is today facing a “digital revolution” in the way the various audiences are consuming content.
It is no longer possible to have one single linear TV approach to reach them all audiences, we need to adapt our offering to the various communities we have – using the right platform (linear TV, OTT, social media etc…) with the right content.
More than ever, within this increasingly fragmented offering, it is important for national broadcasters to understand that editorial enrichment and targeted content delivery are key drivers for success.
Host City: How would you describe the main objectives of Eurovsion Sport’s digital strategy?
Franck Choquard: Our content strategy (we prefer this terminology than using digital), is based around two pillars:Offer European audiences free access to the best sporting content through our Members’ platforms, be it on linear TV or through innovative direct to fan (D2F) experiences – our Members being Europe’s leading public service media organisations
Be the premium partner for International Federations and host cities, not only guaranteeing the widest possible audience free-to-air in Europe but also generating new and innovative business models that serve to increase their event / content value
Host City: What kind of partnerships is Eurovision Sport establishing to develop this strategy?
Franck Choquard: We are building partnerships within three dimensions to achieve this strategy:With our Members and Federations, working together to offer a shared promotion strategy and building common D2F (direct-to-fan) ecosystems, to better engage audience and generate additional value to all stakeholders
With technology partners (such as Dazzl or Livelike) allowing us (and our members) to enrich fans’ engagement within their digital ecosystem
With some of the key actors within the FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet) to amplify our reach and coordinate our various stakeholders’ messages
Host City: What role do you think technology can play in reducing the footprint of major events?
Franck Choquard: Technology has a key role to play in this regard. The virtualisation and possibilities that technology can develop in the near future should enable productions to have only essential staff on site (editorial, producers, journalists) while engineers and technicians will be able to operate remotely, reducing the need for working areas, power, etc. Remote operation and virtualisation will also allow the delivery of more content to publishers for them to enrich the offering to their communities.
Host City: What are your expectations of Host City 2019?
Franck Choquard: I’m looking forward to fruitful exchanges with peers and colleagues from the International Federations and Organising Committees etc. that will be present; it looks like a great line-up. It will be exciting to further discuss how the integrative approach and working better together can enable us not only to have a better common strategy to increase the value of our events, but also to build sustainable models for the future.
The European Broadcasting Union is co-producing a session at Host City 2019 on “Building better digital and sustainability strategies” at 12:10 on 27th November -
UCI shares Host City’s philosophy of “Innovate, Reformulate, Co-Create”
Host City: What are your expectations of Host City 2019 and its theme of “Innovate, Reformulate, Co-Create”?
David Lappartient: For an International Federation such as ours, with its extremely varied and packed international calendar, Host City provides a meeting place where the organisers of major events and host cities, regions, and countries can come together. We are delighted to be playing a part this year, alongside the EBU.
The theme of this year’s event,”Innovate, Reformulate, Co-Create”, ties in perfectly with our philosophy. In line with our strategic roadmap, Agenda 2022, we are striving to increase the appeal of our sport, which could well involve changing or launching new formats. As well as better meeting the expectations of broadcasters and the public, these formats can, as part of our activities, more effectively respond to today’s key social issues, such as the promotion of gender equality, and make a contribution to a sustainable future.
Host City: What is the rationale and inspiration behind combining all the different cycling disciplines in one single UCI Cycling World Championships that will be hosted for the first time in Scotland in 2023?
David Lappartient: We want to bring all our best athletes together for a single event held at one venue every four years, in the year before the Olympics: the UCI Cycling World Championships, which will celebrate virtually all of our disciplines.
In 2023, more than 2,600 cyclists in 13 disciplines and representing 120 countries will fight it out for the legendary rainbow jersey. It will be an amazing sporting event for the athletes and a memorable festival of cycling for the people of Glasgow and Scotland and for visitors.
Host City: How important was partnership work in creating this new event? Who were the main players involved and how did you work together to achieve this outcome?
David Lappartient: There is no question that this mega event, which is without precedent in the history of our sport, presents us with a massive yet exciting challenge. The competitions will take place at venues both inside and outside the city, indoors and outdoors, including roads, which involves managing traffic.
And when it comes to hosting the athletes, national delegations, TV crews, media and the fans, it takes a great deal of coordination and a close partnership between the stakeholders – the UCI, the organisers, the host broadcaster, the local and national authorities, and many others besides.
Therefore, the expertise available amongst all the host partners in delivering major events of this nature was extremely attractive to the UCI as the event owner. The leadership of the Scottish Government and their attitude to being innovative and willingness to take on the challenge of the first edition of a new event has been vital to the success of the project.
Host City: We have seen how hosting major cycling events has driven a surge in participation in the sport in Yorkshire. Do you anticipate similar increase in Scotland following the championships there?
David Lappartient: Absolutely. Scotland is a hotbed of cycling that has produced some great champions. The likes of Graeme Obree, David Millar, Chris Hoy, Craig Maclean (now a coach at the UCI World Cycling Centre), Callum Skinner, Katie Archibald and her team pursuit colleague Neah Evans, Jack Carlin and Neil Flachie have all made history in our sport.
Glasgow, which is a regular destination for the UCI Track World Cup, receives regular praise for actively promoting elite cycling and cycling for all. In recognition of that and the work it does to encourage people of all ages to get out and ride, we awarded it the UCI Bike City Label in 2019. Our mega event will allow Glasgow and Scotland to move to the next level in the development of cycling as a means of transport, a health-enhancing activity, and a leisure pursuit.
Host City: There is a very interesting partnership between the UCI and Zwift, who are mapping UCI events onto their active esports platform. Can you tell me a bit about the benefits of this partnership to the UCI?
David Lappartient: Cycling Esports presents a wonderful opportunity to develop cycling. It is a new way of practising our fast-growing sport that enables more athletes of all levels to train and take part in competitions, regardless of the weather outside and where they live. It is also an engaging way of improving people’s health by encouraging them to cycle indoors whatever their surroundings, such as urban environments or areas where people cannot cycle due to the terrain.
In teaming up with Zwift, our Federation can reach out to a new and fast-growing community and increase the appeal of our sport by bringing this new discipline into the fold. In the meantime, it can also bring in the necessary safeguards to ensure that competitions are founded on integrity and credibility.
Come to Host City 2019 on 26-27 November to hear UCI President David Lappartient and Eurovision Sport’s Head of Cycling Frederic Sanz’ keynote Case in Point: “Co-creating the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships” -
How do you recoup a £1 billion investment?
On the surface, the investment of £1 billion on a new stadium could have been better timed. Tottenham Hotspur’s main source of income, TV rights – approximately £210m per year, assuming Champions League football – is undoubtedly on the decline.
As traditional advertising revenues continue to shrink, Sky and the many overseas channels that have cut deals with Richard Scudamore (the timing of whose retirement from the Premier League now seems impeccable) and his band of rights agents in the past, cannot possibly continue to justify the eye-watering billions that have been spent on TV rights.
And so the paradigm shift begins.
On the other hand, perhaps the club’s Chairman Daniel Levy has been exceptionally smart. As traditional revenue streams shrink, so new ones need to be created to feed the voracious financial appetites of the world’s most gifted footballers – and their ever-greedy agents.
At the recent Sports Ground Safety Association (SGSA) conference, Jon Babbs, Stadium Director at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium gave some indications where the rest of the money is coming from to improve the bottom line.
The state-of-the-art stadium is only the beautifully crafted centrepiece of the overall development. On the footballing side, the site will soon also host a new performance centre and a medical centre. These will help Mauricio and his team continue to generate Champions League income (TV rights, sponsorship and additional match day revenue income combining to generate almost £100m per year), but the bottom line will really be boosted with the opening of the new hotel plus the residential and commercial developments that will become part of the complex.
The stadium has a capacity of 62,214 and is sold out every other week. The stadium will also be buzzing on European nights – when the 42,000 season ticket holders are expected to re-buy their seats! Saracens have also made Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the base for their annual ‘Big Game’ Gallagher Premiership Rugby showpiece.
The impressive South Stand – the largest single terrace in Europe with a capacity of 17,500 – will be bouncing to the rhythm of rock and hip hop from the summer of 2020, adding further to ticketing, merchandising and food and beverage revenues.
Spurs have been super-smart to team up with the Beavertown micro-brewery, combining the economic benefits of home-brew with the longest bar in Europe (65 metres!), 15-second self-filling pints and a cashless environment, to ensure that at least 50,000 pints of beer are consumed by the faithful at any home game. To credit Spurs, prices have not been inflated and the ‘Burger and Pint’ deal for £5 has forced local pubs to reduce their pricing to compete.
Perhaps the most innovative partnership secured by Levy and his board is the 10-year deal with the NFL, which begins with a minimum of 2 NFL games per season and may develop over the decade to the re-homing of a full franchise.
Everything in the stadium whiffs of the NFL: the dedicated changing rooms to house the army which makes up each team; the design of the new hotel (which will have NFL size corridors and beds) and, of course, the ‘pitch below the pitch’. This innovative design allows the soccer pitch to be divided into three for the outside two edges to disappear under the East and West stands, the middle section to disappear under the North Stand, and the fan zone outside of the stadium to reveal the markings of a 5G NFL grid. There can be little doubt that the cost of this magnificent engineering would not have been on the basis of simply twenty games and the odd concert – we can look forward to much more Grid Iron in North London in the near future.
One of the more adventurous money-spinning additions soon to arrive at the stadium is an O2-esque roof walk – going one step further on the adrenaline rankings by finishing the tour with an abseil down from the roof. For Tottenham Hotspurs, the sky really is the limit for revenue generating opportunities.
The challenges of running a football stadium, and lessons learnt from other UK events in near past will be discussed at the UK Sports and Venues Summit at The London Stadium on November 21st. For more information, please visit: https://meievents.eventsair.com/uk-sports-venues-summit-19/ or call O207 709 2350 -
Inspiring you to tap into the purple pound
At London 2012 Paralympics, Steven Hawking stated, “We are all different, there is no such thing as a standard or run-of-the-mill human being, but we all share the same human spirit”. What is important is that we all have the ability to create; to use this stage to show the world that regardless of difference, there is always something you can succeed at.
How is this relevant to Host City? I’m talking about the purple pound. This is the spend by disabled people and their families in the UK, which is a mind-blowing GBP 249 billion per year. To put this into perspective, the GDP of the entire New Zealand economy in 2017 was GBP 160 billion. The UK events sector is worth GBP 42.3 billion, so a failure to tap into this disability market is an opportunity missed.
Rick Hansen, a Canadian Paralympian said “my disability is that I cannot use my legs. My handicap is your negative perception of that disability, and thus of me”.
So, I’m here to change negative perceptions of me and my disability. My company helps your business tap into the purple pound by ensuring that you build environments in which people with different abilities can thrive, and by improving the appeal and accessibility of your products and services to customers with disabilities.
We advise how to make your events accessible; how to make your events appeal to the purple market; and finally, how to tap into the creativity of that group to help improve your events.
As a London 2012 Games Maker, I was part of the generation inspired. To paraphrase Stephen Hawking, I used my ability to create, to inspire difference. Let Enabling Abilities help inspire us purple people – and think how your business could expand if you tapped into this as yet untapped market.
This “lightning talk” was delivered at Host City 2018 in Glasgow in November 2018. Thomas Williams is speaking on the panel “Titanic Disasters and Herculean Feats” at Host City 2019 in Glasgow on 26-27 November -
Thank you for the music! How Choir Games impact cities
Choir Games shape their host cities in a unique way. Whether in restaurants, cafés, parks, streets, opera, university, hotel, and public transport – the sound of choir music from four continents floats through the town for one or two wonderful festival weeks.
Singers from choral groups from all over the world not only have the chance to perform in a big TV show and compete in musical categories of various choral genres, but also present themselves in Friendship Concerts and bring their music into the streets and onto the squares of their host city.
Roughly 10,000 choirs from 107 different countries and regions have participated in the various INTERKULTUR choir events and created nights that never die. Especially during the Awards Ceremonies, national boundaries, ideologies, religions and restrictions of any kind dissolve and the singers are united by their love of choral music. China, Russia, USA, Vietnam, Israel, Iran, Gibraltar, Great Britain, France, Germany, Botswana, Suriname, Sweden, and many more countries have shared one stage, sung together from their hearts and created memories for a lifetime – not only for themselves but for all those who are part of the occasion.
The Choir Games usually gain a high media attention before, during and after the event; international media coverage reaches up to 1 billion people all over the world. As an example, in November 2019 the 11th World Choir Games 2020 has already gained a media reach of 400 million people – 10 months before event actually starts!
INTERKULTUR President Günter Titsch further stresses the high legacy effect of the Choir Games: “The Choir Games create a fantastic atmosphere, wherever they happen. Visitors and inhabitants listen to fantastic choral music from international choirs, enjoy great concerts and share the big joy of the winning choirs about their achievements – memories that will last a lifetime! Local choirs get inspired by the international choirs and have the opportunity to work with choral experts from all over the world and thus make big progress in their musical development in just a few days.
“The international guests take their memories home to their countries, tell about the beauty and hospitality of the respective host city and share the experience of people getting united through the language of music.”
In a huge closing event, the hosting cities and countries traditionally give a wonderful, personal farewell to their international guests. Famous national music stars present a big stage show – supported by a 500-voices Festival Stage Choir consisting of 20 national and international choirs. A superlative musical experience for everyone!
The next Choir Games invite singers from all over the world to Flanders, Belgium, where the 11th World Choir Games 2020 promise to be another inspiring and unifying experience for the international choral world.
Dr. Christoph Wirtz, Secretary-General of INTERKULTUR is speaking at Host City 2019. You can also find out more at their exhibition stand at Host City 2019.