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
Tag: Bidding Process
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World Fireworks Championship attracts host cities
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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 -
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. -
Berlin to hold Olympic 2024 referendum as Mayor confirms exit plan
Berlin and Hamburg are interested in bringing the Summer Olympics to Germany for the first time since Munich hosted the 1972 Games, and the former has confirmed that it will submit its answers to a questionnaire sent out by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) by the end of this week.
“We will answer the questionnaire of the DOSB and will then unveil our concept on September 1,” Wowereit told a press conference. “I am confident that we will answer those questions well. After that there will be a vote for all Berliners to decide. We want the widest possible support for this.”
The DOSB questionnaire contains 13 questions covering aspects such as venue locations, event goals, finances and transport infrastructure.
However, Wowereit will not oversee the possible realisation of Berlin’s Olympic ambitions after confirming at the press conference that he will step down as Mayor on December 11 after 13 years in office.
Wowereit, who has been widely criticised for delays and the spiralling cost of developing the unfinished Brandenburg Airport in Berlin, added: “I am leaving voluntarily and I’m proud to have made my contribution to the positive development of this city.”
It is unclear whether the departure of Wowereit may influence Berlin’s potential bid for the Games, but a spokesperson for his office told HOST CITY: “It was unexpected. We are all very surprised here.”
Berlin previously staged the summer Olympics in 1936, but failed in a bid for the 2000 Games after being eliminated in the second round of voting, with Sydney in Australia ultimately emerging victorious. The DOSB also opted to support Leipzig rather than Berlin for a tilt at the 2012 Olympics, although London in Britain eventually secured the hosting rights.
Other potential bidders for the 2024 Games include Baku (Azerbaijan), Doha (Qatar), Dubai (UAE), Istanbul (Turkey), Paris (France) and Rome (Italy) with South Africa also mulling over a possible bid and the US set to select an applicant city from a shortlist comprising Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC. -
Seven countries interested in 2022 Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup director Richard Hills confirmed that representative organisations in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey had lodged an interest in hosting the golf extravaganza by the August 31 deadline.
Official bids are now due to be submitted by February 16 and the host nation is expected to be confirmed next autumn.
“We are absolutely delighted at the level of interest we have received from across Europe in respect of hosting the 2022 Ryder Cup and we welcome each and every one of the seven letters of intent, each received through the respective national golf association, in accordance with bidding regulations,” Hills told reporters.
The Ryder Cup implemented a bidding process for the historic Europe versus USA team tournament for the first time for the 2018 event, which was secured by France ahead of rival bids from Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
“The implementation of this kind of formal bidding process for the 2018 Ryder Cup marked a new era for us all at Ryder Cup Europe, and this take-up for 2022 shows that the introduction of a fair, transparent and objective methodology has been welcomed across the continent,” Hills added.
“Not only that, we feel it is a process which befits a sporting event of the stature of the Ryder Cup and, as we have consistently stated, the key criteria in place will enable us to evaluate each bid equally on both its sporting and commercial merits while, at the same time, allowing us to judge each bid fairly, thoroughly and on a level playing field.”
The biennial event rotates between Europe and the US, with the UK and Ireland having staged all of the European matches so far apart from in 1997, when Andalusia in Spain was the host.
The 2014 Ryder Cup will take place at Gleneagles in Scotland from September 26-28. In the US, Minnesota’s Hazeltine Golf Club and Whistling Straits in Wisconsin will hold the 2016 and 2020 editions, sandwiching the event’s debut in France in 2018 at Le Golf National in Paris. -
Sir Craig Reedie to ask “Why Should Cities Bid?” at HOST CITY conference
HOST CITY Bid to Win, the inaugural event organised by the leading magazine for hosting major events, is attracting the highest calibre of speakers.
Sir Craig Reedie, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that he will deliver the keynote address to the conference, on the subject of “Why Should Cities Bid for Events?”
The subject is highly topical as the conference takes place a few weeks before the IOC is set to announce the recommendations of its Olympic Agenda 2020 working groups, the foremost of which is a review of bidding procedure to boost the appeal of the Games.
After his keynote address, Sir Craig Reedie will be joined by Hasan Arat, a member of the Agenda 2020 working group on bidding procedure, on a panel discussion entitled “Olympic Agenda 2020: The Bidding Process Under Review”.
While the possible outcomes of Olympic Agenda 2020 will not be revealed until after the Extraordinary IOC Session on December 8th in Monte Carlo, the panel discussion at Bid To Win will address many of the concerns under review, focusing on the recommendations of four European NOCs.
This will be followed by an exclusive update from Rio 2016 on progress in the Olympic host city. The panel sessions that follow address the key concerns of cities and rights holders of sports, business and cultural events.
Other confirmed speakers include: Jürgen Müller (Head of FIFA World Cup); Wang Wei (Vice Chairman, Beijing Olympic City Development Association); David Grevemberg (CEO, Commonwealth Games Federation); Janez Kocijancic (Vice President, International Ski Federation; Dimitri Kerkentzes, (Chief of Staff, BIE); Panos Protopsaltis (Director of Transport, Baku 2015); ROCK IN RIO; Joe O’Neill (International Business Development Director, ARENA GROUP); Peter Tindemans (Secretary-General, EUROSCIENCE); Ali Kiremitc?ioglu (CEO, Istanbul 2020 Bid Committee); Iain Edmondson (Head of Major Events, London & Partners); Jordi Joly, (CEO, Barcelona City Council); Georg Spazier (CEO, Innsbruck Tirol Sports); Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros (CEO, ICSS Europe); Mike Lee OBE (Chairman, VERO); Helen Rowbotham (Director of Consulting, CSM); Robert Datnow (Managing Director, The Sports Consultancy); Lars Haue-Pedersen (Managing Director, TSE Consulting); Ben Avison, (Editorial Director, HOST CITY); Koos Tesselaar (Vice-Chairman, NIBC Bank).
“The momentum around Bid to Win has built up so quickly and we are thrilled to have such a distinguished array of speakers confirmed at this stage,” said Ben Avison, Editorial Director of HOST CITY and Chairman of Bid to Win. “The beautiful St James’ Court Taj Hotel will be the perfect venue for the occasion.”
HOST CITY Bid To Win conference takes place on Tuesday 28th October, with a drinks and buffet reception on the evening of Monday 27th October. To REGISTER visit www.bidtowin-hostcity.net -
New Commonwealth Games CEO to address Bid to Win
HOST CITY Bid to Win conference, which takes place on 28th October 2014, is attracting the most influential figures in major events.
David Grevemberg, who oversaw what was widely hailed as the “greatest Games ever” in Glasgow, is to speak at HOST CITY Bid to Win just six days before he takes on his new role as CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation.
Grevemberg is set to close the conference with a panel discussion entitled “Beyond the Bid: Winning for the Future,” joined by Wang Wei, vice president of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, Jordy Joli, CEO of finance at Barcelona City Council and Ali Kiremitcioglu, CEO of Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
The panel will discuss whether the visibility gained from bidding justifies the cost, how to ensuring that event delivery reflects promises made in a bid, and how to use a bid to attract investment that works for the future of the city.
Grevemberg’s appointment as CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation was announced in June but he had intimated to HOST CITY readers earlier in the year that he was committed to the long term development of the Commonwealth Games as an event property.
“One of the biggest challenges is to continue to make sure that the Games represent quality, quantity and universality,” he told HOST CITY. “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.”
Grevemberg joins a long list of distinguished and influential speakers, including Sir Craig Reedie (Vice President, IOC); Jürgen Müller (Head of FIFA World Cup); Wang Wei (Vice Chairman, Beijing Olympic City Development Association); Janez Kocijancic (Vice President, International Ski Federation; Dimitri Kerkentzes, (Chief of Staff, BIE); Panos Protopsaltis (Director of Transport, Baku 2015); ROCK IN RIO; Joe O’Neill (International Business Development Director, ARENA GROUP); Peter Tindemans (Secretary-General, EUROSCIENCE); Ali Kiremitc?ioglu (CEO, Istanbul 2020 Bid Committee); Antonio Fernandez Arimany (DG, International Triathlon Union); Iain Edmondson (Head of Major Events, London & Partners); Jordi Joly, (CEO, Barcelona City Council); Georg Spazier (CEO, Innsbruck Tirol Sports); Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros (CEO, ICSS Europe); Mike Lee OBE (Chairman, VERO); Helen Rowbotham (Director of Consulting, CSM); Robert Datnow (Managing Director, The Sports Consultancy); Lars Haue-Pedersen (Managing Director, TSE Consulting); Ben Avison, (Editorial Director, HOST CITY); Koos Tesselaar (Vice-Chairman, NIBC Bank).
“The momentum around Bid to Win has built up so quickly and we are thrilled to have such a distinguished array of speakers confirmed at this stage,” said Ben Avison, Editorial Director of HOST CITY and Chairman of Bid to Win. -
Olympic bidding procedure must retain human element – Lord Coe
Lord Sebastian Coe said on Tuesday that the bidding procedures for major events such as the Olympic Games must retain the “human element”.
As well as being vice president of the IAAF and a key figure behind London’s successful bid, Lord Coe is a member of the Olympic Agenda 2020 working group that is currently reviewing the bidding procedure for the Olympic Games.
“It’s quite dangerous to think that you can choreograph every moment of a bid,” Lord Coe told delegates at Securing Sport 2014 in London. “For a bid to win and gain acceptance you need personal relationships. They have got to work alongside an organising committee for many years – you need to know that the team that is bidding will also make a good organising team.”
Lord Coe also contributed to the IOC’s last major review, the Olympic Commission 2000 which, he says, “made it very tough for bidding cities” while bringing about positive changes such as managing interaction between IOC members and bidding cities.
“There’s a balance. We have to be careful not to take the human element out. And it’s hard to be told that you can’t just sit down with an IOC member and explain what the transportation or security strategy is.”
Asked about the issue of gifts, Lord Coe affirmed that he had never been offered or accepted any gifts in relation to bidding procedures.
“We all probably understand the difference between a commemorative plate and a calendar and something more substantive. The law of common sense should prevail.”
The review of bidding procedure will be under discussion at HOST CITY Bid to Win on 28th October in London. Register at www.bidtowin-hostcity.net -
Host City: Bid to Win to put spotlight on bidding for major events
Host City: Bid to Win, a conference which will be held at the St James’ Court, A Taj Hotel, London on 28 October 2014, is set to bring together experts and decision makers to explore the challenges and benefits of bidding for major global events. At a time when the bidding process for events has never been more highly scrutinised, Host City: Bid to Win promises place further expert insight into the heart of the ongoing debate.
The conference will examine engaging themes central to the debate including the IOC’s proposed Agenda 2020 reforms and emerging trends in the bidding for and hosting of large-scale, multi-sport and cultural events.
Keynote speaker Sir Craig Reedie, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice-President, believes there has never been a more important time for rights holders to engage with cities.
Speaking about Host City: Bid to Win, he said: “I am supporting Host City: Bid to Win as it is a great opportunity to get rights holders and cities together debating the key issues. Rights holders and cities are both seeking new ways to showcase their unique qualities, attract new audiences and enhance their reputations – I’m looking forward to sharing insights and opinions with experts from across the global landscape.”
Mario Andrada, Rio 2016 Director of Communications, said: “Host City: Bid to Win will be a great arena for debate on major event bidding and hosting. I am looking forward to sharing my experiences and insights into the bid and delivery of Rio 2016 and this is a great opportunity to connect, learn and share ideas about how cities and countries can truly benefit from hosting a major sports event.”
Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and CEO of marketing communications giant WPP and an advisor to the IOC sees the conference as an important platform for furthering the debate on major event hosting in the current climate.
“We clearly need to articulate more effectively the tangible, intangible and legacy benefits of sporting, cultural and business events.” Sorrell said.
Alexander Koch, Corporate Communications Manager at FIFA, said: “This is an important time for all stakeholders involved in bidding and hosting and I’m looking forward to what should be an engaging debate between bidding cities and rights holders at Host City: Bid to Win.”
Host City: Bid to Win will host various structured and informal networking opportunities, as well as a series of thought provoking panel sessions on what cities need to do to win sporting, cultural and business events.
Topics to be covered include:
•How Event Owners and Cities Can Benefit From Improving Their Dialogue
•Emerging Trends in Large Scale Events
•Olympic Agenda 2020: Overview of Proposed Changes to the Bidding Process
•Attracting International Events to Cities
•Bidding for the Right Event
•Evaluating Bidding & Hosting
•Successes and Failures
•Meeting the Evaluation Criteria: Planning, Infrastructure, Transport & Security Strategies
•Campaigning to Win the Bid
•Beyond the Bid: Winning for the Future
For further information on the engaging panel sessions and other top class speakers confirmed for Host City: Bid to Win, please visit: http://www.bidtowin-hostcity.net/
Join the conversation on social media by using the #HostCity hashtag.
For media enquiries, please contact: Robert Fawdon, VERO Communications, rfawdon@verocom.co.uk, m: +44 (0)7769 216649, t: +44 (0)20 7812 6589 -
Olympic bidding process is too long, say bid leaders
Members of the panel “Bidding Processes Under Review” at Host City: Bid to Win in London on Tuesday highlighted the first stage of the bidding process for the Olympic Games as being too long and raising expectations and costs at too early a stage.
“It is the first process that needs to be reduced and then six months before the decision the bid should be formally placed,” said Stefan Lindeberg, president of the Swedish Olympic Committee.
Stockholm dropped its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic in January 2014 when senior politicians and city officials baulked at the rising estimated cost of hosting the games.
“The bid process has become an expensive competition and not because of the IOC requirements but because the bidding process is too long,” said Antonio Fernandez Arimany, director general, International Triathlon Union and former bid leader of Madrid 2016.
“The bidding process is too long and you spend the maximum resources on that bid – this could be reviewed,” he said.
The panel included Sir Craig Reedie, vice president of the International Olympic Committee. “It is possible to revise the bidding process, but is difficult to tell cities what they may and may not do and then enforce this, because if the city is determined to win a prize they will go beyond what the IOC requires,” he said.
“The value of the prize is so enormous.”
Members of the panel identified non-organising committee costs, such as civic infrastructure projects that are often associated with a Games bid, as a source of unwelcome spikes in expenses. These infrastructure projects often bring benefits beyond the Games.
“It seems to me the IOC faces a communication gap,” said Reedie.
“We seem to find it impossible to get anyone to understand that there are two separate budgets; one for the organising committee and one for the non-organising committee.
“The organising committee [of London 2012] made a modest surplus but the non-organising committee cost is the result of the Games being used as a catalyst to develop the host city.”
The cost of hosting the Games has come under unprecedented scrutiny since revelations about Sochi’s expenditure on infrastructure projects associated with hosting the Games.
“At no time did we invite Sochi in Russia to make a USD 51bn contribution,” said Reedie.
The bidding procedure for the Olympic Games is currently under review, through the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020 initiative. 40 recommendation have been made to the IOC Executive Board. The recommendations will be presented, discussed and voted upon by IOC members at the 127th IOC session in Monaco on 8 and 9 December.
Host City: Bid to Win was held in London on 28 October 2014 and acted as a unique dialogue platform between cities and rights holders.