City to City Meeting, 19th April 2016, Lausanne

Today (15 March) representatives of cities, regions and countries attending this year’s SportAccord Convention, have been invited to attend the City to City session at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne on Tuesday 19 April 2016.

The session will be hosted and facilitated by members of a working group who have been investigating the feasibility of forming an organisation for "not-for-profit" investors to share knowledge of hosting international events.

Subjects of importance to bid cities and regions will be discussed, and all conversations will be designed to permit open exchanges of experience and ideas. Issues on the agenda will include those relating to the bid process, economic impact, legacy, governmental and private sector support, and matters of concern to any bid city or region.

An additional topic will be the potential development of an international association or collective of cities and regions who host major events. In recent months a working group has met several times in an attempt to develop the concept to the point where all cities and regions can become involved. Members of the working group to date include:

· Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development

· Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance

· EventScotland

· Fáilte Ireland, National Tourism Development Authority

· London & Partners

· New Zealand Major Events

· Sport Event Denmark

· USA National Association of Sports Commissions

The meeting will be held from 9:30 am to 12:30pm at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne.

Iain Edmondson, Head of Major Events at London & Partners said "Cities like London have come to recognise the value of major events in developing our economy and society. We are always seeking to learn from colleagues around the world and we hope to see representatives from every continent participating in the discussion."

"The impact of hosting international sport events has provided a significant boost to the Canadian economy," said Rick Traer, CEO of the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance. "The legacy facilities provide much needed infrastructure for athletes to train and to encourage a healthy lifestyle for all Canadians. The tangible and intangible benefits of hosting these major events are important reasons for working together, sharing our knowledge and learning from the experiences of other countries."

Lars Lundov, CEO of Sport Event Denmark commented: "From a rather small country point of view I am convinced that sharing best practice and knowledge across borders and continents would benefit all of us, the right holders and the hosts as well."

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events added: "Major events make a vital contribution to the Scottish economy and, in recent years, staging some of the world’s most prestigious events, such as the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup, has brought about substantial benefits for the nation.

Our progress has been greatly aided by knowledge sharing and discussing best practice with other leading event-hosting nations and I look forward to the further opportunity of doing just that at the City to City session at SportAccord."

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