Host City 2020 Focuses on Recovery -- Conferences & Conventions

(ATR) A global audience of 1,000 major event industry professionals is expected to attend the seventh edition of the Host City conference and exhibition on Dec. 8-9.

The annual international meeting of cities and sports, hosted by EventScotland and Glasgow Life, is virtual this year.

The theme is "The Big Restart: Recovery with a Purpose for the Digital Age" and the opening session will feature keynotes from IOC member and former WADA president Craig Reedie and Paris 2024 CEO Etienne Thobois among others.

Brian Lewis, the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee president, and Densign White, Chair, Sporting Equals tackle another dominating issue of 2020: the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, while Sabrina Ibanez, President of the Association of Paralympic Sports Associations leads the panel on inclusion and diversity.

In addition to the content, the Host City 2020 digital platform enables what organizers call "all the other hallmarks of Host City – world class networking, and an exhibition of events, hosts and expert suppliers".

Click here to book your free pass.

Virtual SportsPro OTT Summit

The SportsPro OTT Summit, being held virtually this year, will feature more than 30 sessions on December 2-3.

A deep dive into Amazon’s approach to rights acquisition, forecasting the future of broadcast and OTT, and building a soccer OTT platform are among the sessions on offer.

Those interested in showcasing products and/or services can create a dedicated exhibitor page on the OTT Summit networking platform that will be accessible to all attendees.

A pass to access content and the exhibitions is free for everyone and a premium pass is available at no charge for many.

Click here to register.

Q&A: Sportel CEO Laurent Puons

Sportel Monaco is an important convention for sport media rights and the sports industry. Heinz Peter Kreuzer has spoken with Laurent Puons, Chief Executive Officer of Sportel, about postponing the event to February 2021.

In an interview with Around the Rings, Puons explains why Sportel is a face-to-face event and why Monaco will always be the flagship. Another event in Miami is planned for next year. Puons also gives insights into the changes in the sports industry due to the coronavirus pandemic.

ATR: You have postponed SPORTEL Monaco from October 2020 to February 2021. Do you think that the situation will have improved by February?

Laurent Puons: The easiest solution would have been to simply cancel and wait for the crisis to dissipate. However, surrendering is not in my vocabulary.

Given the importance of SPORTEL for the sector and the fact that we want to continue to support the key actors of the sports business community, cancelling was a decision that we do not want to take.

Although we are aware that February might be early to host SPORTEL, we must be the first to bring the sports content media rights and technology industry together again.

In all honesty, if the event cannot be held in February, we will continue to work hard to be ready for the day we can organize a face-to-face event again

Click here for the rest of the interview.

Online Sport Officiating Conference

The first ever International Event on Sport Officiating will be held online on November 20.

The conference is the final part of the Erasmus+ Sport funded project entitled ONSIDE, coordinated by the European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE), aimed at enhancing the skills of sport officials in Europe. The event is being organized jointly with the International Federation for Sports Officials (IFSO).

A group of 14 sport organizations have been working for the past three years on the ONSIDE project. They have been exploring and defining the generic competencies, skills and knowledge expected of sports officials covering all sports and countries.

The new online event, which will be held as a Zoom Webinar, is scheduled to run from 1000 to 1300 Central European Time on November 20.

Expert speakers and panelists will present interactive sessions dealing with topics including a tutorial on the ONSIDE European standards for sport officiating, the benefits and uses of the new ONSIDE e-learning courses for sport officials, and gender equality in sport officiating.

There is no registration fee. Click here to sign up.

Homepage photo: Host City

Written by Gerard Farek

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