Spotlight on Cities Sharing Best Practice at City Forum and City-to-City

Once again, cities will be in the spotlight at this year’s SportAccord Convention with City-to-City and City Forum taking place on Tuesday 19 April at the SwissTech Convention Center, Lausanne. As ‘go-to’ events for delegates, this year’s City Day is no exception, with an excellent line-up of speakers, a content-packed programme assessing the impact of sport, with plenty of opportunity for the audience to be involved.

Starting the day, City-to-City will enable delegates to hit the ground running by providing a platform for free discussion on the needs and challenges faced when looking to host sport events. Led by Iain Edmondson, Head of Major Events at London & Partners, he commented, "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 taking part."

Points for discussion could include: issues relating to the bid process, economic impact, legacy, governmental and private sector support, as well as other matters of concern. City-to-City is attended by representatives from regions, cities and countries, with delegates encouraged to share experiences and lessons learned.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events commented, "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." He went on to say, "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 during City-to-City and City Forum at the SportAccord Convention."

The afternoon will begin with City Forum led by Don Schumacher, Executive Director of the National Association of Sports Commissions. The event will provide a series of seminars and panel sessions, addressing the needs and concerns of cities bidding for, as well as hosting, international sporting events.

Speaking of the importance of such an event, Ben Avison, Editorial and Conference Director of Host City for the Cavendish Group commented, "Host City is pleased to support City Forum at the SportAccord Convention. As a media provider, Host City always places cities at the centre of the major event hosting community and we welcome this excellent opportunity for cities to share experiences of hosting sports events."

The first City Forum session will focus on The Current State of Affairs for cities presented by one of the Principal Media Partners, Sportcal. Delegates will receive an exclusive printed Summary covering some of the highlights from the studies made for the Global Sports Impact (GSI) Reports.

This year’s Event Watch focuses on the Tour de France Grand Départ providing a Netherlands case study on their decision to bid for the Tour start, as well as the results that followed.

The City Forum will also focus on Government and Non-Government Hosting Models with representatives from different countries, discussing the benefits and limitations of various models used by cities, bidding for and hosting sporting events. In the final session, delegates will be able to take part in a Group Project challenge focused on an event-bidding issue.

To find out more about SportAccord Convention, including the 4-day Conference Programme and Official Schedule, or to register for SportAccord Convention, visit: www.sportaccordconvention.com

For more information, contact:

Jenny Edmondson, Media Relations Officer:

jenny.edmondson@sportaccordconvention.com

For delegate, exhibition or partner enquiries, please contact our Sales Team at: sales@sportaccordconvention.com

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only