Melbourne hosting global sport summit - conferences & conventions

(ATR) SportNXT, a global sport thought and leadership summit, will be staged in Melbourne, Australia on November 17-19, 2021.

The global sport summit will be held during the same week of the rescheduled Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Among those who have already signed on to take part in discussion via live video are World Athletics president and IOC member Sebastian Coe, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, International Cricket Council chairman Greg Barclay, and Megan Rapinoe, captain of the US Women’s National soccer team.

Australian sports and media leaders are also due to attend and participate, including high-ranking executives from the Australian Football League, Tennis Australia, FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, the Australian Sports Commission and Rugby Australia.

Other local and international talent will be confirmed in the lead-up to the event.

“The SportNXT vision is to create the Davos of sport. A unique opportunity to gather the best and brightest minds from around the world to share ideas about the future of the sports industry,” said SportNXT Chairman Eddie McGuire.

“SportNXT seeks to identify the challenges and opportunities playing out in the sports business landscape; plotting the responses required to maximize success in the future.”

Smart Cities & Sport will host a special free online session on June 24 on sport and tourism, two sectors hit hard by the pandemic.

The session, entitled “Sport Tourism (R)evolution: Shaping the Future”, will be held from 0900 to 1030 Central European Summer Time (CEST) and focus on how to use sport and tourism to boost economies in the post-pandemic world.

The dates and venue of the next Smart Cities & Sport Summit will also be revealed.

Two additional IOC members are among the latest speaker confirmations for the inaugural Host City Americas event next month.

World Archery president Ugur Erdener and International Equestrian Federation (FEI) president Ingmar De Vos join IOC vice president Anita DeFrantz, who had already signed on to deliver the keynote address.

Host City Americas, with the theme of Investing in Events, takes place virtually on June 29-30. It is expected to bring more than 1,000 people together, including IOC members, sports ministers, mayors, International Federations and Organizing Committee leaders.

The opening panel, Emerging from the Perfect Storm, includes Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO and Al Kidd, President & CEO of Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA).

Current and former International Federation leaders are on a panel tackling the question of Can Private Investment Save Traditional Sports.

The 2021 edition of Host City will be a global, hybrid event held in Glasgow, Scotland on December 7-8. The format change is designed to build on last year’s first digital edition, combining the face-to-face interaction at Glasgow’s Technology & Innovation Centre with online connectivity.

WHO Director-General Keynote Speaker at IF Forum

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) will be a Keynote Speaker at the fully virtual International Federation (IF) Forum 2021 on May 25.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General (IF Forum)

SportAccord says WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has been a leading figure in the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, will speak on the theme of the conference: ‘Lessons We Are Learning from a Global Crisis and How Sport and Society Can Emerge Stronger’.

The address will follow welcome remarks by IOC President Thomas Bach and an opening address by Raffaele Chiulli, President of SportAccord and GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations).

The 15th edition of the invitation-only IF Forum will feature expert speakers from across the global sports movement, including representatives of the IOC, umbrella sports associations and individual IFs, as well as sports industry executives.

Presentations, updates, case studies and panel sessions will be provided on several topics, including ‘Moving Forward, Pivoting and the Lessons We Are Learning’, ‘A Return to Competition and Lessons from the Bubble’, ‘Athlete Mental Health’, ‘Commercial Approaches for IFs in the New Normal’ and ‘The Virtual Experience and its Home within IFs’.

Immediately after the closing remarks of the IF Forum, a virtual launch celebration will take place for the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 in Ekaterinburg, Russia, which runs from November 7-12.

Those who have signed up as delegates, exhibitors or partners for SportAccord 2021 will be invited to the special event, which will take place from 15:45-16:45 Central European Summer Time (CEST).

Conference on Inclusion in September

USA Cycling will host a multi-day Cycling Industry Inclusion Conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado in September 2021.

The NGB said the conference is needed given that “recent discriminatory anti-transgender legislation in Arkansas and several other states where USA Cycling and UCI events are being held threatens access to sport”.

The event will focus on four key underrepresented communities in cycling: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual), Disabled athletes, and Women.

Representatives of these communities will be invited to shape the conference agenda and lead the conversations, presentations, and workshops during the event. Cycling industry members will be invited to attend as audience members and tasked with listening and learning.

The conference will be free to attend in-person and live virtual attendance will be available. The dates and other details have not been finalized yet.

Written by Gerard Farek