Former England cricketer David Lloyd has been appointed as president of the Professional Cricketers’ Association.

The Lancastrian replaces former England opener Chris Broad, whose two-year tenure in the role has come to an end.

Former England coach Lloyd said: “I was the Lancashire PCA representative back in the 1970s and little thought I would one day be asked to take on the role of president – a role I am delighted to accept.

“The PCA has grown immeasurably since my time as a player in the range and quality of services it offers and I am delighted to be able to play a part as it continues to prosper.”

PCA chief executive Angus Porter added: “Chris Broad has been a wonderful advocate for the PCA in his time as president, and we are grateful for the intelligence and diligence he has brought to the role.

“In David Lloyd, we have found the perfect successor.”

Glasgow’s Bid to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games has been enhanced after the city won the right to host the world renowned Turner Prize in 2015 in recognition of its global cultural status.

The prestigious arts prize will be held at the Tramway arts venue after Glasgow saw off rival bids from across the UK. This will be first time the Turner Prize will be held in Scotland after organisers recently decided to hold the event outside London every second year.

Due to its position as one of the most vibrant and internationally recognised contemporary arts spaces in Europe, Tramway has been chosen by the 2018 Bid Team as a venue for the 2018 Culture and Education Programme (CEP), which runs alongside the sporting events at the Youth Olympic Games.

The venue would host artistic workshops for both the young athletes and local young people as part of Glasgow’s plans to use its international cultural status to promote the Olympic Values through a CEP with global reach.

Over the past 20 years Glasgow has gained international recognition as a centre of excellence for visual arts, standing only second to London and Berlin on the world stage with three of the last four winners of the Turner Prize either coming from the city or having trained at the world-famous Glasgow School of Art.

The venue is also an integral part of the community with a wide range of outreach projects for young people and families on offer designed to increase their interest and participation in contemporary arts and fulfil Glasgow’s commitment to using culture and sport to transform the lives of its young people and the wider economy.

Glasgow 2018 Bid Director, Paul Bush, said: “Glasgow now enjoys an international cultural reputation and we are delighted that the hard work of the city and all its partners to achieve this status has been rewarded with the announcement it is to host this prestigious arts prize in 2015.

“This is a boost to our Bid to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2018. We believe we can use the power of Glasgow’s cultural status and the city’s proven commitment to inspiring and mobilising communities, especially young people, through the arts to partner with the Olympic Movement to promote its values across the globe.

“Coupled with the fact the Tramway and several of our other world-class cultural venues have been chosen to deliver an exemplary Culture and Education Programme, we believe we can inspire young people to be champions in their lives through the power of sport, education and culture.”

Sponsorship experts Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E) have revealed that interest in the London Olympics has risen significantly over the past three months with sponsors playing a pivotal role.

In the past three months, generic there has been a 20% increase in the UK public rating their interest in the Games at ’10 out of 10.’

The research found that there was an average 76% jump in awareness across TOP Olympic sponsors and Tier One London 2012 sponsors, pilule as a result of marketing campaigns being ramped-up.

Significantly for sponsors, the positive attitude towards the Games is truly national, with 53% of people living outside London agreeing with the statement, ‘hosting the Olympic Games is a great thing for the country as a whole.’ This compares to 60% in London.

Alastair Macdonald, Sponsorship Insights Director, HS&E said: “Britain is a nation of sports lovers, as can be seen by how enthusiastically people were looking forward to the Games as early as March 2011 when over half of those surveyed rated their interest in the Games as at least 7 out of 10.

“The build-up to the Games in the media and from sponsors over the past three months has helped raise the excitement to fever pitch.

“What’s really encouraging for the organisers, sponsors and the media is the whole nation feels involved, and proud that the Games are coming to our shores – this is being seen very much as Britain’s Games, not just for London.”

Lucien Boyer, President and Global CEO at HS&E added: “We’ve seen from our global work with ten London 2012 sponsors that at its best, Olympic sponsorship creates a virtuous cycle.

“The public is becoming increasingly enthusiastic about the Games as they approach, and the official sponsors are running more and more highly visible supporting activities.

“Our study shows that these forces have combined to produce ever-growing levels of recognition for sponsor associations, and increasingly effective marketing investments.”

The study was commissioned by HS&E in March 2011 to identify the effects of Olympic Games’ sponsorship on sponsor brands and to track public attitudes towards the Games.

Source Interlink Media (SIM) has joined Yahoo! as an official launch partner for the launch of application Livestand from Yahoo!, allergy featuring a variety of premium Automotive and Action Sports content.

Livestand provides an effortless way for SIM to broaden the reach and engagement of its content to its loyal enthusiasts through rich, here immersive, personalized experiences on an innovative new digital platform.

Greg Morrow, Vice President, Digital for GrindMedia, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to continue providing great content to a partner, Yahoo!, who has continually exceeded our expectations in building products and services that provide both reach and an exceptional user experience to our loyal followers. With Livestand we are able to bring live, up-to-date information to our various action sports enthusiasts who are passionate for their sport and the happiness it brings into their lives. We couldn’t do that without successful partnerships like those with Yahoo!,”

Initially available as a free iPad app available for download in the App Store today, Livestand from Yahoo! is a personalized digital newsstand app that combines visually stunning design with personalized content from leading third-party publishers, like Source Interlink Media, and Yahoo!’s global media network.

At launch, many of the Source Interlink Media brands will be available, including Surfer, Snowboarder, Powder, Canoe & Kayak, Bike, Import Tuner, Truckin’, Low Rider, Super Street, Motorcyclist, Diesel Power, Honda Power, Honda Tuning, and Motorcycle Cruiser. Many more brands will be added as SIM continues to create new opportunities for publishing its content as well as creative marketing opportunities for its advertisers.

Tom Furukawa, Senior Vice President Automotive Digital Media at SIM, stated: “We have an extensive fan base that connects with a variety of SIM brands based on their hobbies and interests. I have been looking for a scalable, tablet product that offers an experience that rivals the more expensive digital magazine (iMag) products. Livestand from Yahoo! allows us to give consumers a very rich digital magazine experience that is both customized and scales for our expansive customer base.”

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has announced a licensing agreement with PR Nutrition to create and sell Team USA performance nutrition bars for London 2012 in a deal running through until Rio 2016.

Sales of the bars will support the training of US Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and will mark the first time that USOC sports dietitians will be consulting with a nutrition bar company in playing a key role in the creation of the bars.

The bars will be available to purchase from mid-2011 and USOC chief marketing officer Lisa Baird said: “We are thrilled to welcome PR Bar into the US Olympic Family of licensees.

“Our athletes work hard each and every day to be at their peak performance, and having easy access to Team USA performance nutrition bars will help them power their bodies for training and competition.

“In addition, fans who purchase PR Bars will also be helping to support America’s athletes by financially contributing to their Olympic and Paralympic journeys.”

The bars will be available to Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls from the US from the Olympic Training Centres in Colorado Springs, Chula Vista and Lake Placid, as well as at the Games in London.

Bill Logue, the co-founder and chief executive of PR nutrition, added: “It’s an incredible honor to be part of the US Olympic and Paralympic Family, and we look forward to introducing our new line of Team USA performance bars.

“Moreover, we are happy that the Team USA bars, as well as our PR Bar family of products, will provide proceeds to support US Olympic and Paralympic athletes.”

Chris Sperry was named today as the Director of Partnership Sales for Talladega Superspeedway.

Sperry, viagra buy a graduate of Clemson University (1994) and Georgia State University College of Law (1999), brings 10 plus years of business and marketing skills to NASCAR’s Most Competitive track. During this time, Sperry has served as the Sponsorship and Event Marketing Manager for Maserati North America, Vice President of Sales for Road Atlanta, and Senior Manager of Business Development for Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

“I am very excited to be a part of the Talladega family,” said Sperry. “I look forward to working with our existing partners and growing our brand in the marketplace. We have a great team in place, two great events and an experience that is unmatched in NASCAR. After all, this is Talladega.” 

As the new Director of Partnership Sales, Sperry will be planning and directing business development efforts for Talladega Speedway, as well as developing plans and programs to support the speedway’s sales and revenue objectives. Sperry will now be the primary contact with ISC’s Partnership Sales and Marketing department. 

“We are thrilled to have Chris join the Talladega team, with a track record of exceptional success and growth throughout his career,” said Grant Lynch, Talladega Superspeedway Chairman. “He brings with him many years of experience and a strong skill set in the field of sponsorship marketing and will definitely be an asset for us moving forward into the 2014 season.” 

Istanbul’s bid for the 2020 Olympics have been boosted after an New York Times report ranked Istanbul as one of the world’s top 10 tourist destinations for 2013.

The news follows last week’s launch of the Istanbul 2020 bid concept based on three pillars:  technical excellence; an incomparable Games backdrop; and a profound legacy impact for Turkey and the Olympic Movement. Istanbul’s reputation as a “vibrant mega-city spanning two continents, more than three civilisations and eight millennia” was reinforced in the New York Times report, which describes some of Istanbul’s historic quarters as “going through a renaissance at warp speed”.

Istanbul 2020’s bid leader, Hasan Arat, commented on the news: “I am thrilled, but not surprised, that the New York Times has named Istanbul as a top 10 destination.

“The 2020 Games in Istanbul would be at the centre of a physical and symbolic bridge between East and West, cultures and continents. The city is a world-renowned cultural hub and has proven it is ready to welcome the world. Istanbul will be an exciting place for the Olympic family as the older areas of the city continue to be revitalised by the youthful population and buzzing contemporary arts scene.”

Istanbul has already been named as the fifth most desirable tourist destination in the world and the third most visited city in Europe in MasterCard’s biannually published Global Destination Index. The number of visitors to Turkey rose in the first eight months of 2012 to 22 million – an increase of over half a million visitors on the same period in 2012, and a 200% rise over the last decade.

Professor Uğur Erdener, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and head of the NOC of Turkey, stated: “Istanbul would make an inspiring host city for the Games in 2020 because it is a truly unique city. It has a rich history and a sense of tradition which fuses harmoniously with a vibrant culture and modernity. That is what I think is so appealing for tourists. Its role as a melting pot of languages, religions and races is another reason for the city’s popularity, allowing visitors a chance to sample an enticing blend of cultures in one cosmopolitan city.”

Next year, 33 million visitors are expected to travel to Turkey as the country’s tourism industry continues to boom.