IOC Release Evaluation Report on ’18 Winter Games Candidates

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has today, May 10, released the Evaluation Commission’s report on the bidding cities for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in 2018, following visits to the three Candidate bidding to host the Games: Munich, Annecy and PyeongChang.

The Evaluation Commission spent four days in each city earlier in the year to conduct on-site inspections and carry out an assessment of the cities’  2018 Olympic Winter Games projects.

The report is a technical analysis which is being provided to IOC members prior to the “2018 Briefing for IOC Members” which will be held on May 18 and 19 in Lausanne, Switzerland. During this meeting the Candidate Cities will have the opportunity to present the technical aspects of their candidatures to the IOC members and answer questions.

The report comprises of evaluations of each city, at length, covering aspects of respective bids including: Vision, Concept and Legacy; Sport and Competition Venues; Olympic Villages; Paralympic Games; Accommodation; Transport; Media Operations; Environment and Meteorology; Safety and Security; Medical Services and Doping Control; Legal Aspects, Games Governance and Delivery; Political Structure, Government and Public Support; Marketing; Finance.

While the French city of Annecy are seen as outsiders, despite the efforts of new bid chief Charles Biegbeder, the contest is thought to be very tight between the candidates, with PyeongChang tipped as favourites in a recent report. Since then, the bid of Munich received a huge boost after passing a referendum when residents of the Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen rejected petitions to halt the city’s bid to stage the Games.

The election of the host city of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games will take place on July 6 during the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa. Prior to the IOC members casting their votes, the Candidate Cities will make their final presentations, followed by a final report by Evaluation Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg, IOC member for Sweden. The city that obtains an absolute majority of votes will be elected.

IMG Productions Retained to Produce Caribbean Premier League Coverage

IMG subsidiary, diagnosis IMG Productions, sales has once again been appointed by the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to produce television coverage of the second franchise-based Twenty20 cricket tournament, treat which begins on July 10th with the final scheduled for August 16th this year.

IMG, who produced last year’s inaugural event, will produce live coverage of all 30 of the CPL matches and also provide a one hour daily highlights package. The company will employ a staff of 90 in two production teams across six different Caribbean countries – Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad.

Damien O’Donohoe, chief executive of the CPL, said: “We are delighted to once again be working with IMG Productions. They have a wealth of experience and knowledge of producing top class cricket in the West Indies and did an excellent job with the television coverage of the first tournament.”

He added: “While it is a team effort, I’d like to thank in particular Andrew Wildblood, Graham Fry, Simon Wheeler and Kate Best for their efforts in providing a fantastic all round production solution for CPL and look forward to working with them again this year.”

Simon Wheeler, executive producer of cricket for IMG, said: “The first CPL produced some outstanding cricket and the line-up of top international stars for this year’s tournament promises more of the same. Every match was played in front of packed crowds with a real carnival atmosphere unique to the Caribbean. The whole event was a great boost for the game of cricket in the West Indies.”

Each team has 15 contracted players including a maximum of four international players, four under the age of 23, one local and one international franchise player. The tournament will involve top West Indies players and overseas stars.

Robert Bayigamba Named President of National Olympic Committee of Rwanda

Robert Bayigamba has been elected as new President of the National Olympic Committee of Rwanda after free and fair elections.

M. Bayigamba who played ten years for the national volleyball team, viagra sale has been consecutively President of the Rwanda volleyball federation, find Vice-President of the RNOC, and Minister of Youth and Sport.

He said: “For more than 20 years, I have been dedicated to sport. Today, it is an honour to put forward my passion and experience to serve the development of our Olympic Movement. Rwanda has the potential to become a leading African Nation in sport and it’s up to us to make this dream a reality.”

Bayigamba’s mandate will focus on six priorities namely good governance and organizational development, long-term athletes’ development, participation, infrastructures and facilities, international relations and partnerships. He will foster unity, responsibility and professionalism, with the ambition to make sport a pillar of the social and economic development of the country.

Robert Bayigamba succeeds to Brig.Gen. Charles Rudakubana who was leading the organization since 2009.

European League Chiefs to Meet in Manchester

The European Professional Football Leagues Association (EPFL) have confirmed that they will be holding their official Media and Marketing Committee meeting in a private session at this year’s Soccerex European Forum on 10-11 April, Manchester.

On the occasion, the Leagues’ Association shall be represented by EPFL CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, EPFL Head of Marketing, Media & Communications Alberto Colombo,  Committee Chairman and Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert who will lead the Committee, which will include representatives from Europe’s top leagues including Committee Deputy Chairman and AustrianBundesliga CEO Georg Pangl, Premier League Director of Marketing & Sales Richard Masters, LFP CEO Francisco Roca Pérez,Serie A Marketing Director / Deputy General Secretary Fabio Santoro, Scottish Premier League CEO Neil Doncaster,Eredivisie Media/Marketing CEO Alex Tielbeke, Divisionforeningen CEO Claus Thomsen, Norsk Toppfotball CEO Niels Røine,Swiss Football League Media & Marketing Director Roger Müller, Serie B CEO Paolo Bedin and Turkish Super League Clubs’ Union Marketing & Media Advisor Cem Ülkeroğlu, among others.

In addition to this, the EPFL and its members will play an active role in this year’s Forum, providing speakers such as Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros on the “Fighting corruption in football” panel and Francisco Roca Pérez on the “Rise of the armchair supporter” panel and taking part in multiple SoccerMatch sessions, a series of structured networking events that bring together industry-focused supplier groups with representatives from leading European clubs, in a line-up of 1 to 1 sessions.

EPFL CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros said:

“We’re glad to be staging our committee meeting at the Forum. This is a classic business event in the football calendar. There is a long standing cooperative relationship between our two organisations and on behalf of our members; we look forward to playing an active role again in this year’s Forum.”

Soccerex Chairman, Tony Martin said:

“It’s fantastic that the EPFL have decided to be involved with Soccerex again. To have their support and that of their influential members reinforces the Forum as Europe’s most important football business event.”

The Soccerex European Forum is a two-day event which attracts over 1,600 delegates from the elite of Europe’s football industry to come together to debate, network and do business. This year’s agenda setting conference programme will tackle the key issues shaping European football, including fan engagement, media rights, match fixing, discrimination and addiction, life after football, social media and a selection of special 1-2-1 sessions with the game’s biggest names.

For further information about this event please call +44 (0)208 987 5522 or visit www.soccerex.com/europe.

FIFA ExCo Member Wanted Knighthood for England WC Backing

Reports in the Sunday Times newspaper yesterday, May 8, claimed that, Nicolas Leoz, A voting member of FIFA’s Executive Committee asked for a knighthood in exchange for backing England’s bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.

The Paraguayan is one of the most powerful men in the game in his role as President of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and is alleged to have raised the question of being knighted at a meeting with England officials in November, 2009.

Sources claim that Leoz stated that the special honour was the only thing he wanted as a quid-pro-quo, adding that the request was far from flippant and pretty direct, stating: “He went through it at some length and made clear what he expected from us.”

Simon Greenberg, previously chief of staff during England’s World Cup bid, is now director of corporate affairs at News International, the publishers of the newspaper which leaked the story.

Leoz claimed last week that he received an invite to the marriage of the Prince William and Kate Middleton just a day before the December 2 vote in which FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia rather than England.

Olympic preparations on track, says London 2012 sponsors

With just over 600 days to go before the 30th Olympiad takes place in London, key sponsors of the London 2012 Games including Coca Cola, adidas, Deloitte and GE, have given their thumbs up to preparations and the latest developments at the Olympic site.

At a meeting of the Chairman’s Club, a collective of the Worldwide, Tier 1 and Tier 2 level Partners of London 2012, held at the Olympic site last week, sponsors welcomed the strong progress made in the last 12 months.

John Connolly, Global Chairman of Deloitte, said: “Everyone who attended the meeting was struck by the evident progress made on the site. The Olympic Delivery Authority and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, working in conjunction with the Government, the London Mayor’s Office, business and other stakeholders, are clearly ahead in the delivery of the venues – in one case by months.”

Mr Connolly commented that the leading sponsors were confident that the London 2012 family would be successful as the pace builds up: “Everyone now working on the Games is moving into delivery mode. The Chairman’s Club members reviewed progress and toured the Velodrome. We left the site with real confidence that the infrastructure is in good shape, the shift from planning to operations is being very carefully managed, and the Games will achieve their ambitions. We were impressed by the strong relationships between the main players – Seb Coe and Paul Deighton at LOCOG, John Armit and his ODA team, the very clear commitment of Jeremy Hunt at Cabinet level, and Boris Johnson, leading the city of London’s contribution. This provides extra confidence not just that the plans are in shape but that any delivery challenges still to come will be tackled and resolved collectively.”

Created in 2008 by Deloitte and Think London, the Mayor’s Foreign Direct Investment Agency, the Chairman’s Club brings together some of the world’s most experienced business leaders from companies with combined global sales of more than $1.2 trillion, and employing over two and a half million people.

The establishment of the Chairman’s Club is the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that a group of lead sponsor companies have come together as a single group ahead of an Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“It’s vitally important that the business community works in collaboration to ensure that London and the UK benefits from a sustainable legacy following the Games,” said Mr Connolly.

Seb Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, who attended last week’s business summit, said that the effort of sponsors was crucial as preparations for the Games intensified.

“The sponsor family is absolutely vital to the success of London 2012,” said Lord Coe. “The Games would not be able to happen without the products, services, support and consumer programmes they provide.”

Michael Charlton, Chief Executive of Think London, thanked the members of the Chairman’s Club for their support and partnership. Using the 2012 Games as a catalyst Think London, with the support of these partners, has helped create over 3,700 jobs for Londoners as a direct result of 2012 campaigns.

Rod Carr Becomes UK Sport Chairman & Nick Bitel Chosen as Chairman of Sport England

UK Sport have appointed Rod Carr CBE, vialis 40mg the former Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Performance Director and Chief Executive, as their new Chairman, whilst Nick Bitel, the former CEO of London Marathon has been appointed as Chairman of Sport England.

The appointment comes as UK Sport embarks on the new Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic cycle, investing a record £355 million of National Lottery and Government funding into Britain’s athletes, with the aim to win even more medals in Rio than were won at London 2012.

Carr brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked in high performance sailing, largely at the RYA leading one of Great Britain’s most successful Olympic programmes, for over 30 years. His experience spans various roles including coach, Performance Director and Deputy Chef de Mission at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Rod Carr said: “Having worked in the British sporting system and with UK Sport for many years, I feel honoured to be entrusted with leading this high performing organisation into the Rio cycle.

“Our job is to ensure our Olympic and Paralympic athletes are best placed to keep delivering those magical moments that we all enjoyed last summer, to inspire the next generation for many years to come. The ambitious goal to win more medals in Rio will be our toughest challenge yet, but I’m confident that we can deliver.

“I look forward to working with our partners, particularly the four home country sports councils, to ensure we are better aligned than ever before, to continue to develop British sport and the system supporting our athletes, which is already highly regarded around the world.”

Over the past 10 years, Carr has been a valued member of the UK Sport Board, and also acted as a Panel member for UK Sport’s Mission 2012 performance monitoring process, offering guidance and expertise across all sports, which helped produce the incredible medal hauls by Team GB and ParalympicsGB at last summer’s Games. Over the past year Carr also contributed to evaluation panels for ‘project Rio’, which helped inform UK Sport’s investment allocations for Olympic and Paralympic sports in the Rio cycle.

Liz Nicholl, CEO of UK Sport, said: “The appointment of Rod Carr as Chair of UK Sport is fantastic news for the high performance community.

“Rod has excellent credentials; having led one of our most successful world class programmes he knows exactly what it takes for sports and athletes to reach and remain at the top of their game for a prolonged period of time. Rod is respected by our Board members and staff for his contribution and commitment over the last 10 years as a UK Sport Board member. He will be a fantastic leader for the organisation as we look to use the platform created by London 2012 to develop a stronger more sustainable high performance system.

“I’d like to take this opportunity, on behalf of UK Sport, our partners and the athletes we’ve supported, to publicly thank our outgoing Chair Baroness Sue Campbell for her outstanding leadership over the past 10 years. Sue played a pivotal role in ensuring the success of our athletes last summer and securing the fantastic position we are now in, with the support of Government and The National Lottery, to aim for an even better performance in Rio.”

Lord Sebastian Coe, British Olympic Association Chairman, said: “I look forward to working with Rod and Nick Bitel, as Chair of Sport England, as we seek to build upon last year’s remarkable summer of sport and inspire people of every age to take up sport and benefit from its life-changing values. London 2012 should represent the beginning of a new era for sport in our country, and our partners at UK Sport and Sport England can count on the full support of the British Olympic Association in building upon the momentum from those remarkable Games.”

Nick Bitel appointed Chairman of Sport England

Nick Bitel has also become the new chairman of Sport England, the government agency in charge of grassroots sports.

Bitel takes over from Richard Lewis, but the way in which he was appointed has been questioned by some.

Bitel, tasked with strengthening grassroots sport across the country, said: “I am delighted to be joining Sport England at what is a very exciting time for the organisation.

“London 2012 has given us a huge opportunity to deliver a real boost for community sport and Sport England is central to achieving this.”

An interview panel lead by Sir Keith Mills originally recommended Grey Thompson as chairman of UK Sport with Bitel proposed as the new chair of Sport England.

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson overruled the panel, but Monday’s appointments showed another change in opinion and Shadow Sports Minister Clive Efford demanded answers.

Efford said: “The government must come clean about a process where a significant about-turn was made at the last minute.

“The sources that I have tell me that the government had decided on Nick Bitel as vice-chairman and then for some strange reason changed that decision.

“I think both Nick and Tanni are excellent candidates but what is wrong here is the shabby and shambolic way the government has made this appointment.

“This is unfortunate for Nick Bitel, who is an excellent candidate and who has done an excellent job for the London Marathon, but his appointment has been tarnished.”

Robertson responded: “We had a very strong field of applicants for these positions and it was important we got the very best people in place.

“Rod Carr has a wealth of experience in elite sport, and Nick Bitel has run the most successful mass participation sports event [London Marathon] in this country for almost twenty years.”

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Munich 2018 Bid Clears Vital Referendum Hurdle

The bid of Munich to host the 2018 Winter Olympics cleared a major hurdle yesterday, May 8, when residents of the Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen rejected petitions to halt the city’s bid to stage the Games.

A majority of 58 per cent of the 12,476 people voted in favour of hosting the skiing events of the 2018 Games should Munich win the bid, while 51 per cent opposed a review of the contracts regarding the Games. The landowners and local community members in opposition to Munich 2018 had claimed that the Games presented an environmental hazard for the valley.

Munich bid CEO Bernhard Schwank told Reuters: “The result of today’s poll confirmed the majority of the population is really in favour of staging Olympic and Paralympic winter events here in Bavaria. With this decision today we are very happy and we can look ahead…to July 6. We are very positive that we are in the race with our two competitors and have a great chance to win.”

Thomas Bach, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), also expressed his delight at the result, adding that he had been highly confident from the beginning that the residents of Garmisch-Partenkirchen would back Munich’s bid.

Bach, Ineternational Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president and Munich 2018 chairman stated: “For me, this is just confirmation of what I have always known would happen because I have always known that the residents of the area support our bid so I was highly confident we would win.

“I am also happy with the margin of the victory in the referendums.”

Local opponents of the Munich 2018 bid had gathered 2,500 signatures to force the vote and 59 per cent of the electorate turned up for the referendum.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will select the winning bid from the candidates of Munich, PyeongChang and Annecy on July 6 during its session in Durban, South Africa.

Coke announces London 2012 Paralympic Games sponsorship

Soft-drinks giant Coca-Cola has announced it is extending its sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics to cover the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The company is an official sponsor of the London Olympics and is extending its brand sponsorship to the Paralympics, to “help promote sport for all” in the run-up to the games.

Coca-Cola hopes to get more young people active and involved in sport, regardless of their physical ability, through their sponsorship of both parts of the Olympics.

Coca-Cola has supported the Paralympic Games since 1992 and joins supermarket Sainsbury’s, which is already on the sponsorship roster.

Daryl Jelinek, general manager, London 2012 Coca-Cola Project Team, said: “We are proud to be extending our sponsorship of London 2012 to the Paralympic Games.

“The Paralympic Games is one of the biggest celebrations in world sport, with over 4,000 athletes competing in hundreds of events over 12 days, and we know from first-hand experience just how inspiring it is in helping to change attitudes to disability.

“We want to be a big part of generating that inspiration and excitement on the road to 2012, using our sponsorship to motivate people across the UK and beyond to get active and to drive awareness of the Paralympics.”

The Coca-Cola company has been associated with the Olympic Games since 1928, longer than any other corporate sponsorship.

Eurosport Partner with Dassault to Launch New 3D Experience for Equestrian Event

Sport broadcaster Eurosport has announced today a partnership with 3D design software company, clinic Dassault Systèmes to introduce a new 3D experience to their live broadcasting of the Saut Hermès showjumping event.

The equestrian event will take place on March 14 – 16, ambulance in the Grand Palais in Paris. 

The bespoke experience developed by Dassault Systèmes uses the power of real-time interactive technology and 3D visualisation to explain the subtleties of showjumping for fans at the event and at home. 

The Grand Palais and the two main courses within the competition — the Saut Hermès and the Grand Prix Hermès — have been modelled in 3D. Using a touchless device and interacting with different camera views, site international showjumper Michel Robert will guide a virtual rider and horse through the 3D environment to demonstrate the optimal route of each course. 

Features, such as zoom, rotation and free movement along the track, will be used to explain the fans watching Eurosport’s live coverage the main difficulties of each obstacle and detail the strategic options available to make the best run, including the number of strides the horse must make between jumps and the lines the rider must take to save time. 

Mehdi Tayoubi, Vice-President Global Experiential Strategy, Dassault Systèmes, explains the motivation of the company behind the collaboration: “As a world leader in 3D, we are always striving to explore new innovative usages with our technology to reach a wider audience. The world of sport provides a great opportunity for us to test its application for the spectators at Saut Hermès and for the viewers at home. Developing this project together with Eurosport and Michel Robert felt like a logical connection and a great way for Dassault Systèmes  to work in a co-innovation spirit.” 

Olivier Fisch, Global Commercial Director & Managing Director Eurosport Events, said: “We are delighted Dassault Systèmes has chosen Eurosport as entry point into the world of equestrianism. They share our ambition to bring the best possible coverage and choice to today’s fans. To demonstrate our knowledge and understanding of live broadcasting, Eurosport will continue to introduce new technological initiatives throughout 2014, our 25th anniversary year.”