Imola To Stage UCI Road World Championships, Athens Will Host Basketball Champions League Final Eight

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that it has awarded the organisation of the 2020 UCI Road World Championships to Imola. The world-renowned Italian city and its region Emilia-Romagna will host the event from 24 to 27 September.

The awarding of this event follows the cancellation on 12 August of the Aigle-Martigny 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Switzerland, which meant the UCI needed to find a new organiser very quickly.

The competition programme for the UCI Worlds has been adapted in view of the current world health situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic: only the races (road race and time trial) in the Elite categories will be contested this year. Indeed, the majority of the top athletes in the Elite Men and Women categories are already in Europe, as opposed to their younger counterparts (Juniors and Under 23) whose national delegations, in a significant number of cases, will not be able to travel to Italy due to travel restrictions imposed in numerous countries. Limiting the programme to the Elite categories means a large majority of young athletes will not to be unfairly prevented from having the possibility to participate in the competitions.

Although the start and finish of all the events will take place on the Imola automobile racing circuit, the routes proposed by the organising committee stand out due to their extremely challenging character: the men’s road race will be 259.2km with a total of nearly 5000m of climbing, while the length of the women’s race will be 144km with a cumulated 2750m of ascension. The circuit (28.8km) will be the same for the men (9 laps) and women (5 laps) and will include two difficult climbs (3km in total with an average gradient of 10% and sections reaching 14%). These characteristics will offer the riders a profile comparable to that of Aigle-Martigny (Switzerland) which will suit the punchers and climbers and should produce exciting and lively races.

The time trial circuit (to be covered once by both men and women), fairly flat, will measure 32km with 200m altitude difference, suiting the strongest specialists of the race against the clock.

A city situated some 40 kilometres from Bologna, Imola hosted the UCI Road World Championships in 1968, the year that saw victories go to the Italian Vittorio Adorni and the Netherlands’ Keetie van Oosten-Hage. The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari has also been the theatre of several Giro d’Italia stage finishes. The organising committee of the Imola 2020 UCI Road World Championships can therefore benefit from extensive experience in the organisation of international events and world-class facilities.

2020 UCI Road World Championships Programme:

–      Thursday 24 September: Women Elite individual time trial

–      Friday 25 September: Men Elite individual time trial

–      Saturday 26 September: Women Elite road race

–      Sunday 27 September: Men Elite road race.

UCI President David Lappartient declared: “I congratulate the Imola organising committee for the excellent quality of its bidding file which it succeeded in producing in a short lapse of time. I would also like to thank the three other candidates Peccioli (Italy), Alba Adriatica (Italy) and the Haute-Saône (France) who also sent solid files to the UCI. It was not an easy choice, but it goes to show that even in this difficult period that we are going through, the UCI World Championships are still very attractive for cities and their regions.

“Although the award of the 2020 UCI Road World Championships to Imola is excellent news, my thoughts also go to the Aigle-Martigny organising committee whom I sincerely thank for its commitment and the quality of our collaboration over the last two years.

“The award of the UCI Road World Championships in Italy this year is of great symbolic value for the UCI: in a country that suffered enormously from the Covid-19 pandemic but was able to confront it effectively and with courage, the staging of our leading annual event will, in its own way, be a sign of a return to normal in a region where the health situation is now under control.

“I am convinced that the 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Imola will allow us all, despite the difficult current situation, to witness a great sporting festival. I invite you all to follow this event in Italy, true cycling territory, on one of the most challenging circuits in the history of the UCI Road World Championships. I look forward to watching these races which promise to be magnificent.”

The city of Athens has been awarded the hosting of the 2020 Basketball Champions League Final Eight.

Following FIBA’s decision on March 12 to cancel all international competition in order to protect the health and safety of players, coaches, officials and fans, the BCL Board took the unanimous decision on March 30 to resume and conclude the 2019-20 Season with the hosting of a Final Eight, single-game knock-out competition, to be held on September 30 – October 4, 2020.

Six teams have already qualified for the Final Eight (in alphabetical order): AEK (GRE), Casademont Zaragoza (ESP), ERA Nymburk (CZE), Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (ISR), San Pablo Burgos (ESP), and Türk Telekom (TUR). The two outstanding games, JDA Dijon (FRA) vs Nizhny Novgorod (RUS) and Iberostar Tenerife (ESP) vs Filou Oostende (BEL), still pending for the conclusion of the Round of 16, will be played prior to the hosting of the Final Eight, on September 16 (20:30 CET).

Eight teams will participate in the pinnacle event of Basketball Champions League’s fourth season which will be played over the last weekend of September in the Greek capital. The games will be played in the 18,000 seater Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall, regular home court of AEK.

The decision concerning the presence of fans in the arena will be taken at a later stage and in accordance to the rules and regulations set by the Greek official authorities.

As part of this host city announcement, the logo of the 2020 Final Eight has also been unveiled:

“We are very excited to have Athens host the Basketball Champions League Final Eight. We are grateful for the commitment of the Greek authorities to help us organize this event in the best and safest way possible for all stakeholders, especially the players of all qualified teams. We have also witnessed the enthusiasm of the host club to organise this historical event,” said Patrick Comninos, CEO of the Basketball Champions League.

“Despite the difficult situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to award this Final Eight, with the participation of eight clubs that have earned their spot throughout a hard-fought season, to an environment that has proven experience in organizing top-level basketball events. This will guarantee a unique week of basketball for fans across Europe,” he added.

Member Insights: How Brands Adapted From Traditional Rights To Activate Across The ‘Final 8’ Tournaments

One of the major questions being faced by the current world of sports is how to keep sponsors involved during a time when there is both a lack of events occurring and also that of fans attending fixtures, something that is crucial for the industry.
Fuse’s Dan Sproul, Account Director, and James English, Partner, take a look at how brands activated across the Final 8 tournaments for the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. How did Covid-19 affect some of their clients’ plans and how did brands pivot from traditional rights in this incredibly unique situation?

As some of the world’s largest sporting events, such as UEFA EURO 2020 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, were being cancelled throughout March and April, there was plenty of uncertainty around the remainder of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League being completed.

But here we are, almost five months later with Bayern Munich and Sevilla crowned champions, and credit to UEFA for getting these tournaments concluded.

The Final 8 style tournaments unquestionably created logistical challenges for UEFA and the clubs involved – but this was also an interesting challenge for our four UEFA clients (Nissan, PepsiCo, Santander and Enterprise Rent-A-Car). As long-term plans for the culmination of the season needed to be completely reconsidered, it was undoubtedly an opportunity for a condensed fortnight of activation without competing with domestic leagues.

“Whilst football fans await further information on a return of fans to stadiums, partners will continue to invest in digital and online activations. The challenge will be for partners to differentiate – creativity is going to be key.”

At Fuse, we’ve worked closely with our clients to deliver in a short period of time. With just over six weeks between the announcement of the Final 8 tournaments and the tournament kicking off, there had to be quick adaptation to plan and deliver new campaigns and activations.

What social listening told us and how did this affect planning for our clients?

It is no surprise that a lot of our focus went digital. Through our social listening capabilities at Fuse, we identified that social media conversation and content was up 21% from the beginning of March. But we were also able to identify what type of content football fans were craving. The original peak of online social media challenges (e.g. Toilet Roll challenge, Run5, Donate5, Nominate5) was dwindling – fans now wanted to be entertained and informed. Sports personalities and historic footage were also two of the key topics that drove the highest conversation online, with many rights-holders (e.g. The Football Association) and broadcasters reverting to playing classic matches with commentary from those involved in the games.

But with lockdown restrictions easing across Europe, there was also the opportunity to offer local experiences – acknowledging that social connection was one of the global pandemic’s key challenges, with sport being a means for many people to socially connect.

What did we deliver for our clients?

With the above understanding of the landscape, we took these key principles into our planning for our clients.

Nissan’s brand ambassador Eden Hazard was pivotal for the brands UCL return content, with two engaging pieces: ‘My Favourite Goals’ where Hazard discussed his best UCL goals along with memories watching the competition growing up, and a cross-property content series with Formula E driver Oli Rowland, where Hazard changed his kit & football boots for a professional driving suit. Additionally, in Lisbon where the UEFA Champions League Final 8 was held, we worked with Nissan to arrange an invite only and private drive-in screening event where all 50 vehicles were Nissan 100% electric LEAF’s, complete with the UCL trophy and Portuguese legend Nuno Gomes. Nissan also activated the trophy tour online with a convoy around Lisbon to the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in a Nissan Nismo RC with the help of Nuno Gomes to promote EV and the brand new Nissan Ariya.

Benfica’s Estadio da Luz hosted the 2020 Champions League final in an empty arena with no fans present.

For PepsiCo, we delivered digital rights globally for its three main brands: Pepsi, Gatorade and Lay’s. Gatorade focused on future wonderkids – creating content which puts a spotlight on young UCL stars who will embark on their path to greatness during the 2020/21 season. Pepsi and Lay’s maximised their use of global ambassadors – with Paul Pogba gate-crashing an online Pepsi UCL quiz and additionally producing more trick-shot content with Lionel Messi. Through drive-in events across Europe, Pepsi gave over 7,000 football fans unique viewing experiences for the tournament’s remaining games.

Santander curated two events in Lisbon; with ‘Santander Talks’ and the Santander Media House both featuring appearances of the UCL Trophy. The Talks event brought together industry leaders in Portuguese sport to discuss what the post-Covid sporting landscape and, in particular the UCL, will look like. The Media House repeated a concept from Madrid 2019 with Santander housing global footballing talent such as Deco, Luis Garcia and Cafu (virtually) in a branded environment for their media outreach activities featuring the likes of Marca, ESPN, Turner Sports and Goal.com. Santander activated digitally through content on their Football Santander social channels including the usual promotion of Player of the Week nominee and winner videos (with paid support from UEFA) as well as the ‘Greatest Comeback’ piece and their ‘Champions League is back’ campaign. The latter featured global ambassador, Ronaldo Nazario, highlighting how much football fans had missed the game and how it makes everyone happier that the tournament is back.

With Enterprise Rent-A-Car, a partner of the UEFA Europa League, the Europa Road Trip campaign was put on hold. Instead, leveraging remaining time with ambassadors Robin van Persie and comedian Lloyd Griffith to create ‘We’re Back In The Game’ content, aligning with Enterprise’s global ‘We’re Ready When You Are’ campaign. The content combined humour with some real football insight from van Persie, driving online conversation about some bold predictions and claims, including that Mason Greenwood is better at 18 than Robin van Persie was himself.

“The pandemic has further underscored the need from brands to ensure their sponsorship rights, and the way they are activated, directly address business challenges.”

Through the above activations, we were able to deliver significant global reach to millions of football fans around the world, helping our brands deliver against their key objectives. Working with our partners, we were also able to deliver real-time results to clients as their activations went live such as increased web traffic, positive sentiment and share of voice in the football conversation.

“Fuse’s flexibility and commitment in a short period of time really helped us deliver some great activations which we know not only resonated with European football fans, but also delivered for our brand.” Darren Carter, Creative, Media & Sponsorship Director – Europe, Enterprise Rent-A-Car

With less than two months to go until the group stages of the 20/21 UCL and UEL – what can we learn and what can we expect come October?

Whilst football fans await further information on a return of fans to stadiums, partners will continue to invest in digital and online activations. But with all partners likely to take similar approaches, the challenge will be for partners to differentiate online with both competitors and other partners – creativity is going to be key. Brands, agencies and rights holders will need to work harder than ever to come up with creative solutions to deliver their rights and achieve cut-through.

The 2019/20 season was incredibly unique and we very much anticipate more twists and turns throughout the 20/21 season, with partners and ourselves having to be more nimble and reactive than ever before.

The pandemic has further underscored the need from brands to ensure their sponsorship rights, and the way they are activated, directly address business challenges. As sport continues to recover, rights holders and clients alike will need to further ensure that sponsorship can deliver commercial return for brands.

LaLiga Continues Its Off-The-Field Growth With Technological And Social Initiatives

Despite the disruption caused by the global pandemic, LaLiga was able to continue its off-the-field growth.
From technological to social areas, new successes were achieved to enhance the league’s global status.

A defining feature of the 2019/20 season was the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with global competitions suspended and many events and projects moving online. But this has not prevented LaLiga from continuing its global off-the-field growth in the form of technology development, commercial agreements and social initiatives.

The pause in competitions presented a unique challenge for all sports institutions, but even as stay at home measures were being observed, LaLiga began working towards the return of professional football in Spain.

In coordination with several European leagues and other industry stakeholders, LaLiga worked closely with the clubs, the High Sports Council and public health authorities on two ambitious protocols: a Return to Training Protocol and, subsequently, a Match Protocol. Thanks to these initiatives, matches were able to resume on 11 June 2020.

Successfully completing the season was without question the standout achievement of 2019/20, particularly considering that football is an industry which generates 185,000 direct and indirect jobs, equates to 1.37% of Spanish GDP and contributes €4.1 billion in tax. However, this only tells a small part of the story.

1. LaLiga received R&D+i certificates for over 20 of its apps and platforms

LaLiga received a distinction in June 2020 for its commitment to innovation through the Spanish Innovation Certification Agency (ACIE) and European Quality Assurance (EQA).

‘Calendar Selector’, the tool designed by LaLiga to optimise TV audiences and stadium attendance through the use of artificial intelligence, was one of those selected, along with the applications created by the LaLiga piracy department to fight the illegal viewing of matches such as ‘Marauder’ and ‘Lumière’. ‘Tyche’, the technology for monitoring possible match-fixing, was also recognised.

Furthermore, some twenty applications and tools created by LaLiga were certified as Technological Innovations, such as its OTT platform, the ‘Mediacoach’ and ‘Horeca’, tools developed by the BI & Analytics department and other corporate applications such as the Clubs Portal and the new LaLiga website.

Read more – https://newsletter.laliga.es/global-futbol/ten-milestones-laliga-2019-20-season/rrss

Coca-Cola And International Paralympic Committee Announce Global Partnership

The Coca-Cola Company joined the International Paralympic Committee (IPC)’s roster of Worldwide Paralympic Partners. The new agreement, which encompasses worldwide marketing rights to the IPC and the Paralympic Games, will help communicate the impact of the Paralympic Movement to a whole new audience.

“We are very excited to welcome The Coca-Cola Company as a Worldwide Paralympic Partner,” said Andrew Parsons, president, IPC. “At the IPC, we believe that change starts with sport and that Para sport can foster a more inclusive world. We know The Coca-Cola Company shares our belief. They have been a supporter of the Paralympic Movement and our Games for decades, and their recent commitment to support the Japanese National Paralympic Committee during the COVID-19 pandemic shows how much they value Para sport. We look forward to working with Coca-Cola over the coming years on initiatives that can benefit our athletes around the world.”

The partnership is the result of the long-term collaboration signed in 2018 between the IPC and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Worldwide Paralympic Partners are granted the right to use the designation of the Paralympic Games and their emblem.

The IPC recently launched its one-year-countdown campaign, #WaitForTheGreats, for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, which were pushed to next summer due to the coronavirus pandemic. The campaign includes a powerful TV ad, an Instagram athlete virtual relay stretching from New Zealand to the west coast of the United States, as well as athlete TikTok challenges and Instagram stories from all 22 Paralympic sports that will feature in the Games. The Paralympic Games also are the subject of the new Netflix film, Rising Phoenix, which tells the story of nine athletes across two Paralympic Games.

Ricardo Fort, vice president of global sports and entertainment partnerships for The Coca-Cola Company, applauded the announcement, stating, “The Paralympic Games are the third largest sporting event in the world and have set the standard for inclusivity in sport. Through our expanded relationship with the IPC, The Coca-Cola Company will continue supporting elite Para athletes who will make history at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond.”

“The Paralympic Games are the third largest sporting event in the world and have set the standard for inclusivity in sport. Through our expanded relationship with the IPC, The Coca-Cola Company will continue supporting elite Para athletes who will make history at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond.”

Before the agreement was signed, Coca-Cola Japan was an existing Gold Partner of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the highest domestic sponsorship tier. In June, Coca-Cola Japan launched an athlete donation program to support the Japan National Team due to impacts caused by COVID-19.

For Tokyo 2020, The Coca-Cola Company will execute its most significant portfolio play, to date, leveraging a team of elite Olympic, Special Olympic and Paralympic athletes from 25 countries around the world. The new platform will be the first global Olympic marketing campaign by the company to showcase a portfolio of beverages.

The Coca-Cola Company’s Olympic journey began on a freight ship in 1928. The transport arrived in Amsterdam carrying the U.S. Olympic Team and 1,000 cases of Coca-Cola. Since then, the company has sponsored every Olympic Games, helping bring the Olympic spirit to fans in host cities and around the world.

The Coca-Cola Company recently extended its Olympic sponsorship to 2032.

FanDuel Sportsbook Becomes PGA TOUR Official Betting Operator

The PGA TOUR and FanDuel Sportsbook agreed today on a multi-year content and marketing relationship designating FanDuel an Official Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR.

By joining the TOUR’s Official Betting Operator program, FanDuel will have rights in the United States to use PGA TOUR marks, rights to advertise within TOUR media and TOUR partner platforms, plus content and video rights allowing FanDuel to create pre-game and post-game betting programming, as well as distribution of highlights to users who have placed bets. Additionally, the PGA TOUR and FanDuel will collaborate to deliver odds-based content to fans via TOUR Digital Platforms like PGATOUR.COM and the PGA TOUR app.

“We have long admired FanDuel’s brand, product and marketing strategies as well as the leadership position it has taken since the legalization of sports betting in 2018,” said Norb Gambuzza, SVP, Media and Gaming at the PGA TOUR. “We are excited to bring FanDuel into the PGA TOUR’s Official Betting Operator program as we continue to engage new fans in this rapidly growing space.”

FanDuel Sportsbook has seen substantial growth in golf gaming:

  • Golf has recorded the highest single event handle on FanDuel Sportsbook over nine of the last 12 Sundays.
  • FanDuel Sportsbook’s total golf handle in New Jersey in 2020 already has surpassed the total golf handle from 2019, even without [13] weeks of PGA TOUR competitions during the shutdown.

“Golf interest is up on FanDuel, so we are excited to deepen our relationship with the PGA TOUR,” said Mike Raffensperger, CMO FanDuel Group. “We will now be able to offer unique gaming experiences on our platform, special TOUR related promotions for our customers and an enhanced content experience across the TOUR’s properties to really prove to bettors across the nation that there are More Ways to Win at FanDuel.”

Following the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, the TOUR instituted an integrity program in collaboration with Genius Sports to protect its competitions from betting-related corruption. Later that year, the TOUR announced a global partnership with IMG ARENA to license its official, live scoring data to betting operators all over the world.

The PGA TOUR is a Platinum Member of the National Council on Problem Gambling, committed to industry-leading responsible gaming practices.

Member Insights: Why Brands Should Invest In Organising Their Own Online Tournaments

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in events all over the world being cancelled. Whether it’s the Premier League, music festivals, exhibits or trade shows; COVID-19 has the whole world missing out on their favorite pastimes. People are putting lots of work-related activities on hold and as a result many brands are also losing essential touchpoints with consumers.

Needless to say if you want to maintain a steady stream of income as a business, you’ll have to reevaluate your thinking about current and future advertising and marketing campaigns. Gaming tournament platforms are an attractive and proven alternative to advertising at live events, allowing you to reconnect with consumers even during a lockdown.

Here are the  top 10 reasons why your brand should invest in organizing its own online tournaments on a gaming tournament platform today:

  • It doesn’t take long to set up a gaming tournament platform
  • Scaling marketing actions on a platform is easy
  • Online gaming platforms have a low entry barrier
  • You can take impressions of your ads to new levels
  • Online gaming is a great opportunity to grow your audience
  • You turn your audience into brand ambassadors
  • More touchpoints enable you to boost sales
  • You’ll gather loads of useful in-game data
  • You can unlock new sponsor opportunities
  • The time is now

#1: It doesn’t take long to set up a gaming tournament platform  ☄️Proximus is a Belgian telecommunications company and one of the country’s biggest broadcasters of live sports. During the lockdown, they partnered up with the Belgian Pro League and launched the Proximus Pro League e-Cup. On the one hand to keep soccer fans digitally engaged on the one hand, but also to keep promoting the brand.

With StriveCloud as a technology partner, they created an online FIFA tournament in which fans can enroll to represent their favorite team and play against each other. The tournament platform was already up and running in one week, and within the first hours of going live, over 2,000 fans signed up.

#2: Scaling ad reach on a platform is easy 

Channel 4 Secures Broadcasting Rights To Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

With exactly four years to go until the Opening Ceremony, Channel 4 has today been awarded the UK television rights to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The deal with Channel 4 includes multi-platform broadcast rights within the UK and will see the broadcaster build on its acclaimed coverage of London 2012 and Rio 2016 which broke UK viewing records for Paralympic sport. London 2012 reached 69 per cent of the population.

Paris 2024 has set high ambitions for the organisation of the Paralympic Games, as the first ever Summer edition to be organised in France. For the first time in the history of the Games, Paris 2024 features a single emblem, reflecting its desire to place the Paralympic Games and the Olympic Games at the same level.

Paris 2024 will showcase Para athletes’ performances in a unique and spectacular way, organising the Games in some of the most iconic venues in Paris and its region, including Wheelchair Fencing in the Grand Palais, Blind Football in front of the Eiffel Tower and Para Equestrian in the Palace of Versailles. The partnership with Channel 4 will reinforce Paris 2024’s commitment to make the Paralympic Games resonate across the entire world.

World Class marketing and disabled presenting and production talent will be key to successful profiling and broadcasting of Paris 2024 and Channel 4 aspires to maintain its prized position as a world leader in inclusion and accessibility. Sustainability will be at the heart of its coverage and the broadcaster aims to build on innovation within broadcasting that it has planned for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, being held next year.

Between 2012 and 2016 Channel 4 showcased more hours of Paralympic sport than any other broadcaster in history and created household names of both athletes and presenters. The 2016 award-winning Superhumans campaign was the most shared campaign globally of any Olympic oe Paralympic partner; reaching over 48million people around the world.

Andrew Parsons, IPC President, said: “We are delighted that Channel 4, a broadcaster with a global reputation for its stunning Paralympic coverage, has been awarded the broadcast rights to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. With London 2012 and Rio 2016, Channel 4 created a blueprint for how a commercial broadcaster can raise the profile of Paralympic sport and its athletes to new levels. They have reached record audiences, in particular young people, identified and developed some fantastic new presenting talent and played a significant role in delivering seismic shifts in attitudes and perceptions towards people with an impairment in the UK.

“They have committed to build on this fantastic work over the next four years and continue to innovate within Paralympic broadcasting and we look forward to working with them as they help contribute to the IPC’s vision of enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence to inspire and excite the world.”

Alex Mahon, Channel 4 Chief Executive, said: “The Paralympic Games is at the heart of what we do at Channel 4 and we are proud to have been the Paralympic broadcaster since London 2012.

“We believe with passion that the Paralympic Games can enrapture audiences, with high quality, dramatic, elite sport, and also drive social change in the perceptions of disability. There is nothing else quite like it.

“The decision to award Channel 4 the rights to Paris 2024 enables us to continue to broadcast ground-breaking and innovative coverage of the Paralympics, continue to build athlete profiles and to further cement the careers of our presenters.

“We have a new innovative approach to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games which will be broadcast next year and I’m delighted that we have the opportunity to then build on our achievements over the next four years and to work in partnership with Paris 2024 and the IPC.”

Tony Estanguet, Paris 2024 President, said: “Channel 4 has proved to be one of the most exciting and committed Paralympic broadcasters worldwide and we are delighted to count them among our partners to give the widest visibility possible to the first Summer Paralympic Games to be organised in France.

“Together with Channel 4, Paris 2024 will aim to further build excitement around the Paralympics, to shine a spotlight on the exceptional performances of the athletes, and to illustrate how sport can change lives and engage the next generation to be part of the Games.”

Mike Sharrock, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, said: “I’m thrilled that Channel 4 will continue to pave the way in progressive coverage of Paralympic sport here in the UK by retaining the broadcast rights for the Paralympic Games in Paris 2024.

“The British public now experience Paralympic sport in a way which was unheard of before the London 2012 Paralympic Games and the first Games that Channel 4 broadcast. Channel 4 has taken the Paralympics to their heart and transformed themselves as a broadcaster in the process – athletes have become household names and sports have been profiled but also the increase in the number of disabled people involved as presenters, production teams, marketing, recruitment and Channel 4 staff have all made significant impact in every aspect of Channel 4’s approach.

“Channel 4 challenges the barriers that exist and helps to create role models which helps to support our vision that through sport, to inspire a better world for disabled people.”Channel 4 will broadcast the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in 2021. Tokyo 2020 will see Channel 4 embrace technological advancements and the presenting team will be more divers than ever before nd will include more senior roles in its production team for disabled people.Paris 2024 is hoping to announce further international broadcasters for the Paris 2024 ParalympicGames in the near future.

Athletes In America Take A Stand After Latest Violent Incident In Country

Last night, numerous games within sporting leagues across the United States were called off following boycott’s from players to protest racial injustice within the country amid the latest episode of police brutality.

Starting with the Milwaukee Bucks’ intention to not play their NBA playoff game against the Orlando Magic, this caused a chain reaction around the league, with all three playoff games scheduled for last night postponed.

News of this decision went to the MLS who opted to postpone five of their six fixtures on the night, the only game taking place being Orlando City FC at home to Nashville, which was already underway when destiny of the other five games was decided, with players reportedly choosing to continue the match after half-time for the fans in attendance.

In the WNBA all games were also called off with the Western and Southern Open tennis tournament doing the same after Naomi Osaka’s decision to boycott her fixture.

Meanwhile in Major League Baseball three matches were called off, however in the NHL all of its projected games went ahead, with a moment of reflection beforehand.

Spotify And Riot Games Team Up For Official League Of Legends Esports Partnership

Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game League of Legends is the biggest esport in the world. Last year, tournaments were held in over 37 different cities across five continents, with a record-breaking viewership of 21.8 million average minute audience watching the 2019 World Championship Final unfold. But gamers and fans aren’t just playing: they’re also streaming.

The official League of Legends soundtrack racks up over 4.8 million Spotify listeners per month—a sizable number of both gamers and Spotify users. That’s why Spotify and Riot Games, the video game developer behind League of Legends, are joining forces for a first-of-its-kind multiyear partnership. Spotify is also now the official—and exclusive—audio -streaming partner for League of Legends global events.

Official League of Legends Esports hub

Music is already important in the League of Legends world, but we’re taking it one step further by creating a hub. Get excited for new and existing music, podcasts, and playlists inspired by the gaming community, including Official League of Legends and Road to Worlds 2020 playlists. Keep an ear out for more coming soon.

Exclusive and original podcasts

Spotify and Riot Games are working to create and launch several new League of Legends podcasts. Untold Stories: Top Moments from Worlds, a 9-episode series leading up to the 10th League of Legends World Championship this fall, will be the first. Listeners will be able to hear about the top players and anthems through game highlights, recorded interviews, game sound effects, and new interviews with key players. Thanks to our extended partnership, we look forward to evolving this podcast over the years to come.

Elevated music moments

We’re also providing fans with a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the Worlds Anthem through the Worlds Anthem Takeover on Spotify. This highly anticipated track is the hero song of the year. It’s released alongside a bespoke music video and is then performed during the Opening Ceremony of the World Championship Finals, setting the tone and celebrating the big event. In previous years, Riot Games has worked with artists including Imagine Dragons, The Glitch Mob, and Against the Current.

“Music and audio are an intrinsic part of our sport and game, so we are thrilled to partner with Spotify to provide our fans with another platform where they can enjoy the ultimate manifestation of League of Legends,” says Naz Aletaha, Head of Global Esports Partnerships, Riot Games. “As a disrupter in their space similar to Riot Games, Spotify allows us to collectively challenge the limits of possibility as we blend sports, technology, entertainment, and music to create iconic experiences and content that inspire generations.”

June Sauvaget, Global Head of Consumer and Product Marketing, says, “Our partnership with Riot Games will create a first-of-its-kind audio universe for the millions of Spotify and League of Legends fans across the globe. As the exclusive—and first ever—global audio service partner for League of Legends, we plan to create a world-class audio-streaming experience for our users, making discovering both music and podcasts easier than ever before.”