The number of tourist in Ukraine has increased significantly during Euro 2012 match days with approximately 300,000 people across the Ukranian border, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure.

 

According to the Master Card’s Global Destination Cities Index, Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, the venue of Euro 2012 final, ranked higher than Polish Warsaw, co-host of the football championship.

This June the daily number of people arriving in Ukraine grew by 90,000 compared to the same period of 2011, said Ukraine’sMinister of Infrastructure Borys Kolesnikov. On June 11, the match day between Ukraine and Sweden, over 100,000 fans visitedKyiv’s fan-zone on Maydan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Sq.). It is expected that during the tournament’s second round of the group stage the number of tourists will exceed even the current rate.

 

“After the first round of the championship Ukrainian airports started to receive more applications for accepting charter flights,” commented the minister.  He believes this was caused by the foreign fans who have already visited Ukraine and shared their experiences with friends and family back home.

 

There are four Ukrainian cities that host the European football championship: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Lviv. These are the cities that attract the most foreign tourists in June 2012. According to Master Card’s Global Destination Cities Index, the number of people visiting Kyiv would grow by 18.5 percent, reported Liga Net.

 

In the Master Card’s rating Kyiv occupied higher position than the Polish capital Warsaw, another EURO 2012 co-host. Kyiv also ranked higher than Montreal, Boston, Rio-de-Janeiro, etc. Most of the guests visiting Kyiv in 2012 will come from Moscow,London, Frankfurt, Tel-Aviv, and Munich, reports the index.

Moreover, the tourists tend to spend more money on their visits to Kyiv: in 2012 the expenditures index is expected to grow by 29.8 percent. Previously, Erste Bank research unit issued a report indicating that each of the expected 500,000 visitors toUkraine will spend the average of EUR 800 over their three to four day stay in the country.

 

The Index of Global Destination Cities, created by MasterCard Worldwide, is an annual research program that describes and analyzes the global network of 132 destination cities and how they are connected through cross-border air travel and associated expenditures.

The Malaysian division of Carlsberg has agreed a deal, co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, to become an official sponsor of golf’s 2011 Malaysian Open in April.

The deal will last for the duration of the next five years, marking an uplift in the company’s recent backing of Malaysian golf at all levels. The beer company were previously title sponsor of the same tournament, between 2001 and 2005.

Carlsberg will also assist local organisers GlobalOne and the Malaysian Golf Federation in developing young Malaysian golfing talent, awarding some US$16,000 to five Malaysian players should they finish in the top 25 in the event, taking place in Kuala Lumpur from 14th to 17th April.

Carlsberg Malaysia’s managing director Soren Ravn stated: “With this partnership, our hope’s that our Malaysians will be trailblazers at the tournament and inspire a whole new generation of golf stars.”

John Eu, chief executive of GlobalOne, added: “To have Carlsberg on board with us for the next five years as an official sponsor, signifies their dedication towards the country’s premier golf tournament. Their commitment to this tournament is also a testament of their support in showcasing and supporting our local professionals golfers as well as the golf industry in Malaysia. We are extremely pleased to have them as a partner.”

Apple, drugs the major consumer electronics brand, ambulance has signed online broadcast deals with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), enabling the company to stream live sports through its Apple TV service.

Agreed terms have been reached to carry both MLB.TV and NBA League Pass, online sports subscription channels, on its new digital media receiver, revamped in September 2010 as a US$99 set-top box.

Both sports services are backed by their respective leagues and offer broadcasts of live games and match highlights.

An extra cost will be incurred by any consumers who wish to carry the MLB.TV and, or NBA League Pass on top of an Apple TV subscription. NBA League Pass costs US$65 for the rest of the season, while MLB.TV’s basic package is priced at US$20 per month or US$99 per year.

The two parties have been unable to agree on whether net costs involved in the staging of the Paralympic Games should be separated from any operating profit generated by the Olympics.

The BOA is due to receive 20 per cent of any surplus, but its belief that the costs should be separate is not supported by LOCOG.

The BOA has been criticised by some who say that they have embarked on an unnecessary spending spree, with accounts showing that the body’s overall salary bill has more than doubled from $3.2m to $8m million in the last six years.

A statement from the BOA read: “As the National Olympic Committee, our principal responsibility is to safeguard future opportunities for Olympic athletes and sport throughout the United Kingdom.

“We are engaged in a formal process to ensure that any surplus resulting from the London 2012 Olympic Games is used for precisely those purposes. Quite simply, our objective is this: to guarantee that the London 2012 Olympic Games deliver a meaningful post-Games legacy that is beneficial to Olympic sport and athletes, present and future, throughout the UK.”

LOCOG responded with a statement that read: “The vision for London 2012, created by the BOA, Government and the Mayor of London and set out in the bid book is for one festival of sport, with an integrated Olympic and Paralympic Games, underpinned by a single budget. It is sad that this vision is now disputed by the new leadership of the BOA. We are grateful that the IOC is helping to resolve the issue.”

The Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka circuit has agreed an extension to continue as a fixture of the Formula One calendar until at least 2012.

With venues and hopeful hosting cities emerging at a rapid rate, the circuit’s long–term Formula One future looks more uncertain, having held it’s first Grand Prix in 1987.

This season was set to be the longest ever F1 schedule until the Bahrain Grand Prix was called off because of civil unrest, however it is unknown as to whether the race will be reinstated in the 2011 calendar at a later date. This season’s 53 lap Suzuka race will be held on 9th October.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has said 20 races, which the 2011 was scheduled for, is the maximum the F1 calender should be with the United States scheduled to return to F1 with a new track in Austin, Texas in 2012 and Russia joining the calendar for the first time in 2014.

This leaves circuits who pay lower fees and have shorter contracts, such as Suzuka, vulnerable to dropping off the list entirely.  Suzuka, like Britain’s Silverstone circuit, is not supported by national or local government, meaning the US$48.4m-$80.6m a year to host the race has to be privately funded. 

According to media reports, Suzuka look particularly vulnerable following a decline in Japanese involvement in the sport after the Honda team pulled out of F1 in 2008, with Toyota following a year later.

The website which claims to be the world’s first social betting website, Bodugi.com, has launched.

In combining a unique betting game with social network slant to encourage interaction between users, players can join a ‘table’ of members and predict various aspects of a sporting contest, with a stake starting from £5 (US$8.1). The most accurate predictions win cash prizes dependent on the number of players ‘at the table’.

The website incorporates a chat facility via Facebook and Twitter integration and public player profiles, including biographies and direct message facilities. Horseracing TV channel Racing UK is a launch partner and will provide exposure for Bodugi.com.

Co-founder Dave Nevison stated: “The Bodugi.com offering will change the face of the online gambling industry. Our unique game combined with social networking means that Bodugi is perfectly placed to challenge the established players in the sector.”

A Bodugi.com mobile application, available through Symbian, Android and iPhone devices, will be released in April 2011.

The London Assembly believes the total of 14,000 London 2012 tickets that have been reserved for Government officials and politicians is “excessive”, insisting that all public bodies “show restraint” when bidding for preferential access to tickets as well as publishing a register of tickets received.

The Assembly’s Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism (EDCST) published a report today, March 10 – entitled “Just the Ticket” warning that public confidence could be damaged if government bodies buy too many tickets or fail to publicly account for them.

Tickets for London 2012 are set to go on sale on March 15, and the latest report – put together after discussions with the Games’ organisers director of ticketing in December – presents a timely nudge to the members of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

Out of a total of 8 million tickets for the Olympics, 6.6 million will be sold directly to the public with the remainder sold to sponsors and athletes, through VIP packages and through foreign Olympic associations. 

London 2012 has made available for sale 9,000 tickets for the Government, 2,000 for the Mayor of London, and 100 each for the London Boroughs.

The report notes in its foreword: “Our outstanding concerns are about the tickets being made available for sale to various public bodies.

“We have been making the case since our first report on ticketing, in March 2010, that public confidence will be dented if large numbers of VIPs are seen to be getting preferential access to tickets ahead of the general public.

“In this report, we call on public bodies to show restraint when bidding for preferential access to tickets. In our view, the public should ultimately be the judges of the extent to which public bodies have shown such restraint.

“To make this judgement they will need to know exactly who has asked for tickets, why, and how they will be funded.

“That is why we call on public bodies to publish a register of all the tickets they have received.”

Dee Doocey, the deputy chair of the EDCST committee, commented: “Reserving 14,000 tickets for Government does seem excessive. 

“Every seat taken up by a Government official or politician is one less seat for the public so it’s vital that Government bodies are completely open and transparent about who gets them, why and who ultimately foots the bill.”

The search has begun by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to seek world-class contractors to transform the Olympic Park once the 2012 Games have finished, they have announced.

The ODA are looking for contractors to deliver the agreed plans to transform the parklands, infrastructure and those venues not covered by existing contracts for their long term use after the Games.

Once the ODA’s legacy transformation is complete the Olympic Park will be handed over to the legacy owners, primarily the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

ODA Director of Design and Regeneration Alison Nimmo said: “We are on track to complete the Olympic Park venues, infrastructure and parklands ready for London 2012 and are putting in place a team to transform them for their legacy use after the Games.

“Legacy was at the heart of the London 2012 bid and 75p of every pound spent cleaning-up what was a former industrial area and creating the Olympic Park is an investment in the regeneration of east London.

“The venues, sports facilities, parklands, allotments, roads, bridges, footpaths, cyclepaths, energy and utilities networks will form the foundation of the long-term development of this part of London for future generations.”

The ODA is advertising two opportunities to deliver the Olympic Park legacy transformation, one for the south and north of the park, which include:

* Completing the 250 acre legacy parklands to create the largest urban public park created in the UK for over a century including wetlands, woods, meadows, heathland, lawns riverside gardens, frog ponds, 250 benches and seating throughout the Park.

* delivering the legacy cycling facilities in the Velopark including minor internal works to the Velodrome, creating a one mile closed road cycle circuit and 7km mountain bike track and modifying the Games time BMX track.

* creating four football fields (2.1 hectares) worth of allotments.

* delivering football fields on east Marsh.

* removing innovative temporary elements of Games-time bridges and concourses to create an intimate park well connected internally and with the local area.

* removing temporary security infrastructure, extending the parklands and completing 15km of cycle and foot paths and a road network connecting the Olympic Park with surrounding neighbourhoods.

* converting venues and other buildings for their legacy use including removing temporary external elements from the International Broadcast Centre and minor internal works to the Handball Arena and Velodrome. The legacy conversion of the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Village and Aquatics Centre are covered by existing contracts.

* removing temporary security infrastructure including the perimeter fence.

A lack of sponsorship and poor ticket sales have led to the cancellation of an international showjumping event scheduled to be held at the Sheffield Arena next month between 22-24 April.

The Yorkshire International Showjumping Event has been reluctantly cancelled due to facing “substantial financial losses” according to its organisers.

British Showjumping, cialis which had several national finals at the show, health revealed that it had been left in “a difficult position”.

A statement from the organisers said: “This decision has not been taken lightly but is a result of insufficient levels of sponsorship in an increasingly difficult economic climate, together with a general lack of support by potential visitors to the event… in terms of advance ticket sales.

“This is an incredibly sad day, but the costs of running a three-star international jumping event at a major indoor venue are significant.

“Balanced against the limited support we have received to date, we could not possibly contemplate bearing the substantial financial losses we were facing.”

Sponsors, athletes, officials and contractors who had agreed to support the event were released from their obligations to the event in order to seek alternative opportunities.

The statement continued: “There is no way we could consider running an event and not being in a position to pay everybody at the end of the day. added.

“It is generally acknowledged that there is a lack of international jumping shows within the UK, never more so than in the run-up to an event such as the London Olympics in 2012.

“We intend to pursue other options to run an international jumping show at a venue in Yorkshire at some time in the not-too-distant future.”