Global Sports Week Set To Kick-Start France’s Own “Golden Decade” Of Sport
January 31, 2020
Representatives of more than 70 countries are set to participate in the first Global Sports Week Paris as France seeks to kick-start its decade in the global sports spotlight.
Organisers of the new annual gathering of the world sports economy have confirmed the participation of more than 1,300 international delegates, with just a week to go to the start of the inaugural event.
Conceived as a Davos-style forum, Global Sports Week will take place at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris on February 6th-7th, preceded by a VIP reception and series of off-programme events.
The summit is organised under the high patronage of M. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic. It also benefits from the patronage of UNESCO and the « Proud support » of international partners including the International Paralympic Committee, UEFA, Formula 1, FIA, UN Women, EPCR, FIBA, FIVB and the Bundesliga.
In total, more than 65 international commercial and institutional partners are backing Global Sports Week, including many that will also be present when Paris hosts the 2023 Rugby World Cup and 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Global Sports Week forms part of a broader French ambition to mobilise sport as a driver of international economic and social development in the new decade.
Speakers including F1 Chairman Chase Carey, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, film maker Claude Lelouch, swimming legend Matt Biondi and surfer Justine Dupont will join international business and political leaders to address issues ranging from the climate emergency to sport’s role in driving gender equality and the impact of digital transformation on sport’s core business model.
At the heart of the concept, 50 young spokespeople, representing 22 nationalities, will voice opinions and challenge received ideas as ambassadors of a new generation driving radical change.
The event will also provide the stage for key policy announcements from the likes of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon), while French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu will host a private meeting of international sports ministers on the sidelines of the summit.
Global Sports Week takes place at a time when Paris is emerging as a post-Brexit challenger to London for the status of Europe’s capital of sports business. It follows the success of the inaugural NBA Paris Games, which were moved from London to the French capital after almost a decade.
Lucien Boyer, President of Global Sports Week, said: « The first Global Sports Week will be a truly international gathering, meeting our ambition to put sport at the centre of the global debate. In this context, Paris offers an ideal stage as it prepares to be the centre of the sports world in the 2020s.
