The International Anti-Corruption Summit, hosted by UK Prime Minister Cameron on Thursday in London, welcomed the efforts of sports organisations in the fight against corruption.

The conference issued a communiqué that said: “We welcome the work of the international sports organisations to strengthen openness and improve governance so that they meet global best practice. We urge them to achieve the highest global standards and regain public trust through a culture of good governance. We recognise the autonomy of international sports organisations conferred under national laws. We believe this must be exercised responsibly and be earned by continually demonstrating good governance in a spirit of openness.” 

The conference specifically welcomed the initiative of the IOC to launch “an International Sport Integrity Partnership in the margins of a meeting of the International Forum for Sport Integrity in Lausanne in early 2017.” 

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “We appreciate that this summit has acknowledged the efforts of the IOC and sports organisations. The IOC has all the instruments in place and the resolution to fight effectively against corruption. But like any other organisation we are not immune to wrongdoing. In such cases we have a proven record of swift action. The reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020 have strengthened our position to implement our zero tolerance policy in this respect. As welcomed by the Summit, we will take the fight against corruption further by launching the International Sports Integrity Partnership.”

The Summit coincided with confirmation from French financial prosecutors that they are investigating allegations that payments exceeding $2m connected to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid were made to a bank account linked to the son of former IOC member and IAAF President Lamine Diack.

IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer Paquerette Girard-Zappelli spoke at the conference. In an IOC-issued statement she said: “We used this opportunity to present all the measures undertaken by the IOC in the fight against corruption. 

“Through Olympic Agenda 2020 the position of the IOC Ethics Commission has been strengthened and transparency has been increased. This includes a Consultants Register for the Olympic Games Bid Process and many other measures. 

“We have proven that we are actively fighting against corruption. For instance, the IOC took immediate action against Lamine Diack already in November 2015 when the first allegation arose against him. As a result of our action he no longer has any position in the IOC. Nevertheless, we continue to actively look into the matter and have become a civil party to the French investigation.”

IOC Member and President of the International Paralympic Committee Sir Philip Craven chaired a panel on sport at the summit. Girard-Zappelli was joined on the panel by Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the OECD, Jaimie Fuller of Australian sportwear brand SKINS, and Isha Johansen, president of the Sierra Leone Football Association and FIFA board member.

“I have a mission and a vision, to force good governance into football. Because I believe it can help with the growth and prosperity of that nation,” said Johansen.

“Corruption is a deadly killer disease. Having lived in Sierra Leone through the ebola crisis, I know the destruction a disease can cause in a society, it can rip through it, it can kill a society.”

After the summit, Sir Philip Craven said: “Sport is under greater scrutiny than ever before and rightly so; sport is a multi-billion Euro industry that reaches and impacts billions of people around the world on a daily basis.

“There are absolutely no doubts that recent scandals involving some international sport federations have greatly tarnished the image and reputation of sport. This has led sport to quickly realise that it is not immune from being accountable for its actions, just like any other industry.

“It should not take a high profile scandal however to act as the catalyst to organisational reform. Sport organisations must be proactive in improving their athlete centred governance. They must seek out corruption and deal with it swiftly and effectively. It cannot be brushed under the carpet in the hope it will go undiscovered.

“Eliminating corruption in sport needs to be a real team effort. That is why the IPC fully supports the work of the IOC, the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020, the launching of International Sports Integrity Partnership in early 2017 and the recommendations of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Governance Task Force.”

The conference also dealt with issues such as corporate secrecy, government transparency, the enforcement of international anti-corruption laws, and the strengthening of international institutions. 

The summit adopted a “Global Declaration Against Corruption”, which reads: “Corruption is at the heart of so many of the world’s problems. We must overcome it if our efforts to end poverty, promote prosperity and defeat terrorism and extremism are to succeed. 

“Today’s Summit has demonstrated the deep commitment of a significant number of countries, businesses and members of civil society to work together to tackle this scourge.”

Climbing, surfing and roller sports are among eight sports left in contention to feature in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee has shortlisted the following IOC-recognised International Federations (IFs) proposing events to be considered for inclusion in the Games: World Baseball Softball Confederation; World Bowling; World Karate Federation; International Roller Sports Federation; International Federation of Sport Climbing; World Squash Federation; International Surfing Association; and the International Wushu Federation.

The organising committee will propose one or more of events proposed by these eight federations. The primary selection criteria are that the additional events must “serve as a driving force to promote the Olympic Movement and its values, with a focus on youth appeal” and “add value to the Games by engaging the Japanese population and new audiences worldwide, reflecting the Tokyo 2020 Games vision.”

The following sports are no longer in contention: air sports; American football; billiards; bowls; bridge; chess; dancesport; floorball; flying disc; korfball; netball; orienteering; polo; racquetball; sumo; tug war; underwater sports; waterski and wakeboard.

In the next phase of the process, the shortlisted federations are invited to submit further details by 22 July 2015. The organising committee will interview the federations in Tokyo on 7-8 August 2015 before make a decision on which event(s) to propose to the IOC in September 2015. 

Since the IOC’s approval of Olympic Agenda 2020 last December, hosts of the Games are able to propose one or more events to add to the IOC’s sports programme.

The final decision will be made at the 129th IOC Session in Rio in August 2016.

Formula E Holdings are to stage a demonstration event in central Tokyo in the run up to its second season, motorsport.com reported on Wednesday.

The news follows statements made by CEO Alejandra Agag to HOST CITY at the London Championship in June that Formula E plans to add another Asian city to its calendar, along with other new host cities. 

“We are looking at another race in Asia – and we would like to race in the Middle East,” Agag told HOST CITY at a press conference in Battersea Park hosted by logistics partner DHL. 

“We are looking at a race in Switzerland because there is a change in law which means we can race there.”

Cities around the world are expressing an interest in hosting Formula E, he said. 

“We have probably over 200 cities that have asked. It is not the same thing when you tell them what you have to do, this is what it’s going to cost you, the implications and so on – then it filters down. There are some cities that really want it and others that are just asking to see how it works. 

“Realistically we will add five or six new more races in three of four years.

“We’ve been in discussions with DHL to figure out the logistics; we want to reduce the carbon footprint of the championship and we want to go to new locations.”

At the FIA World Motor Sport Council in July, Paris was added and Miami dropped from the Formula E calendar for the 2015/2016 season. Other cities confirmed were Putrajaya (Malaysia), Punta del Este (Uruguay), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Long Beach (USA), Berlin (Germany), Moscow (Russia) and London (UK).

The host of a race on March 16 remains unconfirmed, with Mexico City said to be the most likely candidate.

“In Mexico there are very high chances. We will have to bring it to the World Council and the local federations and so on,” Agag told HOST CITY before the World Council meeting.

The test event in Tokyo will help to build Formula E’s reach in Japan, where Aguri Suzuki heads up Team Amlin Aguri in the championships. The country is also a leader in automotive and green technology.

Formula E has a multi-year broadcasting partnership with Japanese broadcaster Asahi, which released viewing figures of 15 million for the opening four races of the 2014/2015 season.

At its council meeting on Saturday, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) awarded the hosting rights to the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships to the German city of Stuttgart.

Stuttgart beat off close competition from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to host the sport’s international flagship event.

The Stuttgart Worlds in 2019 will be a crucial qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

Under the new Olympic qualification system accepted by the FIG Council at the weekend, the top three men's and women's teams from the 2018 World Championships will qualify for the 2020 Games. The top nine teams from the 2019 Worlds – not including teams already qualified in 2018 – will also advance to the Games.

Stuttgart and Rotterdam have strong traditions of hosting gymnastics events, both having hosted World Championships twice within the past 30 years: Stuttgart in 1989 and 2007; Rotterdam in 1987 and 2010. 

Stuttgart will also be hosting the 2015 Rhythmic World Championships, an Olympic qualifier, in September. The 2015 Artistic World Championships will be hosted in Glasgow in the last week of October. 

"Stuttgart is a beautiful town with a sports-loving and sport-experienced audience," said Stuttgart Mayor Fritz Kuhn, who was present in Melbourne to support his city's bid before the council's decision. 

We will be a cosmopolitan host in 2019, and welcome the international gymnastics family with us. But this is a close decision. Rotterdam and Stuttgart are absolutely on par in terms of sporting infrastructure." 

Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe rounded up his visit to London with an audience at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, where he stated his ambition for Tokyo to use its own Olympic legacy to overtake London. He led a delegation that last week took in a tour of the Olympic Park and a reception at Host City Bid to Win conference.

On arriving in London on the evening of 27th October, Masuzoe met with Sir Craig Reedie – keynote speaker at Host City Bid to Win – and sent a senior representative to a Host City reception. All members of the Tokyo delegation received a copy of Host City’s first Japanese edition, which includes an interview with the President Mori of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic Games.

The following day the Tokyo delegation visited the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, where Masuzoe met with his London counterpart, Boris Johnson. 

“This was the first time for us to meet, and we got along very well. Maybe we have a lot in common, except in our hairstyles,” Masuzoe told the Royal Institute of International Affairs. 

Masuzoe said that he wants the 2020 Games to be not only the best ever: he wants the Olympic effect to transform Tokyo into a more competitive city than London.

He cited a Japanese think tank, Mori Memorial Foundation, whose Global Power City Index has ranked London top and Tokyo fourth.

He said a major priority is to use the Games to revive the economy, drawing in people, money, and information from around the world and making the Japanese capital “the number-one city in the world” within six years. 

The aim is to make Tokyo a global financial centre to rival the City of London and New York’s Wall Street. “I said to Boris, I will be at London. Sorry about that. That’s the reason for my visit.”

He said he and Boris Johnson had agreed to further strengthen the partnership between London and Tokyo cemented by a possible visit by Boris to Tokyo next year. 

He said Tokyo wanted to find out how London managed to sustain its economic development in the aftermath of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Masuzoe said he was impressed to see such a packed programme of events in facilities built for the highly successful Games in 2012. He said it was important for the Tokyo Games to leave an equally palpable legacy.

He said the 2012 Games had changed London significantly and Tokyo would also change after 2020. Abenomics started the process of Japan’s economic recovery, said Masuzoe, a positive shift that quickened further after winning the bid to host the 2020 Games.

However, the language barrier has hampered Tokyo’s growth, with a perception that a small number of foreign nationals live in Japan, he said. This would be rectified by increasing the number of multi-lingual signs and improving accommodation and services for the international community. These shortcomings would be addressed, he said, with the aim of making Tokyo a “people-friendly city”.

The Governor also said Tokyo would follow London’s example in creating a festival of culture as well as sport in 2020. 

Emissions would also be reduced, he said. “At the 2020 Games we hope to attract attention to the advent of a hydrogen society by providing visitors with a fleet of vehicles running on hydrogen.

“I understand that here the use of bikes increased after the 2012 Games, the so-called Boris bikes. Tokyo would also create a better environment for bicycle use and promote bicycle sharing.”

Reaching out to world cities

Tokyo has also established partnerships with other world cities including Beijing, Berlin, Moscow, New York, Paris and Seoul. 

“I plan to build a win-win relationship with cities around the world and thereby strengthen Tokyo’s appeal,” Masuzoe said.

If relations between China and Japan have historically been tense, visitors from Beijing to Tokyo are most welcome in the modern age. 

“It is one of the good achievements of my visit to Beijing,” he said. “They buy many things in Ginza department houses and big shops, and they pay much money, and these shops pay much tax to me, and I can use this money to make our Games successful, right?”

This report includes information from Global Travel Industry News

HOST CITY: Congratulations on your appointment as President of Tokyo 2020. How have your previous experiences prepared you to take on the responsibility of organising and delivering the world’s greatest and most complex event? 

Mr Yoshiro Mori: Of course, it is a great honour to have been appointed as President of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, I am also keenly aware of the huge responsibilities that come with this position and the many challenges that lie ahead. 

As well as having served as Prime Minister of Japan, I have also been engaged in the promotion of sports for many years. I have served as President of the Japan Sports Association, and am currently President of the Japan Rugby Football Union and Vice President of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Organising Committee. 

Throughout my long involvement in sport, I have always recognized the importance of forging close working relationships based on mutual trust with a variety of stakeholders both domestically and internationally, and have always endeavoured to put this into practice. It is fullest intention to make the most of my extensive experience, and exert my utmost efforts towards building productive relationships with the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and international sports federations, as well as the wider international sporting community. 

HOST CITY: Why do you think Tokyo was selected as the host city for the 2020 Olympic Games?

Mr Yoshiro Mori: The main objective of the presentation given by the Tokyo bid committee at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires last September was to demonstrate to the members of the IOC that the people of Japan had once again realised the power of sport to act as a force for good through their struggles in overcoming the tragic earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, and their strong desire to further promote these values and make a significant contribution to the international community. 

I believe that that many IOC members were persuaded by Tokyo’s presentation, and this is a major reason behind Tokyo being elected as the host city for the 2020 Games. Other important factors were Tokyo’s meticulous plans for the successful delivery of the Games, the fact that Tokyo is a safe pair of hands for the Olympic Movement, and the fact that Tokyo has a proven track record of successfully hosting several major international sports tournaments.  

Our overarching aim is to deliver a seamless and successful Olympic and Paralympic Games, and to communicate the power and values of sport. In so doing, I hope that we are able to respond to the expectations that the world has towards the Tokyo 2020 Games. 

HOST CITY: What is the global significance of Tokyo and Japan hosting the Olympic Games in 2020, as compared to in 1964?

Mr Yoshiro Mori: The 1964 Olympic and Paralympic Games left an immeasurable amount of both tangible and intangible legacies in Japan. Furthermore, a vast majority of these legacies remain in regular use even now, a half century later. The 1964 Games served as a platform for Japan to showcase its economic strength and technological capabilities to the world, and provided Japan with the opportunity to claim its rightful place among the world’s leading industrial nations in the second half of the 20th century. 

Now, as we prepare for the 2020 Games, Japan has already reached the status of a ‘mature nation.’ Evidence of this can be seen by the fact that Japan, along with other mature societies, is now working towards realisation of a largely equitable society and is tackling the problem of an increasingly ageing society. I believe that countries around the world are looking to Tokyo and Japan to come up with solutions to the kind of problems faced by mature societies through its hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. From a global perspective, I feel that this is one of the roles expected of Japan by the international community. 

HOST CITY: What are the organising committee’s most important priorities for the second half of 2014 and for 2015?

Mr Yoshiro Mori: The most important task facing us for the remainder of 2014 is the formulation of our Games Foundation Plan. The Organising Committee is obligated to submit our finalised Games Foundation Plan to the International Olympic Committee early next year, and we are currently working feverishly on ensuring that the plan is completed on time. 

From next year, we will enter the phase of putting our finalised plans into practice. Accordingly, it is essential that we forge close working relationships with the IOC, the IPC, IFs, NOCs and all other stakeholders. We realise that our first priority must be to establish a relationship of trust with all the aforementioned stakeholders. 

HOST CITY: Further ahead, which of the functional areas, such as security and transport, do you think will require the most attention?

Mr Yoshiro Mori: The Organising Committee is composed of ten separate bureaus, each with responsibility for a specific function. The bureaus are Administration, Planning and Finance, Engagement, Marketing, International Relations and Sports, Games Preparations and Operations, Security, Telecommunications, Venues, and Coordination for Infrastructure. 

Each of these is a vital function, and without even one of them a successful Games would not be possible. Of course, among these functions, it is important that some bear fruit quicker than others, but rather than saying which of the functions is more important, it is perhaps more accurate to say that our greatest responsibility should be to ensure that all functions are acting in unison towards the ultimate objective of delivering a successful Games. 

HOST CITY: How do you expect media scrutiny to grow as you get closer to 2020 and how does the organising committee plan to manage the media coverage of Tokyo’s preparations?

Mr Yoshiro Mori: Both the London and Sochi Games drew a huge amount of attention from the international media. I am certain that the Tokyo Games will attract the same amount of media attention, if not more. 

The organising committee already has a specialist communications team in place to handle enquiries from both the Japanese and international media, and they are able to respond swiftly to the many requests for interviews we receive from journalists on almost a daily basis. The team also shares information each week with the IOC communications team by teleconference. 

In addition, we have also set up a network to maintain regular contact with the communications teams of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Olympic Committee, the Japanese Paralympic Committee and the Japan Sport Council, and we plan to further expand this collaborative network in the future. 

HOST CITY: What role do you see for the many international partners and suppliers that can support Tokyo’s staging of the Games?

Mr Yoshiro Mori: Various types of expertise and technical abilities are essential for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Of course, it is impossible to include all these areas of expertise in the organising committee. Therefore, it is essential that we avail ourselves of the professional products and services provided by sponsors and suppliers in specialist business fields. One could even say that they are indispensible partners in ensuring the successful delivery of the 2020 Games.

Sponsors and suppliers also play a vital role in helping to create a vibrant atmosphere for the Games. The organising committee will work closely with sponsors and suppliers to further contribute to the Olympic and Paralympic Movement. 

HOST CITY: HOST CITY magazine helps event organisers to deliver the best events in the world, by sharing the experience of different host cities. How important is information like this in preparing to host the greatest show on earth?

Mr Yoshiro Mori: Without doubt, the Olympic and Paralympic Games is the most complex sporting event in the world to organise, and preparations require an inordinate amount of time and effort. It is important that we obtain as much expertise and knowhow as possible in the least amount of time. 

We have learned much and gained vital experience of previous Games through our participation in the IOC’s Observer Programme and Olympic Games Knowledge Management Programme. However, we also realise that there is still much more we can learn from specialist international media outlets such as HOST CITY magazine.

This interview first appeared in the Autumn issue of HOST CITY magazine. Register here

Tokyo 2020’s 39-year old Executive Board member and Olympian, Koji Murofushi, has been appointed Sport Director of the organising committee. 

The position of Sport Director is a crucial role within the organising committee and one that requires the experience of a top athlete. 

“I've had the honour of competing in four Summer Olympic Games from Sydney 2000 to London 2012 and I know what it takes to make a great Olympic experience for athletes,” said Murofushi.

“In 2020, we will host the entire world and I want to create an environment at the Tokyo Games that will enable athletes to compete and perform to the peak of their abilities. I am 100 per cent committed to making these Games the best ever,” said Murofushi.

Murofushi won gold in Athens 2004 and bronze at London 2012 Games. Earlier in June, he won his 20th successive hammer throw title at the national athletics championship. 

Tokyo 2020 is making efforts to actively involve athletes at all levels of its preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. He was appointed as a member of the TOKYO 2020 Executive Board last January.

Appointing the 39-year old will also help the hosts of the 2020 Olympic Games to deflect criticism that its leadership has not yet represented younger people sufficiently.

The appointment will be particularly welcome to Murofushi, given that he missed out on the opportunity to join the IOC Athletes’ Commission in 2012. Despite ruling against Murofushi's appeal against claims of excessive lobbying, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Murofushi's "reputation and sportsmanship were intact."

“I am delighted and flattered to have been chosen as the TOKYO 2020 Sports Director,” he said. “I want to contribute to organising an athlete-focused Games that will deliver a long-term legacy and benefit for the sporting community in Japan and beyond.”