Beijing, which staged the 2008 Summer Olympics, is up against the Norwegian city of Oslo and Almaty in Kazakhstan for the right to host the 2022 Games, with the IOC set to select the host city on July 31, 2015.

The second edition of the Summer Youth Olympics will conclude on Thursday, and Bach told the Xinhua news agency that Nanjing’s organisation of the event had been “seamless”, echoing the thoughts of Chinese IOC member Yang Yang, who said that Nanjing’s success would lift Beijing’s hopes of becoming the first city to stage the Summer and Winter Olympics.

“Of course it can help,” Bach said. “Nanjing has shown again the excellent way in which China has been able to organise a big event, as well as the friendliness and hospitality of the Chinese people.

“It is a good showcase for China and will, of course, support Beijing’s bid.

“The organisation here [in Nanjing] is flawless. We haven't had any kinds of problems to solve so we have just been able to enjoy the Games with the athletes, the volunteers and the people of Nanjing.

“It has been a great combination of friendliness and efficiency at the same time. If you have the two together, you are guaranteed to have a successful Games.”

Former IOC President Jacques Rogge said earlier this month that, if Beijing were to be awarded the 2022 Games, he is sure they would “do a very good job”.

Bids for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be among the topics discussed by IOC Vice President Sir Craig Reedie and others at the HOST CITY: BID TO WIN conference, which will take place in London on 28th October. Visit www.bidtowin-hostcity.net for more information.

Organisers of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England have revealed that 20,000 applications have been received for 6,000 volunteer positions for the rugby union tournament.

With the application deadline having closed, organisers will sift through the contenders by holding a series of selection events between now and December.

About 4,500 volunteers will be recruited from English and Welsh rugby clubs with the remaining 1,500 places to be given to members of the public.

The host cities for the tournament are now in the process of staging the try-outs, with the successful applicants to join the volunteer team, which will be known as ‘the pack’.

The host cities are Birmingham (Villa Park), Brighton (Brighton Community Stadium), Cardiff (Millennium Stadium), Exeter (Sandy Park), Gloucester (Kingsholm),  Leeds (Elland Road), Leicester (Leicester City Stadium), London (Twickenham, Wembley Stadium and Olympic Stadium), Manchester (Manchester City Stadium), Milton Keynes (StadiumMK) and Newcastle (St James’ Park).

“The pack will be made up of 6,000 volunteers so we had approximately 20,000 applications and we are going to interview 10,000 of those. That will break down into 6,000 that will make up the volunteers,” try-out team manager Mary Cahill said.

The volunteers will perform various roles during the six-week tournament, including working in transport and accreditation services.

The UK public’s appetite for major sporting events has been whetted by the recent 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, England.

More than 50,000 people applied for 15,000 volunteer positions for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, while more than 240,000 applications were received for the 70,000-strong volunteer programme at London 2012.

The 2015 Rugby World Cup will run from September 18 to October 31.

The 2019 edition of the event will take place in Japan, with the host of the 2013 Rugby World Cup yet to be decided.

Edmonton, the Canadian city bidding to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games is looking forward to hosting a much smaller event in 2015 – the FIBA Americas Women's Championships, because it fits with its strategy of attracting events that the community is interested in.

“We are very excited to be hosting the FIBA Americas Women's Championships in August 2015,” Candice Stasynec, executive director of Edmonton Events told HOST CITY. 

“In our event strategy we have identified specific events and activities that make sense for our community. It is gratifying to see the strategy coming to life.”

Basketball has been targeted as a key sport for the city. “What is so satisfying about winning this event is that is part of our larger strategy of further developing Edmonton as a centre of excellence in basketball and the home of basketball in Canada,” she said.

“The Canadian Senior Women's National Basketball Team calls Edmonton home now. We are hoping to attract all the national teams to do the same.”

The reach of the event is boosted by the fact that the tournament will also serve as the qualifiers for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. 

“Our Canadian women’s national basketball team now has the opportunity to compete for an Olympic berth with a home-court advantage,” said Michele O’Keefe, Executive Director of Canada Basketball. “Hosting is a strategic priority for Canada Basketball and this Championship is a great step forward.”

Choosing the right event for cities to bid for is a key theme of HOST CITY’s Bid to Win conference in London on 28th October, which provides a unique dialogue between rights holders and cities.

Bal Gosal, Minister of State for Sport said “Hosting international sport events such as the FIBA Americas Championship for Women provides an opportunity for our athletes to achieve their podium goals in front of enthusiastic Canadian crowds and gives a great boost to the local economy.”

The Championships take place on 9-16 August 2015 with 10 teams from the Americas zone competing in the eight-day tournament. All 24 games are being played at the Saville Community Sports Centre (SCSC) at the University of Alberta’s South Campus in Edmonton.

The 2014 Ryder Cup will break new ground for technological innovation after organisers announced that high-tech wristbands will be offered to fans at the Gleneagles golf course.

The wristbands, which will be handed out with course tickets at the Perthshire venue in Scotland, will utilise Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to allow spectators to access information, share experiences through social media and tap into fan-focused activities provided by the event’s commercial partners.

The RFID technology, embedded in the wristbands, will contain information about the wearer that can be uploaded to the tournament’s website when they register via a tablet or smartphone.

Ryder Cup Europe, which is operating the tournament, is also working with the Scottish government and mobile phone providers to provide ultra-fast 4G wireless connections across Gleneagles for the tournament between two teams representing the USA and Europe.

“Ryder Cup Europe and the key stakeholders wanted to deliver the best possible spectator experience,” Antonia Beggs, operations director for the 2014 Ryder Cup, said.

“As social media, smartphones and mobile internet have become a part of everyday life, the RFID technology seemed a natural choice to lift the event beyond the standard set previously.”
Serge Grimaux of Intellitix, the company behind the wristband technology, added: “Our RFID wristbands will mark the 2014 Ryder Cup out as something completely different to what has gone before in terms of interaction with spectators, media and indeed anyone visiting the course.

“The technology is totally secure and has been proven at a number of large scale events across the world.”

Some of the options available through the wristband include a ‘Walk the Course’ initiative, with prizes offered to spectators who check in at points around the course, and a simulated team competition with live scoreboards around the venue.

The wristbands, which will serve as a method of cashless payment at certain areas of the course, will also enable fans to show support for their team, offering a virtual ‘high five’ for the Europe or USA team.

The 2014 Ryder Cup, which will be supported by global power and temperature control specialist Aggreko, will take place from September 26-28.

Plans for the eagerly anticipated Indian Super League (ISL) and the 2017 U17 FIFA World Cup will be officially presented to the global football industry at the Soccerex Global Convention, held in Manchester on 6-10 September, after the confirmation that a senior Indian delegation will be attending.

The session will begin with Kushal Das, General Secretary of the All India Football Federation, delivering a standalone keynote speech, outlining the explosion of the game in India. 

The panel, moderated by Sukhvinder Singh, will see I-League CEO Sunando Dhar, STAR Sports India President Nitin Kukreja, Delhi Dynamos Owner Sameer Manchanda, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Director Rajpal Singh and DSK Group Executive Director Shirish Kulkarni  presenting the latest developments behind the two projects and the multiple business opportunities associated within Indian football, culminating in the release of the combined FICCI-AIFF-Libero Sports knowledge report. 

Managed by IMG-Reliance, the ISL has attracted investment from India’s biggest companies and celebrities, with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, DEN Network, PVP, John Abraham and Ranbir Kapoor becoming team owners, as well as partnerships with leading European giants such as Atlético Madrid and AFC Fiorentina.  

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the first global football tournament hosted by “football’s sleeping giant” and will play a crucial role in developing youth football in India. With FIFA earmarking a potential  US$38m investment for the tournament, there are numerous business opportunities for suppliers from across the football spectrum, to engage with the key decision makers from the AIFF to learn about the multiple commercial opportunities the tournament will create. 

Das and the Indian delegation join a growing list of international industry leaders who will be speaking at the Global Convention including FIFA President Joseph Blatter, four-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, FIFA Vice-President Jim Boyce, La Liga President Javier Tebas, RFU CEO Ian Ritchie and England and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton. 

The Convention kicks off with the Football Festival on 6-7 September, with the Conference starting on Monday 8 September. A major international exhibition and a programme of networking and social events complete the schedule for this world leading football business event.

Source: Soccerex. For more information about Soccerex please visit http://www.soccerex.com/global // call +44 (0)20 8987 5522 // email enquiry@soccerex.com

American football’s NFL has proposed that musicians should have to pay to perform at the coveted Super Bowl Halftime Show.

The proposal received a “chilly reception” from Coldplay, Katy Perry and Rihanna, the three musicians under consideration for the 2015 show, according to the Wall Street Journal newspaper.

Traditionally the NFL has not paid a performance fee to the stars of the show, although it does cover expenses for the act and the entourage.

The Halftime Show, which takes place on the pitch in the break between the second and third quarters in the NFL’s showpiece game, always attracts one of the largest global television audiences of the year.

A record audience of 115.3 million viewers tuned in for the 2014 Halftime Show on February 2 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bruno Mars taking to the stage.

According to data measurement company Nielsen, musicians who perform at the Halftime Show regularly experience a significant spike in album sales and paid digital downloads due to the exposure of the performance. Several acts have used the Halftime Show as a platform to launch a new album.

It has been reported that the NFL has proposed a revenue-sharing arrangement whereby the league would receive a portion of additional album sales income as an alternative to a flat fee from the performers.

NFL spokeswoman Joanna Hunter said that the league’s priority was to “put on the best possible show” for fans.

“When we have something to announce, we’ll announce it,” she added.

In June, Variety magazine reported that the NBC network is asking advertisers to pay $4.5m for a 30-second spot during the 2015 Super Bowl – a record figure and a 12.5-per-cent increase on the Fox network’s advertising rate card for the 2014 game.

The Super Bowl Halftime Show has attracted the biggest names in the music business over the years, with performers including The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, The Rolling Stones, U2, Tina Turner, Phil Collins, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Paul McCartney, Madonna and Michael Jackson.

The 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show will take place on February 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

As venue construction finally starts to shift up a gear in Rio, the president of the Rio 2016 organising committee has pointed out that the wider developments in the city will have a bigger impact on Rio than any other Olympic city in history. 

Speaking on the two year countdown to the Games, Carlos Nuzman said “The Games will leave a huge legacy for both Rio and Brazil, and are starting to take shape. No other host city will have had such big transformational benefits from the Games as Rio.”

Carlos Nuzman is the latest of many distinguished speakers confirmed to speak at HOST CITY’s Bid to Win conference on 28th October in London, where he will give an exclusive presentation. 

The civic developments include a massive facelift of the historic port area, major transport upgrades, sanitation improvements, anti-flood measures as well as new educational facilities. These projects are being accelerated through 27 government initiatives in the areas of infrastructure, the environment and social improvement. 

The future of the Olympic sports facilities are also being taken into consideration as part of the legacy plans. The Olympic Park’s three sports halls – the Maria Lenk Aquatic Centre, the Rio Olympic Velodrome and the Olympic Tennis Centre – will remain in use after the Games, collectively forming Brazil’s first Olympic Training Centre (OTC) for high-performance athletes.

The fourth Olympic hall, which will host handball matches during the Games – will be repurposed into four schools. “Converting the Rio 2016 handball arena into four schools after the Games is an excellent example of Rio’s commitment to ensuring the 2016 Games leave tangible benefits for the local community,” said Nuzman.

“The ‘nomadic architecture’ concept defined by our government partners is a first for the Games and we are proud that 2,000 Brazilian schoolchildren will benefit from it for many years to come.”

Transport overhaul

Sports events in 2016 will take place in widely dispersed areas in Rio. The Maracanã stadium is 13km north of Copacabana and Ipanema; the Barra Olympic Park is about 25km west of central Rio; while the Deodoro cluster is in a similarly distant part of town with little in the way of hospitality services.

Barra is already connected to the international airport via the Transcarioca BRT, which was built in time for World Cup, complementing another BRT service to Barra that opened in 2012. 

A 32km Transbrasil bus rapid-transit (BRT) scheme will connect Deodoro to central Rio, benefitting 900,000 passengers daily. However, Transbrasil’s tender date has been delayed and work will not start until October at earliest. 

A new 26km Transolímpica, due to open in January 2016, will link the competition centres in Barra and Deodoro and is expected to be used by 400,000 people per day.

The major transport upgrades also include the creation of a light rail transit (LRT) service in the city centre and the extension of the underground metro system. A new 16km underground line, Linha 4, is due to open early in 2016, linking central Rio to Barra with a predicted journey time of 34 minutes.

To find out more, attend HOST CITY: Bid to Win (www.bidtowin-hostcity.net) and experience the exclusive update from Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman

FIFA President Sepp Blatter recently visited Russia and met with President Vladimir Putin as well as Vitaly Mutko and Alexet Sorokin, the Chairman and the CEO of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee respectively, to discuss the plans.

The Interfax news agency quoted Mutko as saying: “The existing conception of the 2018 World Cup provides the staging of the event at 12 stadiums in 11 cities. FIFA recommended staging the World Cup at 10 venues in nine cities.”

“We will once again tour the 11 cities, and then a decision will most likely be made. Everything will depend on how things move along and how the cities view the post-tournament program.”

“We’ll finalise our decision taking into consideration the progress of the host cities in their World Cup preparations.”

Blatter first revealed the reduction plans at the final press conference of the 2014 Brazil World Cup in July. He said: “We are not going to be in a situation, as is the case of one, two or even three stadiums in South Africa, where it is a problem of what you do with these stadiums.”

Issues with stadium construction and underdeveloped infrastructure have also been cited as the reasoning behind FIFA’s demands, with several sites facing huge delays. Russian daily newspaper Kommersant recently suggested the cities of Volgograd, Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg were the most likely to be excluded from the World Cup.

However, other cities also face uncertainty. The construction of the 45,000 seated Rostov-on-Don Stadium is still yet to commence whilst in Saint Petersburg, the $1.1 billion New Zenit Stadium has faced massive delays. Construction work on the new home of Zenit Saint Petersburg began in 2006 but by 2012 was only half built and facing a complete redesign of the stands. The stadium may now not open until 2017, nine years past the original deadline.

On the other hand, some Russian cities have fared much better with their World Cup developments. For example, the new Kazan Arena recently hosted its first football match after being completed in record breaking time last year. 

Samsung has been a part of IOC Worldwide TOP Programme since the 1998 Nagano Winter Games and the extension means the South Korean firm will now feature as a supporter of the Rio de Janeiro, PyeongChang and Tokyo Games as well as the Youth Olympic Games through to 2020.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “We are delighted to be able to continue our partnership with Samsung. The funding generated by the TOP Programme directly supports the staging of every Olympic Games, as well as every one of the National Olympic Committees, enabling athletes from all over the world to prepare for and compete at each Games.

Samsung will be the official Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communication Equipment and Computing Equipment category and has previously provided the Olympic Games with its wireless communications platform and mobile phones, most recently at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

The expanded product category includes smartphones, tablets, laptops, personal computers and other computing equipment as well as desktop printers.

“Samsung also supports the operations of each Games by providing leading wireless telecommunications and technology equipment,” said Bach. “In addition, Samsung’s technologies and global marketing reach will engage fans around the world with the Olympic values and the Olympic Movement.”

Samsung said in a statement: “As mobile technologies have become an inseparable part of our daily lives, Samsung believes its continued support will play a significant role in bringing further innovation to the staging of the Olympic Games.”

The new deal means all of the existing Olympic TOP partners have committed to the programme through to 2020. Other companies to sign up to the IOC’s Worldwide TOP Programme include Coca-Cola, Atos and Panasonic who have similar deals, with each covering their own area of expertise. 

The Commonwealth Games Federation has approved the final list of venues for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, allowing the next stage of development work to go ahead aided by AU$156 million provided by the Australian Government.

The next phase of construction includes the new 2,500 seat Carrara and Coomera Sport and Leisure Centres. 

Some venues are already completed, including the redeveloped Gold Coast Aquatic Centre which Federal Minister for Sport Peter Dutton recently inspected. The Aquatic Centre will host the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships as its first test since the redevelopment work. 

“The Queensland Government and Gold Coast City Council have provided a world class facility for this international swim meet,” said Dutton.

“The new and upgraded venues will leave a lasting legacy for the Gold Coast, Queensland and Australia. Not only will the 2018 Games help usher in the next generation of elite Australian athletes, but the new and improved sporting infrastructure will greatly benefit grassroots sporting programmes across Queensland. This will help to encourage higher rates of participation and promote the many benefits sport and physical activity brings.”

The Ministry for Sport believes the 2018 Games will provide a positive legacy for Queensland and the Gold Coast and expects the event will reap long-term benefits for “tourism, business development and improved social outcomes.”

“The 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games will once again showcase Australia to the rest of the world as a first-class sporting destination, with first class venues,” said Dutton.

“After the success of the Glasgow Games, it’s clear that the Commonwealth Games are still viewed in high regard by spectators and athletes and remains an important part of the sporting calendar.”

15 out of 17 sports will be hosted on the Gold Coast, with track cycling and shooting to take place in Brisbane and some preliminary basketball games to be held in nearby towns.