The organisers of Glastonbury 2020 have announced the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the festival.

“This will be an enforced fallow year for the Festival,” Michael and Emily Eavis said in a statement published on their website and shared on social media.

“Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty – this is now our only viable option.

“We very much hope that the situation in the UK will have improved enormously by the end of June. But even if it has, we are no longer able to spend the next three months with thousands of crew here on the farm, helping us with the enormous job of building the infrastructure and attractions needed to welcome more than 200,000 people to a temporary city in these fields.”

Ticket holders will have the opportunity to roll their £50 deposit over to next year, and be guaranteed the opportunity to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2021.

The organisers added: “The cancellation of this year’s Festival will no doubt come as a terrible blow to our incredible crew and volunteers who work so hard to make this event happen. There will also inevitably be severe financial implications as a result of this cancellation – not just for us, but also the Festival’s charity partners, suppliers, traders, local landowners and our community.

“We were so looking forward to welcoming you all for our 50th anniversary with a line-up full of fantastic artists and performers that we were incredibly proud to have booked. Again, we’re so sorry that this decision has been made. It was not through choice. But we look forward to welcoming you back to these fields next year and until then, we send our love and support to all of you.”

[Source: SportAccord] On 28 February, the Swiss Federal Government imposed a ban on large-scale events involving more than 1000 people. The ban came into immediate effect and was set to apply until at least 15 March 2020. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) moved to declare the COVID-19 outbreak as an official Pandemic. On 14 March at 14:30 CET in a press conference, the Canton of Vaud under emergency measures imposed a ban on events involving more than 50 people until 30 April 2020. SportAccord, which brings together nearly 2,000 delegates, has taken the necessary step of cancelling SportAccord 2020 to give International Sport Federations, stakeholders, partners and attendees as much time as possible to make arrangements in light of the cancellation.

“Our priority is the health and welfare of our International Federations and delegates attending our event, so this decision has been taken with the utmost consideration for those who were planning to attend SportAccord 2020 in Lausanne.” SportAccord President Raffaele Chiulli said.

“This is obviously an extremely unfortunate situation and we are saddened that our community will not be able to attend our annual gathering, but we wanted to announce this decision at the earliest opportunity to enable plans to be adapted accordingly for all concerned.”

SportAccord Managing Director Nis Hatt said: “Following the COVID-19 outbreak, SportAccord has made every effort to find a viable solution for the staging of the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2020.“

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused, but in taking the decision to cancel the event at this stage, we have endeavoured to minimise the potential disruption to our delegates’ plans. SportAccord is very grateful for the support of the City of Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, International Olympic Committee, partners, exhibitors, and delegates in recent weeks. We are now focusing on the delivery of what promises to be a superb SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 in Ekaterinburg and we look forward to welcoming our friends from around the world to Russia from 23-28 May 2021.”

Partners, exhibitors and delegates who had registered to attend SportAccord 2020 in Lausanne will be contacted shortly with further information.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord or keep up to date via LinkedIn and Facebook. For enquiries, email info@sportaccord.sport.

Sport brings benefits to physical and mental health, building a sense of community and purpose. But reconciling these with the business of sport can create a quandary – particularly when people are increasingly inclined to spend time looking at devices than participating in sport.

“Kids in America don’t play anymore; they sit in front of their screens,” says Richard Brisius, Race Chairman of The Ocean Race. “What’s their perception of sport and how do we attract them to it? Do I chase eyeballs and clicks, or produce something that’s relevant and educating?

“It’s quite easy for sports to think we don’t have much effect, but we do. Sports has for a long time has been about a healthy mind and a healthy body. Sport shouldn’t go too far away from its ideals. If we do that, if we just chase views at any cost, we will lose credibility. Business and sponsors are looking for sports that take the responsibility to do something for purpose, and that is sustainable.”

Microplastics everywhere

Concerns over sustainability are at the forefront of all sports today, and sailing is right on the front line of environmental change. Anyone who has watched Blue Planet will be aware of the beauty and fragility of the ocean.

“The ocean has always been our playground, our stadium. 70 per cent of the world is covered in ocean – very few people go out there, but we do, and we see it change.”

Ocean health has been at the core of the race since its launch of the event in 1973. “Conservation comes naturally to sailors,” says Brisius, citing the example of Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, Olympic gold medallists who came second and third in the last Ocean Race and set up the Live Ocean charitable trust.

The Ocean Race runs an ocean science programme, where the racing boats are fitted with advanced equipment to test water all over the world for salinity, CO2, temperature, microplastics and other indicators. The data is sent to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), UNESCO and other science databases.

“We go to places where no one else goes. It’s sad to say that we found microplastics everywhere across the world, even between Cape Horn and New Zealand, at Point Nemo – the furthest away from land you can be.”

They also have an education programme in 29 countries and run a series of 12 Ocean Race summits around the world to raise awareness of ocean health.

Hosting for a purpose

The Ocean Race goes to great cities all over the world. The next race, in 2021-2022, takes in ten host cities, starting from Alicante, going on to Cape Verde, Cape Town, Shenzhen, Auckland, Itajai, the US city of Newport, Aarhus, the Hague, then into the Mediterranean with the grand finale in Genoa, where Christopher Columbus first started sailing.

Because the event is hosted in the city for one to two weeks, it attracts a good number of visitors, creating good visibility and economic impact, says Brisius. It also brings ticket-free activities for citizens in race villages.

The next opportunity to host The Ocean Race is in 2025, and some cities are already committed and others in talks. Unsurprisingly, sustainability comes top of the list of evaluation criteria. “That’s important in the way cities bid for us. We want them to say how hosting the Ocean Race will change how they work around sustainability.

“The Ocean Race is about racing for a purpose. Sport should not underestimate its role in society.”

This interview was conducted at Global Sports Week Paris in February 2020

[Source: CGF/Birmingham 2022] The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has signed a partnership agreement with Longines for the next three editions of the Commonwealth Games, starting with Birmingham 2022. The announcement comes on Commonwealth Day today (9 March), where Birmingham 2022 unveiled a Longines Countdown Clock in the heart of Birmingham’s iconic Centenary Square.

The agreement represents the first ever multi-Commonwealth Games partnership in history with Longines receiving exclusive status as the “Inaugural Partner of the Commonwealth Sport Movement”. Known worldwide for excellence in precision timing, Swiss watchmaker Longines will be the Official Partner and Timekeeper for Birmingham 2022 as well as the 2026 and 2030 Commonwealth Games. This new partnership sees Longines provide all timing and scoring equipment for every single event within the next three Commonwealth Games.

An additional aspect of the partnership means that Longines is also named as ‘Presenting Partner’ of rugby sevens, table tennis, gymnastics and athletics. The historic agreement reinforces the strong ties between Longines and the Commonwealth Games. Longines was originally a partner of the Perth 1962 Commonwealth Games and renewed its partnership for Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018.

The announcement comes on Commonwealth Day today (9 March), where the CGF, in partnership with Longines and Birmingham 2022, unveiled a Countdown Clock in Birmingham’s Centenary Square. The striking clock has begun counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the start of the opening ceremony of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, on 27 July 2022. 

The Longines Countdown Clock features a fully accessible ramped approach to allow both wheelchair users and non-wheelchair users to move freely under the structure. Manufactured in England, its structure forms the shape of the iconic ‘B’ logo of the Birmingham 2022 Games. This distinctive shape was created by connecting 12 towns and cities across the region, joining together key Games locations, where for the 11 days of the Commonwealth Games, 19 sports, including eight fully integrated para-sports, will take place.

CGF CEO David Grevemberg CBE said: “I am absolutely delighted and privileged to have Longines join with us as the Inaugural Partner of the Commonwealth Sport Movement. It marks an exciting new chapter in the longstanding friendship we have had with Longines that dates back to the Perth 1962 Commonwealth Games.”

“This is a truly historic agreement and having this multi-Commonwealth Games partnership in place showcases real confidence in the future direction of the Commonwealth Sport Movement. The partnership has been made possible because of the new Games delivery model, coordinated by CGF Partnerships, which looks at multi-Games opportunities and efficiencies.”

“It is particularly special to be announcing this on Commonwealth Day, a day of celebration across the Commonwealth, where we are unveiling the Longines Countdown Clock to the Birmingham 2022 Opening Ceremony. With this striking yet elegant structure now taking pride of place in the iconic Centenary Square, the countdown to Birmingham 2022 has really begun.”

Longines Vice President Marketing, Matthieu Baumgartner commented: “On this special day, Longines is very excited to announce its participation in the XXIInd Commonwealth Games, considered as one of the world’s most important sporting events.”

“With 870 days to go until the start of this great event, our brand is delighted to reveal a historic multi-Commonwealth Games partnership with CGF, covering the 2022, 2026 and 2030 editions.”

“We are extremely proud of our partnership with the Commonwealth Games, which extends all the way back to the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games and more recently the 2014 Glasgow and 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.”

“Timing is crucial when it comes to winning a gold, silver or bronze medal. In this regard, Longines is looking forward to providing its timekeeping expertise in various disciplines, including Athletics (Track & Field), Gymnastics, Rugby Sevens and Table Tennis, the sports we are partnering with during the Commonwealth Games.”

“Our brand has a long history of innovation and precision in sports timekeeping, dating back to the late 19th century already. For the three next Commonwealth Games, starting with Birmingham 2022, Longines is perpetuating this history, together with athletes and sports fans from all over the world.”

John Crabtree, Chair of Birmingham 2022, said: “This marks a hugely significant day for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, as we build momentum and edge ever closer to July 2022.

“Longines has a prestigious history in sports, and great heritage when it comes to Commonwealth Games. To have their continued support for Birmingham in 2022 is very much welcomed and we are proud to have them as a partner.

“The countdown clock will become a key attraction and focal point and will ensure the people of Birmingham have a visual reminder that their city has been chosen to host one of the biggest sports and cultural events in the world. It will count down to an important moment when the eyes of the world will be on Birmingham and the West Midland region.”

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “The Countdown Clock is an exciting contemporary addition to our diverse range of public art in the city.

Set in the recently revamped Centenary Square and in front of the world-renowned Library of Birmingham, it creates a fantastic Games-related city centre destination for citizens and visitors in the years to come as the excitement builds for everything we do as a council and with our partners on the road to Birmingham 2022.”

[Source: UFI] Paris based UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and Atlanta based SISO, The Society of Independent Show Organizers, today launch a new campaign, called “This Show Is Open”

– “This Show is open” / “This Expo is open” campaign made available to exhibition organisers around the world

– Campaign highlights the critical role exhibitions and events play in times of crisis

– Both associations pledge to make campaign available to meeting industry associations serving other types of events

It supports exhibition and event organisers around the world as they put the industry’s full experience to the task of keeping events going wherever possible, in line with the guidance of health authorities and the interests of their customers.

The campaign launches as the global outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus is challenging societies around the world. As health systems and governments deal with the outbreak, exhibitions and events around the world are being postponed or cancelled where deemed necessary.

At the same time, exhibitions and events are one of the core elements to both keep industries and economies going – they are both among the most responsive and resilient economical tools.

“Exhibitions and events are essential to millions of businesses around the world. They exist to provide platforms for people and industries to meet, to trade, and to collaborate. Small and medium businesses in all industries in particular depend on exhibitions. And, like all types of events, they support the economy worldwide“, says Mary Larkin, UFI President.

“Exhibitions and events are especially important in times of disruption. We stand to fulfil our obligation to maintain opportunities for people to meet wherever possible. As part of the exhibitions industry, we are committed to keep our exhibitions and events going around the world wherever we can do so“, says Greg Topalian, SISO Chair.

The “This Show is Open” campaign consists of material that UFI and SISO are making available to their respective memberships – covering all the global leading companies in exhibition management as well as regional and national heavyweights. They can add the visuals and text material to their ongoing communications around upcoming exhibitions – highlighting the fact that, while numerous exhibitions around the world are being postponed or cancelled due to COVID19, many shows are taking place successfully around the world.

“We have one simple message here”, say Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO and David Audrain, SISO ED. “As an industry, we strive to make it possible for every company to come to the show floor, to seek to meet with industry peers, to drive the exchange about how and to what degree their respective industries are impacted by COVID-19, and to secure the successful future for their business.“

Industry leaders are welcoming the campaign:

“I have been a strong supporter of this campaign ever since I heard of it. At Tarsus Group, we will use the material provided to help get the word out loud and clear that our industry is open and resilient”, says Douglas Emslie, CEO of London based global organizer Tarsus Group.

Both UFI and SISO are as well inviting other associations serving the wider meetings industry to join the campaign, to help to grow awareness.

“As the current president of the Joint Meetings Industry Council, I will invite all the member associations of this global framework to join this campaign. We will also be happy to offer other networks like the ‘Events Industry Council’ to share the campaign – this issue is one that calls for the whole meetings industry to come together and collaborate”, says Kai Hattendorf.

The campaign materials are available for download here: www.supportingevents.org

[Source: EventScotland] Taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 5 March, guests gathered to see 18 individuals, businesses and events honoured for their contribution to the tourism sector.

Paisley Halloween Festival took home the Best Cultural Event or Festival award, while Salomon Skyline Scotland 2018 was named Best Sporting Event. The business events sector was also recognised, with The All-Energy Exhibition & Conference 2019, which took place at the Scottish Event Campus lifting the trophy for Best Business Event.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018 was also recognised with the inaugural Inclusive Tourism accolade while Brigadier David Allfrey received the prestigious Johnstons of Elgin Silver Thistle Award for his exemplary work as Director of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and his wider contributions to Scotland’s tourism and events industry.

There was also a special award for The 2019 Solheim Cup. The special recognition award was accepted by European Solheim Cup Director for the Ladies European Tour, Polly Clark with a video message from Team Europe Captain, Catriona Matthew.

Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, said: "The Scottish Thistle Awards are a fantastic celebration of our vibrant tourism and events industry. Last night's final was as always a special event, congratulations to all the nominees and winners. For the events industry I was delighted to see Paisley Halloween Festival, Salomon Skyline Scotland 2018 and The All-Energy Exhibition & Conference 2019 all come away winners as well as the special recognition for The Solheim Cup and Silver Thistle for Brigadier David Alfrey. All were truly deserving."

[Source: VisitScotland] The award for Innovation in Tourism, sponsored by Geotourist, went to Invisible Cities in recognition of their use of innovation to commit to the future of tourism in Scotland. Invisible Cities is a social enterprise that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city. Judges commended the business for playing a major part in social tourism, as well as the role the business plays in supporting staff to gain transferrable skills to move onto other roles.

“On behalf of the industry panel, I would like to extend a huge congratulations to all of the national winners of the 2019/20 Scottish Thistle Awards. These awards are firmly established within the tourism industry in Scotland and these winners should feel very proud to join the prestigious roll of honour that celebrates innovation, success and excellence in the Scottish hospitality and tourism sector,” said Rebecca Brooks, Chair of the Scottish Thistle Awards Industry Panel and VisitScotland Board Member.

The Scottish Thistle Awards are led by a panel of industry experts from several organisations including VisitScotland, Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards, Highlands & Islands Tourism Awards, the Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland, the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions, Scotland Food and Drink, Scottish Tourism Alliance, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, sportscotland and Wild Scotland.

For the full list of winners from the Scottish Thistle Awards national final visit www.scottishthistleawards.co.uk.

Entries and nominations for 2020/2021 awards are now live! Could your business or event join this prestigious role of honour? To be in with a chance click here to enter free today.

[Source: ABPCO] Upgrading to an ABPCO Preferred Partner has placed ACC Liverpool among some of the top conference and meetings venues in the country.

ABPCO’s Association Director, Heather Lishman commented on their new partnership: “We at ABPCO are delighted to have upgraded ACC Liverpool to a Preferred Partner. ABPCO are truly looking forward to working more closely with ACC Liverpool and its team, to share knowledge and excellence within the association conference and events industry.”

ACC Liverpool Account Manager, Heather Bonner comments on their decision to upgrade: “We are proud to have been members of ABPCO for many years and are pleased that we have the team’s continued support by becoming a preferred partner.  The association provides a great platform for networking, sharing knowledge and the opportunity to collaborate with fellow industry members with the combined objective of hosting world class events in the UK.  We at ACC Liverpool look forward to continuing to explore the opportunities that being a member of ABPCO and working closely with PCOs brings us as we continue to deliver major conferences.”

Heather Lishman concludes: “The upgrading of ACC Liverpool truly highlights our commitment to collaborating with outstanding and high-profile industry leaders. I look forward to seeing this partnership bear fruit for all involved, particularly as they benefit from our focus on excellence, learning and belonging.”

[Source: IOC] The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board heard a report on all the measures taken so far to address the coronavirus situation, which was followed by a comprehensive discussion.

A joint task force had already been created in mid-February, involving the IOC, Tokyo 2020, the host city of Tokyo, the government of Japan and the World Health Organization (WHO). The IOC Executive Board appreciates and supports the measures being taken, which constitute an important part of Tokyo’s plans to host safe and secure Games.

The IOC will continue to follow the advice of WHO, as the leading United Nations agency on this topic. The IOC Executive Board expressed its thanks to WHO for its continued valuable advice and cooperation.

It also praised the great unity and solidarity of the athletes, National Olympic Committees, International Federations and governments. It welcomed their close collaboration and flexibility with regard to the preparations for the Games, and particularly the qualification events. All stakeholders continue to work closely together to address the challenges of the coronavirus.

The IOC Executive Board encourages all athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The IOC will keep supporting the athletes by providing the latest information and developments, which are accessible for athletes worldwide on the Athlete365 website.

The Olympic Games is a time of great excitement and opportunity – particularly if you are the Worldwide IT Partner of the Games.

“We are very excited as we are less than 200 days away from Tokyo 2020,” Sophie Proust, Group EVP and Group CTO, Atos told Host City at Global Sports Week Paris. “There is a lot to do around data in the world of sports.”

Driverless Games

One major benefit of the Olympic Games is the way that TOP Partners work together to deliver the event, each focusing in their own area of expertise.

Toyota is the relevant TOP Partner regarding vehicles, mobility support robots and mobility services. In Tokyo this summer, 100 driverless cars will move passengers around venues in the city’s waterfront area.

“Major cities are getting more and more crowded, so we need to think about that. Autonomous vehicles are not yet a mature technology, so it has to be used in a very constrained way.

“For future Games, we could well imagine TOP Partners working together with the IOC and Organising Committees to develop in specific domains such as driverless cars.”

I ask if the Olympic Games present possibilities as a test bed for autonomous vehicles because the organisers already close lanes for VIPs. “You could think of things like that. The magic of the Olympic Games and other major events is that we can collaborate between big enterprises in different sectors and build concrete cases as the event is a real accelerator for innovation and technology.”

Major events as smart cities

Transport is just one area of event management were technology can bring transformative applications. “Smart cities are about managing electricity, water, transport and energy,” Proust explains. “The ecosystem is so vast in the city.”

The scale of some major events is such that they can be considered as smart cities, with all the diverse attributes of the event generating huge amounts of data.

“We are involved in every aspect of major events from program management and integration of systems to applications for spectators, partners and sponsors. All of these areas generate data, which needs to be managed and structured efficiently.

"And with events involving multiple sports in multiple cities it is getting quite complex!”

The introduction of five new sports for Tokyo 2020 presents interesting opportunities, she says. “Tokyo 2020 will be the biggest Olympic Games to date, generating tremendous amounts of data. Our role is to collect, process and secure all of this data which is extremely valuable.”

Atos is also working on making applications more efficient. “All the IT applications have been migrated onto the cloud, and have now developed cloud native applications to facilitate deployment. We must ensure that our applications are available in all languages, so the fan experience is enhanced. So there are a lot of topics to handle, it’s very exciting.”

 “Thinking about the future of major events, one of our key strengths is to take the data and do something with it. We have more and more computations and analysis methods to measure success. This content is sent over to broadcast – but increasingly it’s also personalised to individual consumers.”

A stadium can also be considered to be a smart city. “There are different technology means for measurement and control to enhance the experience at an event. For instance, we are the lead integrator of the Advanced Access Control System for Tokyo 2020, reducing waiting time for athletes, coaching staff, volunteers and journalists at entry points of official venues - while being more secure.  

“In terms of fluidifying flows, you need to know what method of transport people are using to arrive – car, bus, metro or train – so you can have a predictive sense of how the flows are going to come, and then analyse it and adapt accordingly.

“Getting people to locations safely is quite complex.”

Sports: a digital driver or dawdler?

It was suggested at Global Sports Week that the sports industry been slow to respond to digital disruption as compared to other sectors. But Proust – who as CTO at Atos works across the entire range of industry sectors – turns this idea on its head.

“For me, sports is a real driver for innovation and for digital transformation because of the massive amounts of data we collect, and because sport is such a major part of everyone’s life. So sport is really a good driver, because of the impact on society.”

Angels Martin, General Manager Olympics at Atos told Host City why some sports organisations might be slow to adopt new technology.

“Usually sport organisations are very risk-averse. The bigger the event, the more risk-averse the organisation is, because they don’t want to create a mess in the middle of a major sports event in front of such a big audience.

“We need to manage the risk of new technologies, because the Olympic Games is highly visible.

“What helps us the most is that we know the business very well, supporting the Olympic Movement for 30 years; we are able to analyse what would be the impact of a new technology; and also to manage and assess the risks. We understand the impact of any change, of any new technology we want to implement.”

It stands to reason that events with lower visibility than the Olympic Games present a greater opportunity to showcase new technologies. “We try to have a more mature proof of concept that we can propose to the organising committees of smaller events. And then if they are happy to implement this, then we do it. It is not a testing field but to see what the response is and the reaction – and also to check the technology, if this is something to be used later on in the Olympic Games.”

Leave organising to the experts

I ask Martin what she sees as the biggest challenge facing the major events sector.

“There are so many challenges,” she says. “Talking generally, governing bodies want to take more control over what is being delivered. This is an area where I think that we will see some changes in the future – governing bodies being more willing to take more control over delivery. This is going to help governing bodies to get more synergies and reduce cost.”

Given the scale and scope of organising an Olympic Games, and the rapidly increased role of technology in event delivery, specialist companies like Atos bring invaluable expertise.

“The most important value is our experience”, she says. “We’ve been doing this since Barcelona 1992. We know a lot about how the Olympic Games are organised. In order to be fully prepared, we start collaborating with each Organizing Committee 7 years before the start of the event. Having done multiple Olympics in the past, Atos has a key role in the transfer of knowledge from edition to edition.

“If you have a solution that needs to be reinvented every time for every single organising committee it makes no sense. There are some services that are exactly the same Games after Games – why can’t you replicate them?

“I am sure you can find synergies between different events as well. These would allow the governing body to make savings for the organising committee and host cities, if they don’t have to do everything from the start again and again.”

In PyeongChang, Atos created a number of centralised services that in the past were provided locally. “The same people that provided services for the PyeongChang Games are now providing the same services for Tokyo and for Beijing. We are not only creating savings for the IOC and organising committees but also capitalising on knowledge, which is very important.”

[Source: European Sponsorship Association] 

More than 400 sponsorship and sports marketing leaders came together to celebrate ESA’s mission to unite, inspire and grow the sponsorship industry, at The Brewery in central London. With prizes across 30 categories, the 2020 ESA Awards ceremony was the largest in the history of the ESA Awards.

Demonstrating the diversity of the ESA Awards, the big winner on the night was a cultural sponsorship – the An Post Irish Book Awards was recognised by a panel of international experts as the prestigious ESA Sponsorship of the Year, while also winning ‘Best Newcomer (UK&I)’ and ‘Arts and Culture Sponsorship’.

HEAD HERE FOR THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Paddy Power’s much-lauded ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign, delivered Octagon, also emerged from the night with a trio of trophies, securing ‘Best Use of PR’, ‘Game Changer – Sport’ and ‘Sport Sponsorship €400k – €1M’.

Electric Ireland, meanwhile, won four categories – ‘Mass Participation Sponsorship’ for Darkness Into Light, ‘Best Use of Digital Channels’ for its GAA Higher Education Championships partnership, and ‘Purpose-Led Sponsorship (Sport)’ and ‘Sport Sponsorship < €400k’ for its ‘Game Changers’ campaign with the Irish FA.

The invitation-only ESA Best of Europe competition, sponsored by Sponsorium, was won by Denmark’s ‘The Sydbank Cup: The 99% Broadcast’ campaign, with Ireland (‘Aldi Play Rugby’) taking silver and Slovenia (‘Petrol’s Winning Service’) rounding out the podium with bronze.

Other campaigns to leave with multiple trophies included Marriott Bonvoy’s partnership with Manchester United, which won two awards (‘Best Newcomer [Global]’ and ‘Sport Sponsorship €1-5M’), while Arsenal, Cadbury and Vodafone took home a win and a highly-commended each.

Boots’ partnerships with all five national football associations across the UK and Ireland, meanwhile, took home two highly-commended trophies (‘Best Newcomer [UK&I]’ and ‘Sport Sponsorship €400k – €1M’) and won ‘Best Use of Insights’.

Boutique creative agency WeAreFearless triumphed in the coveted Agency of the Year – Pan-Europe category, while MKTG won Agency of the Year – Single Nation. AEG’s ‘All Points East’ music festival triumphed in the esteemed Rights Holder of the Year category.

The ceremony was hosted by international rugby star and businesswoman Sene Naoupu, while celebrities in attendance included former England footballing star Eniola Aluko, Team GB hockey representative Harry Gibson, ex-England Netball captain, Ama Agbeze MBE and Olympic gold medal-winning rower Phelan Hill MBE.

Winners were chosen by a rigorous, two-step judging process overseen by a 40-person judging panel of sport, media, arts, culture and entertainment leaders from ten nations. Head here for a video explaining more about how the ESA Awards are judged.

ESA Awards committee Chair, Jackie Fast, said:

“With so many incredible entries, the 2020 ESA Awards has been our most hotly-contested to-date, with inspiring work on display from all our winning campaigns.

Last night’s ceremony proves that there has never been a more exciting time for sponsorship. Our winners represent the best of sponsorship, coming from all corners of Europe and all parts of the industry. A massive congratulations to all our winners!”

ESA Chairman, Andy Westlake, said:

“The 2020 ESA Awards saw a record-breaking number of entries, and, as always, the decisions were passionately and diligently debated. On behalf of ESA I’d like to congratulate all the worthy winners, including the An Post Irish Book Awards for taking home ESA Sponsorship of the Year.

I’d also like to thank all our ESA Awards sponsors and partners, with special thanks to our main event sponsor, POWA Index, and our judging panel – an amazing group of industry professionals. The ESA Awards continues to provide the best showcase of creativity in sponsorship across Europe and I’m thrilled to be able to celebrate another fantastic year for the Association and to enjoy another great party!

Naturally, without the support of our members, the ESA Awards wouldn’t be the event it has become. I’d like to thank them all for their continued support. ESA has a crucial role to play to inspire, unite and grow the sponsorship industry and our members are at the heart of our mission.”