“The time I feel most Senegalese is during a sports game, and it’s the same for most Senegalese people. Our slogan is ‘One People, One Goal, One Belief’. But the only time you see people using it or getting out the flag is during sports events,” Fanta Diallo, Director of Sports, Youth and Community at the City of Dakar told Host City at Global Sports Week Paris.

“Having one of the biggest sports events being in our country and our city is a very important moment for me, to make true our slogan – to be together, and to take on the challenge.”

Dakar is a rapidly developing city, but it still has a lot of challenges. “If we are not facing challenges together, having the same goal and the same feeling about the way we have to use the Games, then we stay an underdeveloped country.

“But we can use this momentum. We have a lot of youth in our city, in our country. We can use this moment to show them that you can stay in Africa and deliver something on the same international level, done by Senegalese for Senegalese to the world.”

Host City asked Ibrahima Wade, Vice President of both the Senegalese Olympic Committee and the Dakar 2022 Organising Committee how much support Dakar needs from international suppliers to putting on the Games.

“During the candidature phase, Senegal was quite ready because most of the infrastructure that we needed for sport and other areas such as transportation and medical facilities are ready,” he said.

“At the same time we were working very closely with the IOC from November 2018 to December 2019, on the edition plan of Dakar 2022 YOG. We were working hard to define the road map precisely on how to plan and go to the market, so everything is ready.”

Africa’s Youth Olympic Games

This is not only the first time an Olympic event is coming to Senegal, but also to Africa.

“That’s why we are working very closely with all African countries – firstly with the African Union – to let them know that this is not an event for Senegal but for all Africa,” said Wade.

The Dakar 2022 organising committee is planning to include representatives from other African National Olympic Committees (NOCs), particularly from those that were also bidding for the Games: Tunisia, Nigeria and Botswana.

They are also looking into the possibility of staging some test events in other African countries. “We don’t have the decision right now, we are thinking and working on that, also seeing how to have some volunteers from other African countries, and a training programme not only for Senegalese athletes but also for other African athletes.

“We are working with Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), the international alliance of NOCs, with Olympic Solidarity and asking them how to build some OlympAfrica centres in other African countries, in order to show the African community this is not the Games for Dakar, but the Games for all Africa.”

Beyond Africa, Dakar 2022 has a lot of support coming from international federations and other Olympic Games Organising Committees, including Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024.

“We are benefitting from their experience in terms of engagement and environmental legacy. For example, Paris is sending experts to see how we can match and benefit from each other.”

Dakar is also acting as a test bed for Paris by including breaking, surfing, sport climbing and skateboarding, some of the additional sports that will also be included in the 2024 programme.

“It’s very important to put urban sports in the programme as a laboratory for that,” said Wade.

Host City asked if esports might feature in 2022. “No. Maybe for the big Games!”

Africa 2032 Olympic Games?

Everyone would like to see a big Olympic Games in Africa, and the Youth Olympic Games is seen as a gateway event.

“IOC President Thomas Bach mentioned this last November when he was in Dakar, saying it’s very important for all of us to make Dakar a success as it’s a good way to open the door for a big summer Olympic Games for Africa,” said Wade.

“I strongly believe that we will succeed, for all Africa. Like South Africa did for the World Cup, we will do it for the Youth Olympic Games.”

An African Olympic Games could also be enabled by changes to the bidding process, which no longer restrict the Games to single cities or even single countries. I ask Fanta Diallo when we might see an African Games bid, and which cities might be included.

“I bet for 2032 we will have African cities being candidates. I would say maybe Casa Blanca, Pretoria and Kigali,” she said.

But for now, it is Dakar’s time to shine. “Just imagine what kind of empowerment this is for the youth. To know that they can do something, because they never have the opportunity to show their talents. Just give them the floor to show that they can succeed in our country. And use the two years we’ve got to show all the talents we have, all the capacity and all the creativity we have in our country. I think it will be a good moment for that.

“We have a common goal – let us use it to solve common problems and really give back to youth the pride in being Senegalese. Let’s show the world what we can do as Senegalese people.”

Fanta Diallo is speaking at Host City 2020

[Source: Jordan Olympic Committee] A host of major local and international sponsors have stepped into the ring to support the Tokyo 2020 Asia and Oceania boxing qualifier in Amman, Jordan, from 3-11 March 2020.

Following the Boxing Task Force’s (BTF) announcement that Jordan would host the prestigious Olympic qualifier, work has continued around the clock to prepare a world-class venue in the capital’s Prince Hamzah Hall at Al Hussein Youth City.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) will be supported by several major companies, including Worldwide Olympic Partner Coca-Cola, Societe Generale De Banque Jordan - SGBJ, Zain Jordan, Buffalo Wings and Rings, Taishan and Aramex.

“We have been short on time but huge on effort to ensure that this event meets the extremely high standards of the Olympic family,” said Nasser Majali, Secretary General of the Jordan Olympic Committee and CEO of the LOC.

“We are pleased with our progress and look forward to welcoming our friends from around the world to Amman over the coming days.

“The support that we have received from the business community has been particularly heartening and provides us with the helping hand required to host a world-class event.”

The qualifier is expected to attract the Asian and Oceania best boxers from 40 countries competing for 41 men’s qualifying spots in 8 weight divisions and 22 female qualifying spots in 5 weight divisions for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Featuring on the Olympic programme is still an incomparable way of capturing global attention, but sports will need more than this to hold attention and appeal in today’s crowded market.

“There is a need for a more entrepreneurial approach from international federations,” said Tom Dielen, Secretary General, World Archery, opening the IF Summit. “Our role is different to private companies. We need to develop sports, not just make money, and there we need to be creative.

“One highlight per year is not enough. You have to have event experiences for fans.”

One way of making sports more experiential is to make entertainment a stronger component of the programme. Dielen cites the example of the Superbowl: “After the half time show half the audience left – you wonder if the half time show is the real show!”

FIBA’s latest format places equal emphasis on entertainment. “3x3 Basketball has urban culture festivals with non-stop music,” said Ignacio Soriano, Head of Events and Partnerships at FIBA.

This event is open to cities and private promoters as well as national federations, who traditionally lead on hosting championships.

Sailing is another Olympic sport that is working more creatively with the private sector. World Sailing works with a number of “partner special events” – the Ocean Race, the Americas Cup, Sail GP, World Match Racing Tour, Star Sailors League and J Class.

“The special events have to sign a charter that links with our sustainability charter,” said Scott Over, commercial director at World Sailing.

“Sailing has a huge year this year – not just the Olympics, but also the first Offshore World Championships, a sport that may be included in Paris 2024, to be broadcast 24 hours a day for four days.”

Following the success of Beach Volleyball, which has been in the Games programme since 1996, FIVB launched Snow Volleyball as an opportunity to get into the winter sports market.

“Beach volleyball is influenced by the elements; we thought we could do that in winter,” said Nicolas Hyett, Technology and Innovation Manager at FIVB.

Hockey is another sport that has a relatively new format, Hockey5s, created for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014. “New small formats are complementary to traditional ones,” said Hilary Atkinson, Olympic Games Director at FIH.

Creative event owners also need to increase their reach in new regional markets. Alistair Gosling, CEO of Extreme International said, “Saudi Arabia is just starting to open up, and sports is a massive part of that transformation. Tourism and sport go hand in glove.”

However, host destinations are increasingly at the mercy of health and environmental issues. “Contingency is the word of the day,” said Dielen. “The Rugby World Cup in Japan last year was a major lesson for federations in what to do when a match is cancelled.”

Earlier this year, the Melbourne Open qualifying rounds were cancelled due to rain and air quality concerns amid the bushfires.

“More and more this is a factor. And now of course the coronavirus is causing events to be cancelled or postponed.”

Since the IF Summit, World Archery have announced that Shanghai will host the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in the Autumn, instead of the Stage it was scheduled to host in May.

Dielen said sustainability is another big topic facing event owners, citing the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne as a great example of widespread use of public transport. “Although on the second Friday, children from all over the world including Greta Thunberg gave a climate strike, which closed the train station and had a negative impact on carbon footprint.”

Financial sustainability is also a perennial and growing concern for event owners and organisers – and not just the IOC with its “New Norm” strategy.

“We took a decision in 2018 to have conversations with venues to see how they can be strategic partnerships – turning it into more of a conversation,” said Matt Evans, Events Manager at World Rowing.  

Alex Molina of Formula One said ,“We have the privilege of asking cities for a fee. Often this gets political – people say its’s better to spend the money on a hospital. But it attracts tourism, brings exposure to lesser known destinations – and brings economic impact.

“We have a responsibility to incentivise kids to get into engineering and motorsports. You need to adjust your product to kids – we need to think in terms of entertainment and bring in more music.”

Esports is competing massively for the attention of the next generation of fans. “We need to make participating actively as cool as esports”, said Atkinson.

So how can IFs make their events more entertaining, sustainable, global and safe? “Governance is the key to helping with all these things,” said Dielen.

Dow has been a partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2010, initially working on providing technologies and solutions for the Games.

“Our products are everywhere and so they can also be enabling of and supporting the Games,” says Dr. Nicoletta Piccolrovazzi, Global Technology & Sustainability Director, Dow Olympic & Sports Solutions.

“We wanted to understand how we could use this partnership to go beyond and to integrate more our experiences and expertise of sustainability. That’s why we became the Carbon Partner of the Sochi Games.

“We are using sport to create an acceleration, to help us bring businesses to the table and to collaborate on CO2 reduction projects.”

Following its first tenure as Carbon Partner for the Sochi 2014, Dow went on to become Carbon Partner of Rio 2016 – during which Host City ran a digital communications campaign with Dow. And then in 2017, Dow became Carbon Partner of the IOC.

“We have taken this platform from a Games focus and a host country focus to now a global focus. It’s our global platform of collaboration on climate change that utilises our technologies, our customers’ technologies and engages the entire value chain on projects.”

95 to 96 per cent of products are enabled by chemistry, much of which enables reductions in CO2. For instance, Dow’s products go into insulation.

“What we have seen is the benefits that we deliver in terms of CO2 reductions from our products far outweigh the carbon footprint of when they are being manufactured. It’s a ratio of three or four to one of CO2 reduction benefits that we enable through our products.”

Paris 2024 is already talking of reducing its carbon footprint by 50 per cent, and there is much work to be done to establish how to achieve this.

“It’s really good that Paris focusses on how to reduce their emissions,” says Piccolrovazzi. “It’s very important for us to focus on understanding the impact and then reducing the emissions.

“Every Games needs to define an effective mitigation strategy. That is still being developed by Paris. Every Games needs to do something that is relevant for their own emission reality.”

5 million tonne CO2e reduction

[Source: Dow] By 7 February 2020, the cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions from Dow’s carbon programs with Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and the IOC had reached more than 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), according to third-party verification by Environmental Resources Management (ERM). This compares to an amount of CO2 sequestered by 6.5 million acres of U.S. forests in one year.

In 2019 alone, Dow’s carbon program with the IOC reduced 655,000 tonnes CO2e of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the equivalent of 139,026 vehicles driven for one year. By 2026 – the end of the monitoring period agreed to by the IOC – the carbon benefits are expected to reach more than 7 million tonnes of CO2e.

As a part of the carbon partnership program with the IOC, Dow announced several new projects in 2019 with collaborators, including PETRONAS Chemicals Group, the U.S. Green Building Council, the AIA International Region, Firestone Building Products and Restore the Earth Foundation. These greenhouse gas reduction projects are part of Dow’s Sustainable Future Program, which harnesses the power of sport and science to accelerate the adoption of more sustainable technologies across value chains and upgrade business-as-usual practices locally. The project portfolio has been developed to address a wide range of applications, such as high performance buildings and infrastructure, reforestation, improvements in packaging and industrial efficiency.

“In line with our strong commitment to sustainability, the IOC measures its annual carbon footprint and implements various measures to reduce them. Thanks to our Official Carbon Partnership with Dow we have also been able to offset our unavoidable emissions for the period between 2017 and 2020,” said Marie Sallois, IOC director of corporate & sustainable development. “The results that Dow continues to deliver are now exceeding our operational emissions, creating a tangible, positive legacy.”

With a joint vision of accelerating climate action across the Olympic Movement, Dow and the IOC also announced in 2019 a new program to encourage and incentivize International Sports Federations (IFs) and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to measure, reduce and mitigate the carbon emissions related to their operations and events. As part of the program, carbon offsets are offered to IFs and NOCs that have joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Sports for Climate Action Framework and implemented tangible action to reduce GHG emissions within their respective operations and events. Ten IFs benefitted from the program in 2019. In 2020, the initiative will be expanded to include submissions from NOCs in addition to IFs.

For more information about Dow’s more than 35 years of support of the Olympic Movement and commitment to sustainability through sports, visit https://www.dow.com/en-us/sports/partnerships/olympics.

The role of sports in dealing with climate change may have been the most prominent on-stage theme at Global Sports Week Paris – largely thanks to the challenging presence of “Young Sports Makers” – but it was another threat to humanity that dominated conversations amongst participants. One insider told Host City that the novel coronavirus, which is currently forcing the cancellation of several major events in China including Olympic qualifiers, could even lead to the cancellation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

But Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, is confident that the show will go in Tokyo.

“We are following this closely at the moment,” he said. “We don’t have an impact on what’s happening in Asia with the coronavirus, but we will learn from how Tokyo 2020 put in place good measures and actions to protect the security of athletes and spectators.

“Tokyo 2020 have declared that they are very involved in this topic. It’s good that, with the Japanese culture, when they decide to do something they will always deliver very carefully and effectively. We can all be very confident that Tokyo 2020 won’t be affected by this.”

This view was echoed by Andrew Parsons, president of the International Olympic Committee. “We are concerned but trust that the health authorities on a national and global level are able to control it,” he said.

While epidemics could become more prevalent in the future, the organisers of Paris 2024 are confident that they would be well equipped to react if an outbreak were to happen in their own Olympic year.

“Of course, as an organising committee it is something you want to avoid, so we have good relations with the state and the minister to make sure that if something like that were to happen, we would have a good response,” said Estanguet.

Paris is also watching and learning from Tokyo in many other areas. “Our team has been associated with the preparations of Tokyo 2020 over the last two years through the Coordination Commission meetings. All our directors went to Tokyo to have special exchanges in terms of venues, technology, sport communication – I’d like to thank Tokyo 2020 for sharing their expertise.

Games-time will be the key moment, he said. “We’ll go there to observe and learn. It will be very important for us to follow the event itself backstage. Many of my team have never organized an Olympic Games, so for them it will be very useful to go there.”

Half the carbon of London

London 2012 was a great step forward in sustainability for the Olympic Games and 12 years on, Paris is aiming for a new benchmark.

“We have no choice. This is a challenge the whole of humanity is facing and events need to be part of the solution,” Estanguet said.

“Our ambition is to divide by two the carbon footprint of the Games. Compared to London it’s less than half the footprint.”

The biggest contributor to carbon emissions is facilities, followed by transport. Paris’s ambition is all the more impressive considering that the target includes transport to – not just within – the host city.

“For the first time we will take into consideration all transport, including planes and spectators coming here, which is 1.5n tonnes of carbon. And within Paris our objective it to make sure people use public transport,” he told Host City.

The third biggest contributor to carbon emissions is energy, which provider EDF is mitigating by using 100 per cent renewables for the Games.

Control the budget

Staying in step with project milestones is not easy for any Olympic Games organiser. “We have many challenges,” said Estanguet. “We will start the first construction over the next months. It’s key to start as early as possible, to keep to the timeline.”

“We are still on track to deliver the first element of the buildings in January 2021. We have good commissions to choose who will build the aquatics centre.”

Using 95 per cent existing or temporary venues reduces much of the capital expenditure for Paris, but the Games will still require 6.8 billion euros of funding, including 1.2 billion of sponsorship.

“The commercial programme is on track,” he said. “It’s not as fast as Tokyo 2020, but their budget is much higher. With Paris 2024 we are in a situation where we can limit the budget to make sure we can deliver without having big exposure in terms of budget as has happened in recent Games, including Tokyo, where the budget has really increased since they have been elected.

“My first objective is to control the budget. We are confident we will find this money from the sponsorship programme, which is 1.2 billion euros. So far, we have good contact with companies and I’m very confident.

“We’ll also engage with the population; we’ll launch a big programme with Club 2024 open to everyone to participate in 2024. That’s crucial for us this coming year, to engage at a national and international level.”

The perfect wave

Paris had the choice of four sports to add to the programme for 2024 and appealing to young audiences was central to the decision. “We decided to choose two nature sports: surfing and climbing, and two more urban sports, breakdancing and skateboarding, to make sure youth who are really engaged on social media will be attracted by the 2024 programme,” said Estanguet.

This will be the first time that breakdancing features in the in the Olympic Games. “It is a good combination with the values of Paris 2024 because of the creativity and the link with culture – and it’s very technical, physical and spectacular. We believe it will add something new and different from the 28 current sports.”

He also revealed why the organising committee chose Tahiti as the venue for the surfing: “Because at this time of year there is a 95 per cent chance of the perfect wave.”

Sport as a service

The younger generation also exemplify the rise of everything-as-a-service, as highlighted by French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu.

“Right now we are at a crucial time for the sport movement. People want sport but the they want it differently – they expect it as service. We have to be more aware of what people want from us and what they need.

“Young people are waiting on us before, during and after the Games – we have to ready to bring them more facilities, more sports, more education in sports.”

And sport is not just for its own sake or for entertainment – it has a big role to play in tackling the big threats to humanity. “Sports can be the solution for better public health and environment. Sport can be a big solution for all politics and what society is facing right now.”

[Source: Global Sports Week] The role of sport in the climate emergency is set to dominate discussions at the first Global Sports Week Paris taking place tomorrow and Friday at the Carrousel du Louvre.

The new annual gathering of the world sports economy is organised under the patronage of UNESCO and the high patronage of Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic.

The event will bring together 1,500 delegates and more than 100 international media around an agenda focussed on the future of sport at the intersection of business and society.

On the programme are issues ranging from sport’s role in driving gender equality to the impact of digital transformation on the industry’s core business model. Sports tech and social business also feature strongly.

But climate considerations dominate the agenda for the first edition, with keynote contributions expected on the subject from F1 Executive Chairman and CEO Chase Carey, Ocean Race Director Richard Brisius and incoming Wimbledon CEO Sally Bolton, alongside athlete activists including big-wave surfing star Justine Dupont.

Major sponsor brands including Dow, adidas and EDF are also expected to share their vision of a sustainable future, alongside media executives including Yannick Bollore, Chairman of the Havas Group and the Vivendi Supervisory Board.

On Friday, Global Sports Week will be the stage for key carbon policy announcements from the All England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon) and the French Football Federation in partnership with the French ministry of sport.

French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu will host a meeting of her international counterparts on the sidelines of the summit.

The agenda for Global Sports Week Paris has been significantly shaped by a group of 50 under-25s, drawn from 22 countries, and billed as representatives of a new global generation.

Global Sports Week Chairman Lucien Boyer explained: “We believe it is crucial to understand the interests and expectations of the emerging consumer generation if sport is to continue to grow its influence and impact in the world.

“On climate, we hear very clearly the young generation’s clamour for change. Sport itself faces tangible impacts, but it also has a great potential to contribute to solutions.

“We hope Global Sports Week can be a place to put some new ideas into action.”

Global Sports Week organisers confirmed details of the event’s own sustainability practices, which include no single-use plastics; zero waste; and the use of 100% recycled materials in the site build and overlay.

Host City’s Editorial Director Ben Avison is attending and reporting on Global Sports Week – contact ben.avison@hostcity.com to arrange a meeting there

I am writing in regard to SportAccord 2020, to provide an update on the status of our upcoming event in Beijing, China given the current Coronavirus outbreak.

Our thoughts are with the people of China and families affected by the outbreak. SportAccord is monitoring the situation and we are following the recommendations provided by the Chinese Authorities, the World Health Organisation, and other leading health authorities around the world. We are also fully aware of the recommendations on travel and restrictions imposed by airline companies and governments. 

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and share any developments regarding SportAccord 2020. Please rest assured SportAccord will continue to do what is in the best interests and safety of all our delegates.

Sincerest regards,

Raffaele Chiulli
President
SportAccord and GAISF

SportAccord

SportAccord brings together international sports federations and organisations involved in the business of sport. The annual World Sport & Business Summit is a six-day event attended by leaders of the global sports community. It engages international sports federations, athletes, industry, rights holders, organising committees, cities, government, agencies, media, technology, legal teams, medical professionals, inventors, and subject matter experts – represented at the highest levels.

SportAccord is the only global sports business event attended by all the international sports federations and their stakeholders, who host their Annual General Assemblies during SportAccord. These stakeholders include: ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations), AIOWF (Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations), ARISF (Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations), AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport), GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations) and Associate Members. SportAccord receives the full support of the International Olympic Committee.

Follow #SA2020 on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr.    

[Source: Aggreko] Aggreko has cemented its position as a green supplier of temporary power, heating and cooling solutions after being certified to the Carbon Trust Standard and achieving certification to ISO 50001:2018 international standard for energy management.

By implementing ISO 50001, Aggreko has committed to reduce its energy consumption, minimise its carbon footprint and promote sustainable energy usage. This includes applying both internal and external guiding principles including the integration of energy reduction considerations and increasing fuel efficiency in our fleet and solutions offerings for its customers.

Replacing the Carbon & Energy Management and Reduction Scheme (CEMARS), the Carbon Trust Standard is the world’s leading independent certification of an organisation’s achievements in managing and reducing carbon emissions. By accrediting Aggreko to the Standard, the Carbon Trust has independently recognised the company as taking a best practice approach to achieving real year-on-year reductions.

As part of its commitment to both accrediting bodies, Aggreko will significantly reduce its power-related carbon emissions. With this pledge in mind, the company has also switched its electricity contract to 100% renewable electricity, with all annual electricity demand required to supply Aggreko’s Service Centres being generated by offshore wind generators.

Aggreko is also reducing carbon and energy use internally by reviewing its vehicle fleet, and has already taken steps to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions using vehicle tracking, driver training, more electric plug-in vehicles and work planning using technological innovations.

Furthermore, the company provides generators that work with alternative greener fuels such as natural gas, biofuel and hydrotreated vegetable oil, or HVO. This includes providing remote monitoring technology on equipment to improve efficiency, regularly reviewing products to ensure compliance with latest emissions standards. It is also developing renewable energies including modular PV and hybrid solutions that consist of different technologies, batteries and modular solar panels.

Chris Rason, UK Managing Director at Aggreko, said: “Delivering sustainable growth and limiting the impact our business has on the environment is extremely important for Aggreko. As a business, we have made a number of commitments and by implementing ISO 50001, and getting the Carbon Trust Standard, we will ensure that we continue to improve our energy efficiency.

“The Carbon Trust Standard will allow us to monitor and manage our energy performance to help aid year-on-year reductions. Through verified environmental impact data, regulation compliance will be ensured, which in turn will help our customers. Working with the Carbon Trust closely will allow us to benchmark our performance and, perhaps most importantly, identify opportunities for improvement and implement these.”

Chris Rason concluded: “Aggreko has a vision to be the greenest provider of temporary power equipment and our aim for the next year is to help customers become greener. As a business, we are taking active responsibility to limit the impact our business has on the environment and we look forward to seeing the positive changes these real commitments through certification will have.”

For more information, please visit www.aggreko.com.

[Source: Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy] H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), described hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022 as 'transformational' for Qatar and the entire Middle East during the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting Davos 2020.

Al Thawadi held a number of bilateral meetings, took part in a panel discussion where he explored the economic prosperity in the Middle East with a number of notable figures, and conducted interviews with global broadcasters such as CNBC, CNN and Astro Awani on the sidelines of this year's forum.

During an interview with CNBC presenter Hadley Gamble, Al Thawadi said the tournament had the power the unite people from across the world.

"Major sporting events – particularly football and the FIFA World Cup – provide incredible opportunities for bringing people together," said Al Thawadi. "If you look at the recent FIFA Club World Cup, we had people in Qatar from five continents engaging with each other and celebrating football. It was a true festivity."

Al Thawadi continued: "We also appreciate the value and power of sport in building bridges between people from every walk of life. The recent Gulf Cup, held in Qatar, was a fantastic example. It was the first time Bahrain won the tournament and the emotion of the fans was incredible.

"Sporting events can be truly transformational and something that leaves a legacy – not only for us but for generations to come. We're working hard to ensure that everyone appreciates the powerful tool we have in bringing people together and the unique opportunity we have been granted. In an age where divisiveness and nationalism are on the rise, we must work to use these platforms to showcase our common humanity and celebrate our shared values and harness this once in a lifetime opportunity."

In line with this year's sustainability theme at WEF, Al Thawadi also discussed the tournament's sustainability credentials during the interview, noting the launch of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Sustainability Strategy this week – the first to be planned and delivered jointly by FIFA, the host country and the local organisers. Al Thawadi also reiterated Qatar's commitment to hosting the world's first truly carbon neutral tournament in 2022.

Speaking about tournament preparations, Al Thawadi said 2020 would be a busy year for the SC. Qatar will host the CAF Super Cup in February and the FIFA Club World Cup™ in December 2020, welcoming thousands of fans from around the world to the region once again. Al Thawadi noted that two stadiums will be unveiled during the first half of the year, Education City and Al Bayt, and that all tournament infrastructure will be delivered by 2021.

Al Thawadi also took part in a panel discussion at a Qatar Investment Authority event on the sidelines of this year's WEF Annual Meeting. Titled 'Perspectives from Qatar: The Reality of Economic Prosperity in the Middle East', Al Thawadi joined fellow panelists H.E. Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Qatar's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mirek Dusek, Deputy Head of the Centre for Geopolitical and Regional Affairs and Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum, and Henry Lawrence Culp Jr., CEO, General Electric.

Bilateral meetings were also held throughout the week with figures including Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chairman, World Economic Forum, Will.i.am, entertainer and tech entrepreneur, David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the ITUC, Ian Bremmer, CEO of Eurasia Group, and Mirek Dusek, Deputy Head of the Centre for Geopolitical and Regional Affairs and Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum.

The WEF Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, is the foremost creative force for engaging the world's top leaders in collaborative activities to shape the global, regional and industry agendas at the beginning of each year. 2020, which marked the forum's 50^th year, attracted 3,000 participants from around the world and aimed to give concrete meaning to "stakeholder capitalism", assist governments and international institutions in tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, and facilitate discussions on technology and trade governance.

See the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXI1nTqxmzY&feature=emb_logo

[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord has unveiled five Principal Media Partners for its World Sport & Business Summit 2020 in Beijing, ensuring quality coverage of sport’s No.1 annual global gathering.

SportAccord has teamed up with iSportconnect, SportBusiness, Sportcal, SportsPro and Yutang Sports due to their exceptional coverage, reach and expertise within the global sports industry.

The news organisations will provide media and marketing support for SportAccord 2020, including in-depth reporting from the event, which will take place from 19-24 April at the China National Convention Center. Aside from providing breaking news, bulletins and feature coverage, the Principal Media Partners will also be able to conduct interviews via video and podcast formats, with high-profile attendees set to provide significant interest.

The news organisations have been granted key rights, including recognition in marketing material and sponsored signage in high-visibility areas, as well as publication distribution on dedicated stands. They will also have the opportunity to host workshops and will play a key role at the heart of the bustling SportAccord 2020 Media Zone, which is set to attract hundreds of media representatives from China and worldwide.

iSportConnect is considered to be the world’s largest private sports business network. iSportconnect moved up a tier to become a Principal Media Partner at SportAccord 2019 in Gold Coast.

SportBusiness is stepping up from Media Partner status at SportAccord 2019. SportBusiness provides unique news, analysis, data, consulting and events for executives in the business of sport.

Sportcal has supported SportAccord since its inception in 2003. Sportcal is a world-leading market intelligence service, providing news, data, reports and insights into the competitive world of sport.

SportsPro is a leading sports business media company in print, digital and events. SportsPro delivers up-to-the-minute news, analysis, opinion and in-depth reports across multiple platforms.

Yutang Sports delivers sports market intelligence and sports marketing through its media outlet and sponsorship agency, offering insights into the Chinese and international sports industries.

John Hewitt, Event Operations Manager, Communications, SportAccord said: “The high-level meetings at SportAccord 2020, as well as the Summit, CityAccord, HealthAccord, LawAccord, MediaAccord conference programmes that will attract key decision-makers in the business of sport. Delegates will be also be introduced to the inaugural InvestAccord conference programme which will focus on connecting tech start-ups with investors in sport.

“We are delighted to have lined up an established selection of Principal Media Partners, all of whom have been involved in SportAccord for several years. Their coverage – before, during and after the event – will provide a vital platform for the key messages, insights and news developments in relation to the highly anticipated SportAccord 2020 in Beijing.”

The annual World Sport & Business Summit is a six-day event attended by leaders of the global sports community. It is the only global sports business event attended by all the international sport federations and their stakeholders, who host their Annual General Assemblies during SportAccord.

In October, CNN was unveiled as the Top Media Partner for SportAccord 2020, as well as the inaugural Regional SportAccord Pan America 2019, that took place from 10-12 December at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.

Registration is open for the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2020 in Beijing, the 18th annual SportAccord event. Organisations can become an official partner or exhibitor and discuss these investment opportunities with sales@sportaccord.sport.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord using #SA2020, or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn and Facebook. For media enquiries, email media@sportaccord.sport.