BCW to assist the City of Lausanne and Canton Vaud in developing new strategy for international events

The sports practice of BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe), a leading global communications agency, has been appointed by the State of Vaud and the City of Lausanne – together known as the Olympic Capital – to assist them in the development of a new, comprehensive sporting event strategy.

For more than 20 years, the Olympic Capital has been extremely successful not only in attracting international sports federations on its soil, but also major international sporting events such as World and European championships including, more recently, a highly successful edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, the last Olympic event to date. In order to adapt to a fast evolving international sporting landscape, not the least because of the current global health situation, the state and city authorities have decided to reflect on how to best align their own development objectives with international events to increase impacts and legacies for the local communities. BCW will work alongside the authorities, providing them with its tested methods and processes to deliver a comprehensive, strategic and yet practical tool for the future of this highly influential region in the world of international sport.

Patrice Iseli, head of Sport at the City of Lausanne, said: "Our hosting strategy over the last two decades has been very successful. But times are changing – and we now need a fresh look on how events can best impact our city and our people, in a way that is aligned with our social, economic and sustainability objectives. This is a more holistic way of approaching the legacy of sporting events, and we look forward to working alongside BCW to help us achieve our goals."

Nicolas Imhof, head of Sport at the State of Vaud, said: "The recent edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games have been another proof that when events are designed right from the beginning with wider objectives in mind, they can engage the population in ways that are unprecedented. We have learnt from that and this strategic approach will help us turn this experience into a new habit."

Lars Haue-Pedersen, Managing Director, BCW, said: "We are delighted to have been appointed by the City of Lausanne and the State of Vaud to advise and assist them in the development of this new sports event strategy. For many years we have enjoyed a close collaboration with both city and state, and we now look forward to be contributing with our years of experience in how to optimize the outcome of their hosting of international sports events"

About Burson Cohn & Wolfe:

BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe), one of the world’s largest full-service global communications agencies, is in the business of moving people on behalf of clients. Founded by the merger of Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe, BCW delivers digitally and data-driven creative content and integrated communications programs grounded in earned media and scaled across all channels for clients in the B2B, consumer, corporate, crisis management, CSR, healthcare, sport, public affairs and technology sectors. BCW is a part of WPP (NYSE: WPP), a creative transformation company. For more information, visit www.bcw-global.com.

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