Change Looms for SportAccord 2021 - Conferences & Conventions

(ATR) Organizers of SportAccord 2021 are considering a possible change in dates for the convention currently set for May 23 to 28 in Ekaterinburg in central Russia.

Speaking in an upcoming ATRadio podcast, SportAccord president Raffaele Chiulli acknowledges that the many of the international federations who attend the event will be preoccupied in late May with final preparations and qualifications for the postponed Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo.

"We know that May this year will be a very busy time for many of our IFs with Olympic qualifications. We are discussing about SportAccord 2021 by liaising with the Russian organizing committee to jointly evaluate all possible options. So you will be fully updated in the next days," says Chiulli about the apparently imminent change.

Plans for SportAccord in 2020 were scuttled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Originally planned for Beijing, the event was moved to Lausanne. But limits on the size of meetings in Switzerland put an end to that plan. It was the first time in 17 years that SportAccord wasn’t held.

Besides the demands on IFs preparing for Tokyo, lingering lockdowns and restrictions on travel from the pandemic remain an issue for SportAccord 2021.

"We have more than 2500 delegates, so we are monitoring the situation very closely. And of course we are an international event with delegates planning to travel from all the corners of the globe. So therefore we are aware that plans for the event may have to be changed, depending on how the situation unfolds," says Chiulli.

"We have found our Russian colleagues and friends to be very flexible. We are jointly assessing all possible options. The priority number-one will remain the safety and security of all the people and the stakeholders.

"For now I can say SportAccord has been held in Russia for two previous occasions and our partners and stakeholders will certainly receive a warm welcome," promises Chiulli.

Global Sports Week Wraps

Two days of live link-ups between a central studio at the Eiffel Tower and Olympic cities around the world highlighted the week-long program for the second edition of Global Sports Week Paris.

Beijing, Milan and Los Angeles were featured on Wednesday while events from Tokyo and Dakar were part of Thursday’s program.

Speaking from the Milan hub, ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi called for the creation of a "single governing body" for the sport of tennis. The ATP is the governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuits. The WTA is the governing body for women’s professional tennis while the International Tennis Federation oversees world tennis, wheelchair tennis and beach tennis.

Ibrahima Wade, general coordinator of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games organizing committee, gave a live update on preparations for the first Olympics on the African continent as part of the program from Dakar.

Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO assistant director-general for social and human science, announced the launch of a toolkit to empower young people to influence physical education policy and a "how to" for policy makers to implement the changes in their national systems.

Le Tremplin Invest Finals, Europe’s biggest event connecting investors with sportstech start-ups, is also part of Global Sports Week. A competition produced the 14 most promising ventures, seven from France and seven international, which were revealed this week.

Organizers said more than 20,000 people from 153 countries visited the immersive digital platform by the time the event ended on Friday. More than 200 speakers took part in over 100 sessions.

Japan Sports Week Goes Hybrid

Japan’s leading trade show for sports business runs from February 24-26.

The 4th Japan Sports Week will be a hybrid exhibition this year due to the pandemic.

Those in Japan or not facing travel restrictions can attend in person at Makuhari Messe, a convention center in Chiba city, outside Tokyo.

Click here to pre-register to enter the show.

To register to visit the show online, click here to access the virtual platform.

An online meeting service will allow delegates to communicate with exhibitors either by video call or chat as well as download exhibit products’ brochures.

Both the on-site and virtual passes are free.

SportsPro Maps Out Busy 2021

The OTT Summit USA 2021 will be held virtually on March 3-4.

SportsPro says the focus will be on strategy, content, and technology as the sports industry works to better adapt to the changes created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 50 sessions featuring 80 speakers will be available, including fuboTV co-founder and CEO David Gandler and UFC CEO Lawrence Epstein.

Among the other organizations represented by speakers at the summit are Major League Baseball, the PGA Tour, Major League Soccer, NASCAR and Twitter.

More than 1,000 participants are expected.

A live event pass is free while a VIP pass will cost $199. Register for either here.

SportsPro LIve (April 28-29, 2021) and SportsPro Asia (July 2021) are being planned as virtual events. It has not been decided if the SportsPro OTT Summit, scheduled for December 2021, will be in-person, virtual, or a hybrid event.

Written by Ed Hula andGerard Farek

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