The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit is to return after a five-year absence in Birmingham next April, it has been announced.
The event is due to take place between April 7 and 11 in the English city which last year hosted a successful Commonwealth Games.
It will be held in Birmingham’s world acclaimed International Convention Centre (ICC) in the heart of the city.
It will be the first time the event has been held since it took place in the Gold Coast in 2019.
First, Chinese capital Beijing and then Olympic capital Lausanne in Switzerland had been due to stage the 2020 edition, but the COVID-19 pandemic led to it being cancelled altogether.
Yekaterinburg was first supposed to host the summit in May 2021, before it was rescheduled to November 2021, and then again to May 2022 before being taken away from Russia following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
It will be only the second time the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit has been held in the United Kingdom following London in 2011, the year before the country’s capital hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“We are thrilled Birmingham is Host City for the next edition of SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit in 2024,” Ivo Ferriani, President of SportAccord, said,
“I can think of no better place than the West Midlands to build on the momentum of the brilliant Birmingham Commonwealth Games by hosting SportAccord.
“A city of inventions, iconic landmarks and firsts, Birmingham’s rich tapestry of history, heritage and culture will provide a unique delegate experience.
“With superb facilities, as well as accommodation all highly accessible within a square mile, sports leaders and decision makers can focus on what really matters in this new era for sport – unique networking and valuable insights from a dynamic line-up of world-class speakers.
“We look forward to bringing the magic of SportAccord to Birmingham in 2024.”
Last year, Ferriani had expressed his “dream” to have Vladimir Putin join fellow political leaders Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in attending the key international sport convention.
The International Olympic Committee Committee member and President of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation President revealed he had “a vision” for SportAccord of the Russian, United States and Chinese heads of state attending to share their thoughts on sport.
The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit will mark the biggest gathering of Olympic leaders, officials and sports since the city hosted the 97th edition of the International Olympic Committee Session in 1991, which also took place at the ICC.
That event was opened by the late Queen Elizabeth II and was notable for the selection of Nagano as host of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games and the election as IOC members of future Presidents Jacques Rogge and Thomas Bach.
That Session also played a part in further augmenting the rapidly growing momentum behind moves to allow South Africa back into the Olympic Games.
IOC members gave the 11-member Executive Board and IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch the authority to readmit South Africa once the last pillars of apartheid had been removed.
As well as being a vital part of the build-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, next year’s event is expected to see extensive lobbying as the campaign to succeed Bach as IOC President in 2025 intensifies.
For Birmingham, it will be another chance to shine on the world stage after last year’s Commonwealth Games.
“We all know how incredible the Commonwealth Games was for the West Midlands, but last year’s spectacle must be the start of a new sporting journey for our region – not the end,” Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said.
“If we want to keep hosting the world’s biggest sporting events then showcasing our region to sport’s global decision makers is mission critical.
“That’s why this SportAccord conference is so important – and why I’m delighted we’ve been able to pull it off.
“This is the first time the conference has been held in the UK for over a decade, and the last host – Australia’s Gold Coast – secured the 2032 Olympic Games.
“There is no question therefore just what a major coup this is for the West Midlands, and we now must ensure we make the most of the opportunity and use it as a springboard for our future.”
