Show Preview: Big names line up to speak at SportAccord 2006  

Some of the most influential people in sport will be speaking at SportAccord 2006, which takes place at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in Seoul, South Korea on 3-7 April 2006.

Over 30 speakers have already signed up for the sell-out exhibition which will be brimming with bidding cities, major events companies, International Sports Federations and commercial partners. The speakers include John Furlong, the chief executive of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games and Gilbert Felli, Olympic Games executive director of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Sports represented by the speakers are as diverse as basketball, gymnastics, cycling, rugby, hockey, polo tennis, rowing, squash and motor racing. There will also be a host of speakers from cities bidding for sports events in regions from Melbourne to Rio to Glasgow.
Mike Lee, the former director of communications & public affairs for the London 2012 Olympic bid, will be speaking about ‘Bidding Cities: Strategies For Success In The International Event Market’.
In the three years since it was established SportAccord has become known as the premiere platform for cities not only to gain vital know-how and insights into the mechanics of hosting major events, but also to meet and reach out to the key sports leaders who will decide or influence the decisions on where future events will be held.
There will be 17 countries represented by the exhibitors at SportAccord 2006. These are Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, England, Korea, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Russia, Scotland, Serbia & Montenegro, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan.
One bidding organisation which will be exhibiting at SportAccord in 2006 is SportDenmark, which will be at the conference for the fourth time. Throughout the last three months Denmark has won the staging of many major events, including the ETU European Triathlon Championship 2007 (Copenhagen), the FILA World Wrestling Championship 2009 (Herning – the western part of Denmark), and the prestigious International Olympic Committee Session & Congress 2009 (Copenhagen).
Lars Lundov, Executive Director of SportDenmark, says: “SportDenmark’s yearly participation with a stand at SportAccord since its start in 2003 has no doubt contributed to important and valuable relationships with top leaders within the international sports society. And also it has enhanced Denmark’s profile globally as an attractive major sports events destination. SportAccord has become a platform for our mutual efforts to attract more major international sports events to Denmark, and for SportDenmark as well – which is a network between Sports Foundation Denmark and the leading Danish events cities.”

For further information on SportAccord, contact:
Anna Hellman, General Manager, SportAccord, CMC, CH-1860 Aigle, Switzerland. Tel: +41 (0)24 468 5972 Fax: +41 (0)24 468 5812 Email: info@sportaccord.com Web address: www.sportaccord.com

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