Host City 2020, a meeting for cities and sports, business and cultural events, has announced its speaker line-up for its 2020 event.
The conference will be taking place on 8-9 December, hosted online from Glasgow, Scotland, and is set to reach a global audience of 1,000 major event industry professionals.
Paul Bush OBE, director of events for VisitScotland and Bridget McConnell CBE, chief executive at Glasgow Life will open proceedings addressing the conference theme, The Big Restart: Hosting with a Purpose for the Digital Age.
Further keynotes will follow from Sir Craig Reedie GBE, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Etienne Thobois CEO of the Paris 2024 organising committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The opening session also stars Roxana Mărăcineanu, minister of sports for France, Ian Reid, CEO of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, IOC Member and vice president of the Badminton World Federation and Fanta Diallo, director of Sports, Youth and Community for the City of Dakar.
Georgina Grenon, director of environmental excellence for the Paris 2024 organising committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and Federico Addiechi, head of sustainability and environment for FIFA, will be discussing how major events are contributing to environmental goals. Tim Briercliffe, secretary general for International Association of Horticultural Producers will also share his perspective on ‘greening’ cities.
The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games director Tatsuo Ogura will give an update on preparations to host the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Brian Lewis, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee and Densign White, chair of Sporting Equals will be discussing the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, while Sabrina Ibanez, president of the Association of Paralympic Sports Associations will lead a panel on inclusion and diversity.
Day two will begin with a keynote speech from Sir Russell Coutts KNZM CBE, CEO, SailGP.
Niels de Vos, CEO Oregon 21 LLC will also give insight into preparations for the upcoming World Athletics Championships.
Bruno Marie-Rose, director of Technology Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Michael Cole chief technology officer for the European Tour and Alban Dechelotte, head of sponsorship and business development for EU Esport, Riot Games will share views on future event delivery and the convergence of digital and real-world events.
Other great speakers include John Langford, chief operating officer at AEG Europe, Michelle Hooper, tournament director for the Rugby World Cup New Zealand 2021, and Michael D’hulst, co-founder and CEO Super League Triathlon.
Major congresses are well represented by Aileen Crawford of Glasgow Convention Bureau, Emily Blitz of the International AIDS Society, Sven Bossu, CEO of the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) and Aoife Delmas of the European Society of Cardiology.
Host City 2020 is being supported by EventScotland (part of VisitScotland), Glasgow Life and Glasgow Convention Bureau.
Other participating organisations include Aggreko, Department for International Trade, Sport Event Denmark, Global Esports Federation, European Sponsorship Association, International Association of Event Hosts, Association of Global Event Suppliers and more to be announced.
