Birmingham and the West Midlands’ sporting offer and major events hosting expertise will be thrust into the global spotlight, 7-11 April, when it welcomes the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit at ICC Birmingham.
Nearly two years on from hosting the biggest-ever Commonwealth Games, the West Midlands will roll out the red carpet for more than 1,500 international delegates from 120 sporting federations.
From basketball, bobsleigh and bodybuilding to tennis, triathlon and taekwondo, presidents and CEOs from global sporting organisations will visit Birmingham and the West Midlands for SportAccord’s conference programme, which includes specialist streams CityAccord, HealthAccord, LawAccord and MediaAccord. The summit will also feature panel events, evening networking sessions and a keynote speech during the event’s opening ceremony from International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit offers a huge opportunity for the West Midlands’ people, venues and suppliers to come together and put on a great show for international sports leaders, continuing the positive buzz and legacy of the Commonwealth Games.
“Our region has world-class sporting infrastructure, unrivalled connectivity and a passion and knowledge for hosting major events.”
The theme of the event will be the ‘power of sport’ and the speaker list includes Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman MBE; secretary general of the World Union of Olympic Cities, Melanie Duparc; and CEO of Global Esports Federation, Paul Foster.
Delegates will also be able to take part in an excursion programme, which will include the region’s Industrial Revolution story at Black Country Living Museum and Ironbridge Gorge; and a visit to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The region’s instrumental role in shaping Britain’s sporting tradition – having invented rugby, lawn tennis and the Football League, and hosted the forerunner to the Olympic Games in Much Wenlock – will be covered during a sporting tour, to include Villa Park and Edgbaston Stadium.
The West Midlands has recently hosted some of global sport’s biggest spectacles, including the Rugby World Cup, The Ashes and the FIG World Trampoline Championships. The ESL One – Dota II esports tournament in Solihull (26-28 April); the European Judo Union Junior Cup in Walsall (15-19 June); and the Kabaddi World Cup (24-31 March 2025) are a snapshot of the sporting fixtures taking place in the West Midlands in the next 12 months, thanks to the region’s Major Events Fund.
