South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

Major Sports Conference

The second Major Sports Conference, Defining the Role and Impact of Sports Events was held at the majestic Blenheim Palace on 6th October.

This conference, hosted around the International Horse Trials at Blenheim Palace gave delegates the unrivalled opportunity to visit the world class horse trials and tour this extraordinary palace as well as listen to world class experienced speakers.

Speakers included John Scott, International Director of UK Sport who explained how to navigate the bidding landscape, UK Sport’s national plans and how delegates could benefit locally.

Alex King from Visit Britain explained how they intend to implement the new Event Britain strategy and what support is available to cities and regions.

Geoff Lawton from Portsmouth City Council gave an insight into the Great South Run and described what is involved in staging such an event and Dover Town Mayor, Councillor Bob Markham talked about how and why Dover Town Council decided to stage the recent Archery World Cup.

There was a very interested presentation from Eamonn O’Rourke who talked about how sport is an integral part of the Manchester economy and the role sport has played in the cities urban renassiance.

Key note speaker was Simon Legg from LOCOG who talked about training and preparation camps and the importance of hosting major sports events.

To view the presentations please click here