Thursday, December 25Sports. Travel. Events. Play

Latest news and events

Endeavor buys majority stake in NFL On Location Experiences 
7Jan By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business, Sports Travel

Endeavor buys majority stake in NFL On Location Experiences 

Entertainment giant Endeavor has completed its takeover of NFL-backed On Location Experiences (OLE).  The deal sees Endeavor acquire a majority equity ownership stake while the NFL, through its strategic investment arm 32 Equity, will continue to be a minority shareholder and retain its seat on the board of directors. According to a news release, ex-Bloomberg, Westwood One and Time Inc executive Paul Caine will lead the newly-integrated entity. John Collins, OLE’s CEO for the past four years, will serve as an advisor to the company and Endeavor through the integration period.  Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor said: “By bringing together a leader like On Location with Endeavor’s access and reach, we can advance the way consumers and brands think about money-can’t-buy experiences.  “Partne...
Read More
Rugby union in England 2020: international fixtures, Twickenham events, tickets
4Jan By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Events, Guides

Rugby union in England 2020: international fixtures, Twickenham events, tickets

After finishing runners-up in the Rugby World Cup in Japan Eddie Jones’s England team will go into 2020 hoping to impress in the Six Nations championship.  Featuring England, Wales, France, Italy, Ireland and Scotland, the 2020 Six Nations starts on 1 February and finishes on 14 March.  It’s not just the Six Nations England rugby fans have to look forward to this year, there’s also the women’s Six Nations, autumn international fixtures, London Sevens, The Clash and the Premiership final.   Here we take a look at the major rugby union events taking place in England in the next 12 months.  2020 sports calendar: UK and global major sporting events and ticket details Newsletter: sign up for updates from Sports Tourism Media Guinness Six Nations 2020  What: international rugby union cha...
Read More
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London: 2020 sports events and venue guide
4Jan By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Events, Guides

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London: 2020 sports events and venue guide

London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) is gearing up for a huge 2020 with many national and international sporting events on the agenda.  Home to venues such as the London Stadium, Copper Box Arena and London Aquatics Centre, QEOP’s 2020 sports calendar includes Premier League football, Tokyo 2020 qualifiers and Major League Baseball.     Peter Tudor, director of visitor services at QEOP, said: “In 2020 we will have a fantastic array of sport on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with something to inspire everyone. Not only do we have four different Olympic qualifying events but fans can also watch the world’s best athletes play netball, hockey and baseball – all in fantastic venues set in over 500 acres of wonderful parkland.” QEOP factfile Opened: April 201...
Read More
Event focus: International Sports Convention London | June 2020
22Dec By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business

Event focus: International Sports Convention London | June 2020

The International Sports Convention (ISC) will be held for the first time in London in 2020.  Previous editions of the event have taken place in mainland Europe, but from Wednesday 17 June to Thursday 18 June the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium makes its debut as host venue. Headlined as the “meeting place for sports business”, ISC London 2020 will feature seven conferences and three masterclasses.  Organisers predict there will be 1,500 delegates attending the event at the new Spurs stadium and more than 150 speakers will take part in the various conferences, masterclasses, round tables and networking sessions.  Nigel Fletcher, CEO of ISC, said: “The move to this unique entertainment and sporting venue will provide delegates around the world with the best possible sports business event expe...
Read More
Four million grand prix fans attend Formula 1 races in 2019
22Dec By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business, Sports Travel

Four million grand prix fans attend Formula 1 races in 2019

Formula 1 has announced that 4,164,948 spectators attended at least one of the 21 grands prix during the 2019 season.   According to data supplied by race promoters, 2019 had a +1.75% attendance increase compared to the previous season, despite the Saturday cancellation of the Japanese Grand Prix due to Typhoon Hagibis.  Adding to this total the 80,118 F1 Paddock Club ticket holders (+7.15% compared to 2018), the average attendance per race was 202,146 (+1.85%).  Three GPs had an attendance of more than 300,000 spectators over a race weekend – Great Britain (351,000), Mexico (345,694) and Australia (324,100) – while a total of eight attracted crowds of more than 200,000, including Singapore and USA (268,000 each), Belgium (251,864), Hungary (230,000) and Austria (203,000).  Five circui...
Read More
Clarity Sports named official team travel partner of the Football Association of Wales
15Dec By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business, Sports Travel

Clarity Sports named official team travel partner of the Football Association of Wales

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) and Clarity Sports have announced a new partnership that will see Clarity provide all domestic and international travel for the Welsh national teams.  Clarity Sports, who also work with a number of top-flight English and Scottish football teams, has signed a three-year contract that will see the business provide its best-in-class services at an exciting time for the FAW, with Euro 2020 on the horizon. Wales have been drawn against Italy, Switzerland and Turkey and will play games initially in Baku and Rome.  The women’s international team will continue their 2021 European Championship qualifying campaign, where they currently sit second in the table, in April 2020.  Rob Slawson, director of sports travel at Clarity, said: “The role we play is to t...
Read More
Event focus: Global Sports Week Paris | February 2020 | Paris
15Dec By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business

Event focus: Global Sports Week Paris | February 2020 | Paris

More than 1,000 international leaders will be in Paris in February 2020 when the French capital city hosts its Global Sports Week. Taking place at the Louvre Museum’s Les Salles du Carrousel from 5-7 February, the main event of Global Sports Week Paris will see leaders, delegates and speakers discuss sports industry themes and trends.   The event’s official website says: “Sport has a two-way relationship with society. On one hand, it enjoys greater cultural and societal influence than ever before. The rise of the purpose economy, combined with the changing lifestyles of a new generation, is driving a new emphasis on sport’s capacity to positively impact the world.  “But the world itself is changing. And the forces of economic, technological and societal disruption are als...
Read More
Wales to host International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) in 2020
15Dec By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business

Wales to host International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) in 2020

Wales’s golf industry is celebrating the announcement that the 2020 International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) will be hosted in the country. IGTM 2020 will take place from 19-22 October at the Celtic Manor Resort and the brand new International Convention Centre Wales (ICC Wales). The event will be held in partnership with The Vale Resort, Marriott St Pierre and Royal Porthcawl. More than 1,000 golf travel professionals are expected to be in Wales for the first ever IGTM in the United Kingdom. It will coincide with the ten-year anniversary of the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.  In a statement Ian Edwards, chief executive of Celtic Manor Resort and ICC Wales, said: “Being the first UK venue to host IGTM is something I am incredibly proud of. “In our first month of opening at ICC Wales, we ha...
Read More
China International Boat Show and The Lifestyle Show return to Shanghai in 2020
15Dec By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business

China International Boat Show and The Lifestyle Show return to Shanghai in 2020

The 25th anniversary of the China International Boat Show (CIBS) will be marked with its 2020 edition at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (NECC) in Shanghai from 31 March to 2 April.  Organised by Shanghai Sinoexpo Informa Markets, the four-day CIBS 2020 will cover more than 28,000sqm of the NECC with 600 companies exhibiting. It’s also expected that 40,000 professional visitors will attend.  Highlights in 2020 include more real boats from major brands such as Beneteau and Jeanneau. Among the models on show include high-speed boats, official business boats, sailboats, fishing boats, motorboats and leisure boats.  There will also be a wide range of boat equipment and accessories.  Boat engines, spare parts, safety equipment, boat furniture and electric...
Read More
Formula 1 2020 season calendar to feature 22 races
14Dec By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Events, Guides

Formula 1 2020 season calendar to feature 22 races

Formula 1 has revealed the draft calendar for the 2020 FIA F1 World Championship - and it will feature a record-breaking 22 races.  The 2020 season, which marks F1’s 70th anniversary, starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 15 March and finishes with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 29 November. There’s no German Grand Prix on the schedule but F1 will go to two new destinations in 2020. The Vietnam Grand Prix will be held on the streets of Hanoi on 5 April then on 3 May the Dutch Grand Prix returns with the race at the Zandvoort circuit. Formula 1 2020 provisional calendar  15 March: Australia  22 March: Bahrain 5 April: Vietnam 19 April: China 3 May: Netherlands 10 May: Spain 24 May: Monaco 7 June: Azerbaijan 14 June: Canada 28 June: France ...
Read More
4,000 meetings take place at 2019 Scottish Golf Tourism Week
25Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business, Sports Travel

4,000 meetings take place at 2019 Scottish Golf Tourism Week

The 2019 Scottish Golf Tourism Week (SGTW) was a resounding success with more than 4,000 meetings taking place during the event. Held from 28 October to 1 November at the five-star Fairmont St Andrews in Fife, the fourth edition of the trade event saw golf businesses network with international tour operators.  Organisers said on Twitter: “The Scottish Golf Tourism Week is the biggest tourism event for all businesses deriving revenue from the golf market. Over 100 businesses carry out more than 4,000 face-to-face meetings with over 100 international tour operators.” The 2018 SGTW is expected to directly contribute £19.1m worth of additional business to Scotland by 2021, and organisers expect the 2019 edition to be even more successful.  It’s also been announced that next year’...
Read More
Viagogo buys StubHub from eBay for $4.05bn: ‘a win-win deal for fans’
25Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business, Sports Travel

Viagogo buys StubHub from eBay for $4.05bn: ‘a win-win deal for fans’

A major business deal has been confirmed in the sports ticketing industry with news that eBay Inc has agreed to sell StubHub to viagogo for $4.05bn in cash. The sale is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Eric Baker, viagogo’s founder and CEO, also co-founded StubHub while in business school, but left before the business was sold to eBay for $310m in 2007. He said it has been his “wish” to unite the two companies.  “I am so proud of how StubHub has grown over the years and excited about the possibilities for our shared future,” Baker added.  “Buyers will have a wider choice of tickets, and sellers will have a wider network of buyers. Bringing these two companies together creates a win-win for fans -...
Read More
WSL Sydney Surf Pro in Manly to generate AUD$3.7m and 25,000 visitor nights
20Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business, Sports Travel

WSL Sydney Surf Pro in Manly to generate AUD$3.7m and 25,000 visitor nights

Manly beach in Sydney, Australia, will host the World Surf League’s newest event – the Sydney Surf Pro – for the next three years. The NSW Government, through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, has secured the event exclusively for Sydney as part of the new global WSL Challenger Series. The WSL Sydney Surf Pro will include men’s and women’s events and is locked in for Manly from 2020 to 2022, with the first event to take place between 8-14 March next year.  James Griffin, member for Manly, said: “Manly staged the first-ever world championships in May 1964, and in March this year our iconic four-kilometre beach attracted 11-time world champion Kelly Slater to compete. “Where better to kick off the WSL Challenger Series than in the hub of surf culture that is Manly?”  ...
Read More
Le Mans Classic 2020: relive Le Mans ’66 with Grandstand Motor Sports travel packages
20Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Events

Le Mans Classic 2020: relive Le Mans ’66 with Grandstand Motor Sports travel packages

Fans inspired by the new Le Mans ’66 film starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale have the chance to witness the same on-track battles at the Le Mans Classic in July 2020. The four-day event is one of the biggest in historic racing and features cars that took part in the famous Le Mans endurance race between 1923 and 1981.  Next year will be the tenth running of the biennial event, which has become one of the most popular classic car gatherings in Europe. Motor sport travel specialist Grandstand Motor Sports is offering three- and four-night travel packages to the Le Mans Classic. The event will be held from 2-5 July 2020. Grandstand’s Le Mans Classic self-drive packages include:  Three or four nights' accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis in a choice of hotels, guesthouses an...
Read More
IOC and Airbnb agree Olympic partnership: all the details about the deal
19Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business, Sports Travel

IOC and Airbnb agree Olympic partnership: all the details about the deal

International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Airbnb have announced a major partnership agreement to support the Olympic Movement through to 2028.  The nine-year, five-Games deal includes accommodation provisions that will reduce costs for Olympic Games organisers and stakeholders, minimise the need for construction of new accommodation infrastructure for the Olympic Games period, and generate direct revenue for local hosts and communities. Working together with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Airbnb will also promote accommodation that supports accessibility for people with disabilities or other accessibility needs. Reactions to the partnership IOC president Thomas Bach “This innovative partnership underpins our strategy to ensure that the efficient staging of the Olympic Gam...
Read More
Event focus: Extreme Sports Expo | January 2020 | Dubai
15Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business

Event focus: Extreme Sports Expo | January 2020 | Dubai

The Extreme Sports Expo returns from 9-11 January 2020 for its fifth edition at the Dubai World Trade Center in Dubai, UAE. Showcasing products from big brands in the world of action sports the Extreme Sports Expo, organised by Never Before Events in collaboration with the Dubai Sports Council, consists of three specialised events:  Dubai International Bicycle Exhibition Dubai Motorbike Festival Middle East Dive & Fish Expo More than 10,000 visitors are expected to visit the event over the three-day period, where they will be able to find out about special offers, product trials, raffle prizes, competitions and seminars. Zarir Saifuddin, of organisers Never Before Events, said: “The growth of the exhibition is in line with the popularity of action sports in the UAE as w...
Read More
‘Golfbreaks by PGA Tour’ brand created after golf organisations join forces
3Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Sports Business, Sports Travel

‘Golfbreaks by PGA Tour’ brand created after golf organisations join forces

PGA Tour has invested in Golfbreaks and the two organisations have created a new golf travel brand - Golfbreaks by PGA Tour. The partnership will give golfers the opportunity to book golf holidays to more than 2,500 destinations throughout Europe and North America.  Founded in 1998 in the United Kingdom, Golfbreaks has become one of the market leaders in golf travel. Following 21 consecutive years of revenue growth, Golfbreaks now looks to accelerate the expansion of its North American business.  Andrew Stanley, Golfbreaks CEO, said: “We opened our US office in 2016 to help the 30 million-plus golfers with a one-stop travel service offering of high-quality, good-value golf vacations.  “Having achieved three years of double-digit growth, the time was right for us to find ...
Read More
Christmas gift guide for sports fans: event tickets, trips, experiences, driving, golf and more
1Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Holidays & Trips

Christmas gift guide for sports fans: event tickets, trips, experiences, driving, golf and more

Got a sports-mad guy or gal who you need to buy a Christmas present for? Check out our sports Christmas gift guide, which includes activities, travel breaks, golf getaways, sports event tickets, and unique experiences such as driving, sailing and surfing.  Jump to each section in the sports Christmas gift guide: Sports gift boxes | Stadium tours | Race days | Golf masterclasses Weekend sport trips and activity breaks Golf weekend breaks and escapes Driving breaks and driving experiences Bear Grylls Survival Academy Sports tickets for UK events in 2020 Sports gift boxes | Stadium tours | Race days | Golf masterclasses  Liverpool FC Anfield stadium tour for two adults - £40 Duration: one hour for two people; valid for 10 months  Where: Anfield stadium, Liverpool, Merse...
Read More
2019 sports business calendar: events, conferences and exhibitions
1Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments
Events, Sports Business

2019 sports business calendar: events, conferences and exhibitions

Sports business conferences and events are a huge driver for the tourism and travel industry. Here we look at the sports industry conferences, exhibitions, events and awards for 2019 and 2020. Plus we pick out the top travel and tourism events which feature sporting exhibitors. 2020 sports business and sports tourism calendar: events, conferences, exhibitions December 2019 International Luxury Travel Market (ILTN) Cannes When: 2-5 December 2019 Where: Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes, France Sports exhibitors: outdoor sports, golf, ski, sailing Website: iltm.com/cannes Women in Sport – Next Generation When: 3-4 December 2019 Where: London Stadium, London, UK Website: everythinginsport.com ICSTILO 2019: International Conference on Sport Tourism Industry and Local Organi...
Read More

EVENTS IN FOCUS