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4 hints for a smart hosting strategy

FISU 4 December 2017

 

 

Smart hosting starts with putting a long-term plan it into action. The following hints are a selection of ideas and approaches that cities and regions around the world have used to great success when formulating their sports event strategy.

 

 

  1. Big events spur stakeholder support

     

When it comes to executing a long-term event strategy, having on-going support from various stakeholders is crucial. Successful teams often achieve this through having a big event goal, such as one day hosting a major international sport competition. While many other smaller events should also be part of the overall plan, focusing on a big event with stakeholders acts as a driver for pushing the process forward year after year.

 

 

  1. Successful cities are both focused and flexible

     

When a city puts together an event target list and develops its event hosting strategy, timing and focus are paramount. Many events follow a certain pattern in the way they travel around the world, and a city must understand this when preparing its plans. In addition, a city’s event strategy must have a clear, concise focus that it maintains for years. However, flexibility is also an integral part of successful event planning and allows cities to effectively respond to unforeseen developments and opportunities in the event landscape.

 

 

  1. The best time to generate impact is in the event lead-up 

     

Delivering a memorable event experience helps a city develop in areas such as place branding, social cohesion, and positioning a city as a destination for both top workforce talent and tourists alike. However, these impacts are much more likely to materialise before, rather than after, the event. Host cities should generate as much impact as possible during the pre-event build up.

 

 

Bucking conventional wisdom, for event planning its often how you start that is more important than how you finish. Positive pre-event experiences are the catalyst that helps cities execute their post-event plan. Cities that tap into the excitement and energy during the early stages of a major event often have a fantastic impact in the years leading up to and after the competition.

 

 

  1. Kindle social impact by prioritising existing programmes 

     

Host cities tend to invent and develop a range of new initiatives in the years leading up to hosting a major competition in order to utilise the event’s potential. Experience shows that a more effective approach is to link the event to existing programmes. This lifts up already proven initiatives with additional energy and renewed focus. This is particularly the case with social programmes that influence behavior in areas such as social inclusion, community building and crime reduction.

  

FISU uses a collaborative approach in its exchange with potential and future host cities, helping them deliver events that bring real impacts and benefits to their communities.

 

 Smart hosting starts with putting a long-term plan it into action. Here’s some hints that organising committees have used to great success when hosting FISU events.