Host Cities kicks off
in Dubai tomorrow with industry leaders from across the world flying in
to discuss the opportunities, challenges and benefits of being a host
city.
Host Cities 2014 is
the third edition of the two-day summit and brings together influential
industry leaders, rights holders and the heads of sporting bodies from
around the world.
India will be a key
focus at the event this year with the midday session on Day One putting a
spotlight on the changing sport landscape in the country and asking the
question “Is there more to sport in India than Cricket?” The panel will
include Kushal Das, Secretary General, AIFF – India Super League;
Chandradev Bhagat, CEO, Greymatter Entertainment and JB Bernstein,
co-creator of Million Dollar Arm.
The creators and
original winners of “Million Dollar Arm”, the reality TV show invented
by J.B. Bernstein and Ash Vasudaven to find a new baseball pitcher for
the Major League Baseball in India, will be a highlight Q&A session
for those who want to hear the story first-hand and to know more about
their next project. The two winners of the competition, Rinku Singh and
Dinesh Patel beat more than 37,000 people to secure a move to America
and become the first Indian citizens to play professionally in North
America.
In Day One’s second session at 11am,
the partnership between the UAE and the IPL will be discussed at length
with David East, CEO, Emirates Cricket Board; Sundar Raman, CEO, Indian
Premier League; Peter Griffiths, Director of Operations, IMG (UK) and
Maqbul Dudhia, General Manager, Dubai Sports City all speaking.
Harold Mayne-Nicholls,
the former head of the FIFA Technical Committee who is currently
considering a run for FIFA President will be speaking as part of the
“How To Win The Bid: Agenda 2020 and re-writing the rules of the game”
session at 9.45 on the morning of Day Two. For those who want to fully
understand how to develop a comprehensive big strategy this session is a
must.
Sessions across the
two-day summit will give everyone an opportunity to learn and share
ideas about being a host city; something Dubai is well equipped to.
As well as the daily
sessions held in “The Summit Room” throughout the two-day summit, ”The
Bidding Room” and “The Hosting Room” will provide workshops on all
aspects of being a Host City from Bidding, Funding and Community
Development.
Host Cities, presented
by Emirates Airline, Falcon and Associates, Dubai Department of Tourism
and Commerce Marketing and SMG, will be held at the Ritz-Carlton, JBR,
Dubai on Wednesday 26thand Thursday 27thNovember