SportAccord convention to relocate from Beijing

SportAccord has announced that, due to the Coronavirus outbreak in China, its 2020 SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit 2020 will not take place in Beijing in April.

In a statement released overnight from Switzerland, SportAccord President, Raffaele Chiulli advised “considering the epidemic in China and around the world and taking into account the various factors of such force majeure situation and through consultation with the SportAccord 2020 Local Organising Committee, we have reached a difficult decision that SportAccord 2020 will not take place in Beijing,”

Due to have taken place from 19th to 24th April, SportAccord is now searching for a new location to host the 2020 edition of its annual Summit.

The latest among many events in China to be cancelled or postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the decision by SportAccord comes one day after Formula 1 postponed the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. The F1 race was to be held on 19th April, the same day SportAccord 2020 was scheduled to begin in Beijing.

Advising of SportAccord’s decision, Chiulli (pictured) explained “in the past few weeks, we have been following the development of the epidemic closely.

“The Chinese Government has taken effective efforts, unprecedented measures and all possible resources to combat the epidemic (and) we do believe that the Chinese Government and people in China have the capabilities to have the final win of the war against the virus.”

The Beijing SportAccord Summit was to have brought nearly 2,000 delegates along with a significant number of participating organisations, companies, institutions and exhibitiors.

SportAccord says it still wants the summit to take place from 19th to 24th April and is “exploring contingency options” to make that happen.

Partners, exhibitors and delegates who had registered to attend the event in Beijing will now be contacted with updates and further information regarding the next steps for SportAccord 2020.

SportAccord is the only global sports business event attended by all the international sports federations and their stakeholders, who host their Annual General Assemblies during SportAccord. These stakeholders include: ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations), AIOWF (Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations), ARISF (Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations), AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport), GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations) and Associate Members.

Other Coronavirus impacts
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series events scheduled for Singapore and Hong Kong during the first two weekends of April have been postponed to October.

Citing the Coronavirus threat, World Rugby released a statement yesterday advising “the health and safety of our players, fans and everyone working on the event is always our highest priority.

“This prudent decision has been taken in order to help protect the global rugby community and the wider public and was taken based on the World Health Organization and relevant public authority travel and health guidelines. The decision is fully supported by stakeholders, including unions and commercial partners."

The two events will now conclude the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 with Singapore on 10th and 11th October and Hong Kong completing the series on 17th and 18th October.

Tickets already purchased via official channels will be honoured for the rescheduled events and a full refund will be provided for those fans unable to attend in October.

International Gymnastics Federation
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the local organising committee of the Artistic Gymnastics Individual Apparatus World Cup Melbourne confirm that the Chinese team will not compete at the event which runs from 20th to 23rd February in Melbourne, Australia.

The Chinese Gymnastics Association has officially informed the local organising committee that due to the current Australian Government’s travel restrictions relating to the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Chinese delegation cannot participate in the World Cup.

IFSC events
Three International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) has announced that three events scheduled to be held in China in the coming months will not go ahead in the country, also as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak in China.

One of the tournaments - the IFSC Asian Championships, due to take place in Chongqing from 25th April to 3rd May - is a qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with the IFSC advising that it will be rescheduled to take place at another location is Asia.

The IFSC World Cup in Wujiang, scheduled for 18th and 19th April, and the IFSC World Cup in Chongqing, scheduled for 22nd April, will not go ahead as planned.

A decision will be made in the coming days as to whether the events can take place at an alternative location.

Click here for information on the SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.