British Sport Industry Heads To Liverpool
Experts from London 2012, the NBA and the London School of Economics will gather in Liverpool for the International Festival for Business’s lead event on sport next week.
They will join the CEOs of Liverpool and Everton football clubs, Ian Ayre and Robert Elstone, to headline the International Sport Business Congress, in association with BT.
The International Sport Business Congress – part of the International Festival For Business, the UK’s largest-ever business gathering taking place this summer across the north-west of England – will see global experts from Brazil, USA, France and the UK speak about how sport can positively impact a city on July 17.
With populations in cities rapidly rising, the role for community hubs and heroes grows stronger. Sport, as a tool for economic growth as well as social development, has the opportunity to fill this gap. Professional clubs, with their loyal fans and iconic stadia, can provide sustainable change to their surrounding areas; athletes can serve as positive role models for their young followers; major sporting events have been proven to rejuvenate and refurbish areas in need; and social programmes using sport to address cities’ toughest issues have revealed boosts in employment, healthy lifestyles, social inclusion, and education. This panel will explore how sport’s greatest assets can trigger both positive social and economic outcomes in cities.
Speakers include Chris Grant, vice chairman of the London 2012 legacy programme International Inspiration, and now CEO of Sported, a programme that supports sports clubs across the country; LSE’s Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch, whose work on the favelas in Brazil and studies on the impact the World Cup has had on the country’s socio-economic underbelly caused quite a stir in the lead up to the world’s biggest football tournament; Jene Elzie, vice president of marketing and communications, NBA – EMEA, who will speak about how the NBA’s world-renowned community engagement programmes are helping the league expand the sport across the world; Serge Betsen, French rugby legend and one of the country’s greatest ever players, will share how life after playing has turned him to a meaningful cause – working with young, disadvantaged people in Cameroon and helping them through the use of rugby.
This special session will be held alongside other engaging topics throughout the two days, covering topics from the commerciality of sport, to measuring the impact of sporting events. The International Sport Business Congress is in partnership with Liverpool Vision, Marketing Manchester, and the University of Liverpool, creating a unique event in a region where sport has achieved global success and recognition and where the business of sport is one of the key drivers of the local economy.
