Nolan Partners Sibc Panel Split On Brazil Security

With security concerns in Brazil again making global headlines ahead of the 2014 World Cup, public safety at major events was a key part of the discussion at the Nolan Partners Sport Industry Breakfast Club on Wednesday, when the organisers of four of the major events taking place in the UK over the next four years took to the stage to address the challenges and opportunities inherent in a golden decade of British sport.

Brian Barwick, Chairman of the Rugby Football League and former CEO of the Football Association, discussed the currently ongoing Rugby League World Cup; David Grevemberg, CEO of Glasgow 2014, and Debbie Jevans, CEO of England Rugby 2015 and former Director of Sport for London 2012 spoke about their respective upcoming events; and Ed Warner, Chairman of UK Athletics, gave an exclusive preview of the 2017 Athletics and Paralympic World Championships.

With security back on the agenda in Brazil following protests at the Confederations Cup and the cancellation of the Soccerex conference, public safety was a key part of the discussion, with Jevans and Grevemberg putting forward similar beliefs in the powerful multi-stakeholder approach to security in place around their own events, but differing views on events in Rio.

As far as Soccerex and what has happened in Brazil goes I’m obviously not across all of the details, but I will say it’s very different organising [a conference] to organising an Olympic Games or a World Cup, insisted Jevans. I have no doubt the organisers will stay true to their word on what’s going to happen delivering those two events.

Grevemberg, though, was more cautious. The bottom line is that the decision to cancel an event such as Soccerex is likely based on [security] intelligence, which is something you have to rely on with any event, he said. It’s absolutely critical that you take a multi-faceted approach and if you can’t deliver on that then you have to question if that is a place you want people to be and take that tough decision.

Barwick, who spoke of his delight at the success of the ongoing Rugby League World Cup, added: When you take a tournament to established stadiums, they have their checks and balances already in place. Mature stadiums are very used to handling big crowds. In this country we are very good at staging these events, and learning from each one and taking it to the next.

Talk also turned to the one omission from the list of major sporting events being held in the UK in the next few years following the failed bid for the 2018 Fifa World Cup, with Jevans pointing to the long road to secure London 2012. It is a long game when you bid for a major event. We bid three times before we were successful in 2012, she said. It is important to have representatives in the various committees in the international federation, it’s important to build relationships, but it is a long journey. Look at Paris and their bidding for an Olympic Games – we are not unique in having failed to deliver a major event, but I’m confident in the future we will deliver a football World Cup.

Warner, who played a key role as UKA beat Doha to secure the rights to host 2017, ended on an overwhelmingly positive note as he looked ahead to a major athletics championship returning to the Olympic Stadium, praising London Mayor Boris Johnson and both the Labour and coalition governments for his support of the bid. I don’t think he was thinking about improving tourist revenues or business opportunities – he got how important it was for Londoners to see that event, said the UKA chairman. The World Championships in London are about Londoners feeling good as much as people coming to London.

To the credit of both this government and the previous government, they have both understood the benefits of this golden decade of British sport.