FRESH THINKING….NEW INSIGHTS…SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT ‘09

LONDON 2012 CHIEF SETS REVENUE TARGETS

“It says a lot about this country’s appetite to make the Olympics an incredible success” – Paul Deighton

London, November 11, 2009 – London 2012 Chief Executive Paul Deighton has announced ambitious targets for ticketing revenue and sponsorship whilst confirming cost-cutting moves for two sports as LOCOG adjusts following the recession.

Speaking at the Sports Event Management Conference ’09, Deighton confirmed that almost nine million tickets will go on sale for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2011 and are expected to raise around £400 million with a strategy being implemented which will target genuine fans for each competition.

Deighton said: “We will be very focused over the next 12 months on getting our ticketing strategy right, priced well enough to meet our revenue targets with lots of opportunity to make them affordable and accessible for people who don't have the deepest of pockets.

“We are building business plans for each of the sports to make sure that we can get tickets in the hands of the people who most want to be there.”

Despite the recession, LOCOG is aiming to raise up to £700 million in private sponsorship revenue, despite the current financial crisis.

He added: “I don't think any of us expected to be out there raising private money to put on the Games in the worst economic environment we've seen in century.

“The toughest bit is to raise the private sponsorship as you have to do in this early period and that's where we have been incredibly focused. If I can point to the most gravity defying accomplishment of the project so far it's raising that money in the light of extraordinarily difficult economic conditions.

“It says a lot about the power of the Olympic and Paralympic brands, it says a lot about the appetite of this country to be involved in making this an incredible success.”

Deighton also confirmed that badminton and gymnastics will now take place at Wembley Arena in North London, in a move aimed at reducing costs by building temporary venues.

Despite concerns over the additional travel time from the Olympic Park, Deighton is confident that the national federations and International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be happy following a recent trial run.

Deighton said: “In this economic environment it's not really acceptable to taxpayers to build a temporary venue when you already have an acceptable one if the trade-off is another 20 minutes travel time.

“It's hard when people are losing their jobs to say that we were not prepared to send athletes another 15 minutes on the road and that we'd rather spend a lot more money and build something that we are then going to take down. The journey when we made it took 42 minutes which, frankly, is an acceptable time.”

Sports Event Management ’09 is considered a key event for representatives of national and international sports governing bodies, specialist event management companies, local authorities, stadium and facility owners and operators, media companies, sports marketing agencies and the companies who provide the technology, infrastructure and services which make events tick.

Attendees this year included: Sir Craig Reedie (Member of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board); Paul Deighton (Chief Executive Officer, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games); HE Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani (Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee); Sandy Hollway AO (CEO of Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games); Francis Tellier (CEO, Host Broadcast Services – FIFA broadcast partners); John Parker (Managing Director, Match Services A.G. – Tour Operator Programme for the 2010 FIFA World Cup TM); Paul Williamson (Head of Ticketing, London 2012) and Steve Elworthy (Tournament Director for the ICC World Twenty20 England 2009).

This was the fourth Sports Event Management Conference and Awards with next year’s event scheduled for November 3 and 4.

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Sports Event Management 2009
Tuesday 10th November 2009, Shaw Theatre, Novotel, St Pancras, London, UK
www.sportseventmanagement.com
+44 (0)1264 852 016

Press Contact:
David Alexander +44 (0) 7802-412424

For further information regarding the Sports Event Management Conference please contact: 

Nicola Fleming
Tel: +44(0)1264 852 016
Fax: +44(0)1264 852 011
E-mail: nicola@rushmans.com

Photography available on request