Kelly Fairweather and the Evolution of the SportAccord Forum
- Scheduled to take place at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, the three-day, invite-only gathering introduces a dedicated City Forum on its final afternoon to bridge the widening gap...
- The event has traditionally served as a closed meeting place primarily for international federations (IFs).
- Traditional hosting models centered on expensive infrastructure builds and aggressive bidding wars are losing viability as cities scrutinize public spending.
Scheduled to take place at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, the three-day, invite-only gathering introduces a dedicated City Forum on its final afternoon to bridge the widening gap between sports federations and event hosts.
Evolution of the SportAccord Forum in Lausanne
The event has traditionally served as a closed meeting place primarily for international federations (IFs). However, the by the IFs, for the IFs
tagline now encompasses municipal and regional destinations, according to Fairweather. The newly added City Forum features panel discussions addressing objective alignment, shared responsibility, and using sports events as a catalyst for local participation. Speakers from UK Sport, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the Kansas City Sports Commission, and World Rugby are slated to participate in these discussions.
Rethinking Traditional Sports Hosting Models
Traditional hosting models centered on expensive infrastructure builds and aggressive bidding wars are losing viability as cities scrutinize public spending. Fairweather spent years during his tenure as chief executive of both the International Hockey Federation (IHF) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) attempting to secure event hosts. He notes that modern business requires genuine partnerships rather than transactional hosting fee arrangements.
It’s much more partnership based, rather than just arriving, getting a cheque and then leaving.
Kelly Fairweather
Alternative Models and Financial Flexibility
Recent international events demonstrate that governing bodies are adapting their financial structures to ease the burden on host cities. World Athletics implemented a revised hosting model for its inaugural Ultimate Championships in Budapest, ceding the majority of sponsorship rights to the Hungarian capital so the host city could generate direct financial returns. Fairweather supports this shift toward giving hosts skin in the game
to prevent federations from running out of viable destinations.
Kelly Fairweather