SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit

A truly global event, SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit gathers 1,500 leaders and key decision makers from over 120 International Federations, the International Olympic Committee and more for a five-day event.

The brief

The client required a flexible space to accommodate more than 1,800 people. Primarily, SportAccord was a five-day themed conference, but they also needed additional exhibition space, smaller meeting rooms and open networking areas.

The conference would welcome delegates from across the globe, so access to accommodation and transport links was also essential.

Delivery

Located in the heart of Birmingham, the ICC was the ideal venue. A 10-minute walk from Birmingham New Street Station, with the tram line and multiple bus routes on the doorstep, plus access to 6,500 hotel rooms nearby.

Meeting the requirements for flexibility, the ICC was also able to deliver using all halls for the main conference, Hall 3 for exhibitors, and smaller meetings in all 10 exec rooms.

The team also worked with Birmingham’s Symphony Hall – based on site – to host the Opening Ceremony.

Food and drink were served in the exhibition space in Hall 3, with a café which served lunch and barista machines for tea and coffee stations.

Outcome

SportAccord was deemed a success with an est. £2.71m economic impact for the city, over 5,000 total bed nights in Birmingham.

The location of the venue was rated highly among delegates with an overall 9/10 satisfaction score for the event.

Joel Lavery, Major Sporting Events Lead, West Midlands Growth Company, said:

“The ICC was the ideal choice to host such a high-profile global sporting conference in the West Midlands.

“The venue’s central location at the heart of Birmingham city centre helped to create a unique ‘SportAccord village’ environment, helping to enhance collaboration and networking opportunities for more than 1,700 of world sport’s most influential decision-makers.

“The ICC’s event management team, plus catering, tech and AV staff were all superb, both in the months of planning leading up to the event and during the week of the summit itself. They proved to be creative, flexible and accommodating with an ever-changing brief and requirements.

“With slick graphics and impressive venue dressing, the ICC played its part in what was hailed by SportAccord President Prof Dr Ugur Erdener as the best summit ever.”