TEAMS Europe Entertains, Educates in Record-Setting Third Year

TEAMS Europe attendees were able to hear from experts on a wide range of topics throughout the sports-event industry from this year’s biggest sporting event in the world to what is to come on various continents around the world in the future.

The third annual TEAMS Europe was held at the ExCeL in London in conjunction with The Meetings Show. The show had record attendance in overall numbers and in event organizers and destinations from the United States looking to expand their international reach.

Overall Look Throughout Industry

This conference began with a wide-ranging discussion that included experts in sports event hosting on where they see the industry headed, opportunities that will exist for host cities, challenges that organizations should be preparing for and what participants in events are saying about how they make their decisions to travel.

The presentation by Charlotte Melchert, founder of World’s Sports Group, included research on endurance sports showing 80.76% of the survey’s respondents said event location and accessibility is an important fact on deciding on a race event with tourism attractions and activities in the area ranking second. Sixty-nine percent of North American participants at an endurance race stay more than four days when going to a race in a different country; 50% of European participants spend up to four days in the country where the race is hosted.

Terry Hassletine, executive director of Maryland Sports Commission, noted the amount of diversification throughout the United States with the fastest-growing sport in his state being cricket. “A lot of sports that are non-traditional in the United States are starting to take hold,” he said. Not only is it new sports throughout Maryland and the United States, but new sports have also exploded in participation and interest. “When I bring up things like kickball, cycling, equestrian events and the like, we’re seeing a broader expansion of opportunities from when we grew up.”

Lars Haue-Pedersen, managing director of BCW, pointed out in the past decade the number of events on the supply side has increased with pro golf and Formula 1 expanding the number of its events, let along the expanded tournaments on the international soccer level. “It has been a bit easier for destinations and a bit less expensive to secure events compared to 10 years ago,” he said. “I think that’s a good thing because there once was a limited supply and prices were too high. It does also mean the rights holders have to rethink a little bit their product and make it better.”

Jason Ferguson, chairman of World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, said the world snooker championship has grown from being watched by 18.5 million people on the BBC in 1985 to, this year, being watched globally by over 500 million people. “You’ve got to keep moving with the marketplace,” Ferguson said. “Big events and all events have to remain meaningful; they have to remain strong and we underpin that with hard work.”

Preparing for Paris and Beyond

One month out from the 2024 Games in Paris, the Olympic and Paralympic movements are preparing to welcome spectators back for the first time in years. And when they show up on site — or watch however they will from home — they are in for a host of new experiences with international federations and others involved showcasing new initiatives to make this summer’s Games will differ from all those that came before them while making plans being beyond the showcase in Paris for future Games to come.

Michel Mari, meetings and events promotion manager of Choose Paris Region, will have his region in the world spotlight when the Games return to the City of Light for the first time in a century. With Paris already known as one of the world’s most popular tourist destination, Paris and the local organizing committee have embarked on what this summer will be an innovative way of the Games in a modern outlook with venues held around iconic landmarks including the Eiffel Tower and Versailles but with an eye on temporary sports venues that can be integrated almost seamlessly throughout the city. Paris’ eye toward having a sustainable games is also one of the ways it is working to set a new Olympic agenda for future hosts to follow. 

Alessio Punzi, head of running at World Athletics, described the way how the 2024 local organizing committee has worked with the international federation on the “Marathon Pour Tous,” where local runners who qualify for the experience will have an evening start on the same route and same day as the men’s Olympic marathon and a few hours before the women’s marathon. It is the latest development in the way athletics has worked to innovate within the Olympic community in the wake of the federation’s announcement that gold medal winners will be given prize money in Paris.

Valerio Cianfoni, head of special projects at World Baseball Softball Confederation, is already working on his sports being part of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. While baseball and softball are not in Paris this summer, the international federation is already working to build momentum toward LA28 and its return to the Games, having been on and off the program over the past two decades. The WBSC is also working to reach new markets that would not be traditionally thought of as baseball and softball markets through its work in Baseball5, a modified version of the game.

Expanding Football Landscape

The football landscape has never been more in flux than it is now. With a new UEFA Champions League format coming, FIFA expanding its tournaments at the club and international level and more games on the schedule than ever before, it’s a fascinating time for the sport. And with football broadening its reach into North America ahead of the 2026 World Cup, a panel of experts discussed what all these changes could mean for the world’s greatest game right as the Euro 2024 and Copa America tournaments were either underway or preparing to kick off.

Mat Ratner, director of sports and entertainment at the Greater Miami CVB, discussed how the preseason El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona at Hard Rock Stadium nearly a decade ago helped transform the Miami area into a soccer hotbed that has only continued to gain momentum with last year’s arrival of Lionel Messi to Inter Miami and Major League Soccer. With Miami being the home for FIFA’s headquarters for planning of the 2026 World Cup and the potential to host a La Liga game as early as the 2025-2026 season, the city has become an international attraction for national teams and clubs around the world.

Gary Gibson, head of soccer academies and international relations at Rangers FC, spoke about the partnerships that his Scottish powerhouse club has with Orange County SC, Hamburg and beyond. Rangers also has an academy in Abu Dhabi and will be holding a North American fan convention next summer in Kissimmee, Florida, expanding the club’s global reach. Rangers also works each season to bring dozens of tour groups from overseas for live matchday experiences to Ibrox.

The football theme stayed throughout the day as within hours of the session, attendees were treated to an opening reception experience at The Emirates, home of Arsenal FC, with those at the reception getting behind-the-scenes tours of the venue including team locker rooms and being taken pitchside.

Other Highlights

• The ExCeL Center has a storied sports history, having served as home to seven Olympic sports in 2012. But since then, it has been home to a range of events, including Formula E, which has run its high-tech cars through the middle of the center during races, and more sporting competitions.

Jamie Harvie, head of event management at ExCeL, detailed the venue’s 2012 transformation into an Olympic venue host. The ExCeL, for the 2012 London Games, was divided into five sports halls with capacities ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 that were used for boxing, fencing, judo, taekwondo, table tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling before going back to an exhibition and conference venue within three months.

James Reese, executive director at ExCeL, has seen the venue host two back-to-back races for Formula E in July 2021 with part of the circuit running around the arena and part of the circuit in the exhibition hall itself. ExCeL also held the inaugural Ultimate Tennis Showdown grand final in December 2023.

Marisa Beckman, operations manager of London International Horse Show, has seen the show be part of the ExCeL for the past three years. The world class equestrian show has around 380 horses within the building for competition and showing.

• Following on the success of this year’s EsportsTravel Summit in Raleigh, North Carolina, esports events are no longer emerging; they are here and part of the permanent landscape of events.

Bobby Hare, director of host city partnerships and hospitality at ESL Faceit Group, compared the in-person esports fandom to the NFL where people may not play the sport but are able to enjoy and appreciate the entertainment and the skill of the players. When it comes to site selection for ESL, he said capacity is part of the consideration along with the ability to generate revenue through sponsorships and host relationships.

Andrew Haworth, vice president of Blast, pointed out how the in-person events, including Dreamhack, allow for a safe space for gamers to enjoy a welcoming environment where they feel comfortable and are able to meet and make new relationships. The esports fandom has grown to where Blast is looking for bigger venues in many cases, including next year in Austin, Texas, at the Moody Center.

Filip Ljubicic, chair of the indoor rowing commission at World Rowing, looks at indoor rowing as being part of the fitness industry rather than the traditional sport industry. Through indoor rowing, it has been able to enter the esports space; it was part of the 2023 IOC Olympic Esports Week in Singapore as the IOC looks to expand its esports ambitions with plans for a future Olympic Esports Games.

Nalain Naidoo, board member of the International Esports Federation, has seen in her career the numbers in participatory sports shifting with increases throughout esports. Naidoo even gave the example of playing snooker through esports has piqued her interest when the sport is then on television when looking for something to watch at home.

• The pandemic was a reset of sorts for all aspects of the sports-event industry and perhaps no more so than in the world of hotel management. A session focusing on the hotel industry took a deep dive into what’s happening at hotels now and what to expect in the immediate future.

Katie Bendeaux, account director for sports and entertainment at Hilton Worldwide UK/Ireland, was able to discuss some of the early response on capacities for the Hilton properties in Europe this summer between Euro 2024 in Germany and the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in Paris as well as how Hilton uses selective sponsorship activations such as its one with McLaren Racing to build its brand.

Ivo Faria, account director at Park Plaza Hotels Europe, went into detail on some of the key attributes that define the market within Europe compared to the United States but also how important the sports market is in booking group travel for his properties, plus the continuing emergence of major esports events having an impact on room occupancies.

Natasha Maraj, global sales director of Minor Hotels, described various services that event organizers can now expect when booking group travel for events both from the team perspective but also the fan perspective and how expectations have shifted in the past few years. Maraj also helped lead audience participation on trends and questions they had about the hotel experience.

Nic Stott, key account director for EMEA at Sonder, noted the disruption within the industry in no small part because of groups like AirBNB having official partnerships now with groups including the International Olympic Committee. Room rates was, as always within the travel industry, also a topic of discussion.