At the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, the presidents of the organising committee and the International Olympic Committee joined in presenting Korea’s first Winter Games as bringer of peace.

Following the procession of athletes that culminated with the combined teams of Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Lee Hee-Beom, president of the PyeongChang Olympic Committee of the Olympic Games (POCOG) said the event “ushers in the Olympics Asia era”, pointing to the upcoming 2020 and 2022 Games in Tokyo and Beijing.

“Now we are facing the historic moments in our lifetime,” he said.

“Sport has a great power to unite people.

“PyeongChang will provide a light of hope for all citizens yearning for peace.”

He described the 2018 Games as “a festival of peace and harmony”, reminding athletes that it is “not the winning but the taking part; not the triumph but the struggle”.

IOC President Thomas Bach addressed the athletes by saying “You will inspire us all to live together in peace and harmony… You can only enjoy your Olympic performance if you respect the rules and stay clean.

“While you compete with each other, you live peacefully together in the Olympic village. In sport we are all equal.

“A great example of this unifying power is the joint march of the two teams of the republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. We all join and support you in your message of peace.”

“United in our diversity we are stronger than all the forces that want to divide us.

“Two years ago in Rio with the first Refugee Olympic Team, the IOC sent a powerful message of hope.

“Now we send a powerful message of peace to the world.”

The speeches were followed by a rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine featuring traditional Korean folk instruments.

With PyeongChang 2018 just around the corner, the following Winter Games might seem a long way away – but four years is a short time in the Olympic movement.

According to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, all venues will finished by the end of 2019, in time for test events in 2020.

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Games will feature 26 venues, all of which are under construction. Some of these are being repurposed after hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. Others, mostly in Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, are being built from scratch.

Speaking at World Winter Sports Expo in Beijing, Irina Gladkikh, Winter Sports Director, IOC said: "There is a great progress across all areas. The IOC president attended the opening of the China National Games where he took the opportunity to visit several Olympic venues of the 2022 winter Games. And the IOC president was very excited about progress in the venue development.

“The sport department of the organising committee is working in close collaboration with the IOC sport department and they are doing a fantastic job.

“We are also delighted to see that the Winter Olympic federations are heavily involved in the Games planning and delivery in the venue development progress, in the test event planning and building a good strong team to deliver the Games. The international federations bring great knowledge and experience and they do share your vision for the great Games, for the great legacy and for the growth of winter sports in China and the global promotion of China as a winter sports destination.”

Risto Nieminen, President, Finnish Olympic Committee and Member of IOC Coordination Commission for Beijing 2022, expressed Beijing’s readiness with an allegory from Canadian Paralympic athlete Chantal Petitclerc, winner of 13 Paralympic gold medals.

“I was listening to her presentation in Montreal in a Congress in 2012 and she was explaining about her career and told her life story, and her progress to be in the Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008 where she won five gold medals in wheelchair racing.

“In the end of her presentation she showed us a video in which she was achieving her greatest victory in the 100m in the Paralympic Games. It was so exciting, because she only won in the last metre. Everyone jumped up from the audience and started applauding.

“And then she said, thank you for applauding but this is not the reason I came here today to tell my life story. And thanks for the empathy – she was paralysed when she was 13 years old – but that’s what I need either.

“She said, I came here to tell you to understand that I didn’t win the gold medal in the 16 seconds you just saw – I won it in the 16 years I spent preparing for it. And if you have respect for me, don’t have respect because of the 16 seconds, but because of the 16 years I spent trying to achieve my goal.

“And I think this is the essence of sport. It’s not about the victory, it’s not about the instant wins – it’s about the pursuit. It’s about giving everything you have and trying your best, and that’s where the respect comes from.

“We all understand that China will achieve the goals. I know we will build every facility that is needed. But at the same time, we need to be cultivating the winter sports culture behind it, understanding that it’s not the instant victories –  it’s the long-term pursuit, trying your best at building the culture that actually makes the result.

“My second remark is about the very extraordinary thing we have to understand about winter sports. Snow and ice include a very playful, joyful element. Every time you see a kid in the snow – and that includes me at my age; when I see snow and ice it makes me want to place – every kid wants to play with the snow and ice.

“That makes winter sports very special, because lots of winter sports are not only about skills but about having fun and playing, and that’s part of the winter sports culture that’s unique. It makes people want to play – it’s very joyful and very playful sport. That makes it a sport for all. That is something that’s very necessary to understand when we are building facilities, that it is sports for all.

“And it includes the fact that winter sport is always open to new forms of sport. We know that China is very strong in new sports and is open for creating new forms of sport, and that’s very necessary for the development of sport in our society.

“My third remark comes to the issue of sustainability. When we are building facilities and speeding up building, we have to keep up the sustainable ideology. Every method that we are using must be sustainable and the process of planning must be very sustainable so that we are not building anything that’s not necessary or that has no real use. I know that here for Beijing 2022 we are not building anything that does not have a plan for using it as a sports facility for the future.

“To conclude, it’s very much about building and cultivating a winter sports culture, involving a joyful element, remembering winter sports is a fun sport for all, and it’s about understanding youth and new sports in a sustainable environment.”

This comments in this article were made at World Winter Sports Expo in Beijing in September 2017 and first appeared in the Winter issue of Host City magazine.

I have the pleasure of welcoming you all to my host city for the third time – and seeing how this event has developed and grown over the years.

The overall theme for this year is "High impact events in the current climate" and there are a number of very qualified people to speak about this today and tomorrow – not least my colleagues from the International Olympic Committee in the first two panels.

The recent change by the IOC to award two summer Olympic Games at the same time to Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028 certainly covers the phrase "High Impact Events" – and you will hear from two absolute experts in that decision – Patrick Baumann who chaired the IOC Evaluation Commission and Christophe Dubi, the Olympic Games Executive Director. You will also hear from David Grevemberg, who ran the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

I used to know what I thought was a lot about the IOC bidding process, having served on three Evaluation and two Coordination Commissions – and then bidding twice with Manchester and once with London as we tried to convince the IOC of the joys of our case – and thankfully, one of these efforts worked.

I have been increasingly concerned that the IOC bidding process seems to be directed at how the process can be made shorter, cheaper and more accommodating. Perhaps we should also be prepared to speak out rather more about the huge benefits of hosting the Games that can be delivered by a well organised combination of political, organisational and sporting skills.

I am not going to repeat the huge benefits from London 2012 – and echoed in many ways by the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games – where the development of village, infrastructure and sports facilities provide legacy benefits for generations to come. But I was hugely encouraged by a recent report from the Mayor of London in October to the effect that East London – the home of the 2012 Games – is the fastest growing part of London as the "Olympic effect" continues to attract jobs and investment. This report reveals that an extra 110,000 jobs have been created in East London since the Games, more than three times the number forecast in 2012. This boom is expected to continue with an additional 125,000 jobs across the six Olympic Boroughs by 2030.

This can only be described as high impact and I can only hope that any city or National Olympic Committee thinking of entering the Olympic Bidding race might well look at the London experience, as well as making full use of the revised IOC candidature process to fit the Games into their own long-term planning. Glasgow also has a terrific record of bidding for and organising individual World and European Championships – perhaps most recently World Badminton and World Gymnastics, the best presentation of indoor sport I have ever seen.

You will all have the opportunity to study the context of this debate over the next day and a half with panels and discussions on practically every aspect – the size of the city, safety, technology, entertainment and many others. It should be interesting in the extreme and I am sure that Glasgow will be listening and paying full attention. And Glasgow should, because Host City is set to come back to Glasgow in 2018 – and expect even more interest and attendance than this year which is the best attended yet.

Welcome back and enjoy.

This article is edited from Sir Craig Reedie OBE’s opening address to Host City 2017 in Glasgow on 28^th November 2017

The biggest sporting event to be staged in Scotland since the Commonwealth Games, the first ever European Championships, gained momentum with a 200 day to go celebration on Sunday 14 January 2018.

Taking place from 2 to 12 August, Glasgow 2018 will see around 3,000 athletes compete in six sports at 12 venues across Scotland. The new multisport event is set to celebrate the country’s young talent and achievers coinciding with the Year of Young People.

During a significant year for sport, 12 venues across Scotland will host 84 sessions across six different sports - Aquatics, Cycling, Golf, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon.

Six ambitious young athletes, representing each of the sports, are looking forward to the spectacular and hope that the profile of Glasgow 2018 will help inspire more young people to get involved in sports.

The rising stars whose sporting ambitions are set to reach new heights in 2018 include 18-year-old Glaswegian BMX racer Mia Paton (pictured) who will benefit from the new Olympic-standard BMX track being built at Knightswood Park, which will host Europe’s best racers during the Championships.

Fraser Lynes, a 14-year-old gymnast from East Ayrshire who studies and trains at Glasgow School of Sport already has a collection of medals to his name, having represented Scotland in the sport several times, and says the Glasgow 2018 action at the SSE Hydro will help encourage more people into gymnastics and demonstrate the benefits of sport.

Troon golfing talent Hazel MacGarvie, 19-year-old University of Edinburgh rower Josh Armstrong, 13-year-old diver Danny Mabbott and 18-year old triathlete Iona Miller from Inverclyde are also full of anticipation for Glasgow 2018 and the momentum it will build within each of their sports.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop said: “2018 marks a milestone year for Scotland. In just 200 days we will make sporting history on the global stage when we host the first ever European Championships and in Scotland’s Year of Young People, celebrate the outstanding spirit and contribution of our young people. The feats of sporting skill and the cultural brilliance showcased at the Championships will inspire the whole country and allow Scotland and its young people to shine on the world stage.”

Leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Susan Aitken, said: “The Glasgow 2018 European Championships promises to be a fantastic platform to inspire, engage and celebrate young people – from sports fans and athletes to artists, performers and volunteers. In 200 days Glasgow and Scotland will come alive with an unforgettable display of sport and culture that is a must-attend, must-watch event for 2018.”

The first ever European Championships will bring together some of the continent’s leading sports including the existing European Championships for Aquatics, Cycling, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon with a new Golf Team Championships and Athletics hosted in Berlin.

To be staged every four years, the European Championships will be an 11-day celebration of world-class sport and produce a packed 10-day broadcast schedule, with audiences of up to 1.03 billion.

I’d like to welcome you all to Glasgow and Scotland for Host City 2017.

This is the third consecutive year that Host City has been held in Glasgow and I am delighted to see how it has grown.

EventScotland has a strong heritage with this conference and, with so much happening in Scotland over the coming years; it is fitting to have so many of the world’s foremost event practitioners meeting in this great city ready to discuss high-impact events

International context

Having spent the last few weeks at home recovering from a new hip I have had lots of time to think, reflect and cogitate about the world sporting events landscape.

Unfortunately, several key words and phrases have stood out on more than one occasion:

• Governance – lack of leadership
• Transparency
• Athlete welfare
• The lack of desire to move with the times
• Doping
• Corruption
• Geo political instability
• A fragile world economy
• Terrorism
• Global warming
• Brexit
• Lack of bids for Olympics
• Bidding confusion over Rugby World Cup 2023

to name but a few.

I find all of this very sad and, whilst it may well be a reflection of where we are, the lack of positive dialogue in terms of what high impact events can achieve is woeful.

Challenges

Whilst we have many challenges I genuinely believe that we need to celebrate success much more and ensure that we articulate and communicate to the public, politicians, media and more importantly athletes and fans how important this sector is for the world’s economy.

Take this city, Glasgow. On the back of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the Hydro entertainment venue is ranked second or third in the world and the local vicinity is a contemporary and vibrant place to work, live and play, supporting 2,500 new jobs with some of the finest restaurants and cafes in Scotland.

I hope that the next two days gives us all the opportunity to both share our wisdom, and also reinvigorate and celebrate all that is great about our global events industry – one that, if we are not careful, is in my view at risk.

We need to articulate the special DNA of High Impact Events:

• Create moments no one can ever take away
• Inspires others to achieve, perform and learn
• Create impact across global governments that no other sector can, from a 360-degree perspective such as sport, creativity, health, education, economy, tourism, young people, etc.
• And more importantly than ever contributes to the wellbeing of the community, the city, the country and our global wellbeing; and last but not least, makes people smile and have fun!!

Thank you for coming to Scotland and enjoy the conference. I am delighted to announce that we are working with Host City to further grow the event in Glasgow and Scotland next year and see this city as future the home of a world class conference for global event cities and events.

Thank you and enjoy the two days.

Paul Bush OBE is VisitScotland’s Director of Events, leading the EventScotland Team, Business Events and Industry Development.  EventScotland takes a strategic lead in the Scottish events industry and is responsible for working with partners to attract, bid for and secure major sporting, cultural and business events.

Over the past decade this has brought some of the world’s biggest event properties to the country, including The Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games in 2014, World Gymnastics Championships 2015, World Orienteering Championships 2015 the MTV Music Awards on two occasions and future events such as European Championships 2018, Solheim Cup 2019 and Euro 2020 Football.

Having been on the Commonwealth Games Scotland Board for four years as an independent non-executive Director, he was appointed Chairman in May 2015.

Paul was Chef De Mission for The 2006 Scottish Commonwealth Games team of 245 athletes and officials who secured a total of 29 medals. He was awarded an OBE in the 2007 Queen’s New Year Honours List for Services to Commonwealth Sport.

Paul Bush OBE is Chairman of Host City 2017, the largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events, which took place in Glasgow on 27-28 November.