D-Day – 3 for the 2024 edition of the smart cities and sport summit (November 11-13). After a stopover last year in Paris, the event organized at the initiative of the World Union of Olympic Cities returns to Lausanne, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its status as Olympic capital.
For this edition on Swiss soil, the smart cities and sport summit is looking at a rapidly evolving theme in the international sports movement: the links and relationships between cities and international federations.
FrancsJeux asked Mélanie Duparc (photo below), the director of the event, also secretary general of the World Union of Olympic Cities.
FrancsJeux : Why did you choose to address the theme of relations between host cities and international federations this year?
Melanie Duparc : Lausanne is celebrating 30 years of its designation as Olympic capital this year. The perfect time to bring together the cities of the smartcities & sport network and the players in this unique ecosystem of international sport. For two days, we will explore this relationship between cities and international federations, which is built before an event and continues well after. A sporting event is the meeting between a city and a federation around a common project. The path is long, from the application process to legacy management and impact assessment. But nWe are not just going to talk about this ideal “mix & match” between cities and federations. We are also going to live it. The summit will offer participants the opportunity to discover Lausanne “backstage”, notably at the World Archery Excellence Centre, at the FIBA – Maison du Basketball and at the Maison du sport international.
Like the IOC, international federations now favour dialogue with cities rather than a traditional application process for the allocation of major events. What is the main effect of this trend?
A flexible model built in dialogue seems very productive and sometimes more effective than a single specification. Events that adapt to cities, to their potential but also to their needs and constraints. Not to mention that this also helps avoid the "race for promises" and the overbidding with costly dossiers. This allows for the adaptation and definition of objectives for FIs and cities, and for addressing key issues that were often previously addressed after the events, such as legacy, environmental or societal impact. Upstream preparation is strengthened.
Beyond major events, how can cities and international federations work together to promote the practice of sport?
The event itself is, in fact, the tip of the iceberg. It is a common interest of cities and federations to increase sports practice. The event becomes a catalyst. It generates "vocations", motivates potential practitioners. The whole challenge is to be able, and therefore to have anticipated, a response to a sudden increase in demand for practice. Cities and federations must be able to welcome these new motivated athletes: reception areas, availability of infrastructure, supervision, etc. On another note, there is a trend towards the "festivalization" of sporting events, large or small. With a festival, the event lasts longer than the single sporting competition. It is spread across several districts of the city. It reaches a wider audience than the initiated present in the stands. Festivals offer sports initiations, concerts, catering, awareness-raising spaces for causes ranging from health to the environment, including gender equality. They allow for "community building". We saw it in XXL version with Paris 2024. The City of Paris developed a program over nearly six months including dozens of free activities, neighborhood Olympics, exhibitions, 16 fan zones scattered throughout the urban area, six spaces dedicated to raising awareness on topics such as the social and solidarity economy, gender equality and the climate. All with free access.
A session of the summit is dedicated to the impact of sporting events in host cities. Has it evolved in recent years?
What has changed is the need for evaluation and the scale on which the evaluation is carried out. Before, there was more focus on the economic benefits for cities, with a fairly short-term vision. Today, the assessment is prepared in advance. It is necessary to be able to meet the pre-determined and announced objectives: carbon emissions, zero single-use plastic, product sourcing, site accessibility, participation and mobilization, development of sports practices, health, inclusion, use of digital, etc. The impact is therefore part of a long-term perspective well beyond the event.
Pierre Rabadan, Deputy Mayor for Sports for the City of Paris, will be one of the speakers at the summit. What should we remember from the 2024 Games regarding the relationship between the host city and the sports movement?
The organisation of the Games is based above all on intense collaboration and coordination between all stakeholders, at the political, strategic and operational levels. In the case of Paris, the City, the Metropolis, the departments, the region, the co-host cities, the COJO, the CNOSF, the National Sports Agency, the Ministry in charge of Sports and other relevant ministries. The City of Paris has carried the vision of the Games it wanted: popular, accessible, inclusive, throughout the city. It has wonderfully played on its assets – architecture, historical and cultural heritage, proximity of the sites – to create an entire Olympic and Paralympic city. It has displayed from the outset, then supported, an ambitious political agenda. This political ambition certainly generates constraints and challenges. The standards were high. But, in the end, the Paris 2024 Games are a source of inspiration.
