Region set to host global sporting elite
Birmingham and the West Midlands’ sporting offer and major events hosting expertise will thrust back into the global spotlight when it welcomes the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit at ICC Birmingham.
The summit will run from 7 to 11 April.
Nearly two years on from hosting the biggest-ever Commonwealth Games, the West Midlands will roll out the red carpet for more than 1,500 international delegates from 120 sporting federations to showcase why it is at the heart of sport in the UK.
From basketball, bobsleigh and bodybuilding to tennis, triathlon and taekwondo, presidents and CEOs from global sporting organisations will visit Birmingham and the West Midlands for SportAccord’s conference programme, which includes specialist streams CityAccord, HealthAccord, LawAccord and MediaAccord.
The summit will also feature panel events, evening networking sessions and a keynote speech during the event’s opening ceremony from International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, ahead of the year’s biggest sporting celebration, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit offers a huge opportunity for the West Midlands’ people, venues and suppliers to come together and put on a great show for international sports leaders, continuing the positive buzz and legacy of the Commonwealth Games.
“Our region has world-class sporting infrastructure, unrivalled connectivity and a passion and knowledge for hosting major events. We will be showing visiting officials and senior delegates why the West Midlands deserves to sit at sport’s top table when they are picking the destination for their next championships, conference or business event, which will provide a welcome boost for our local businesses and communities.”
With less than two months to go until ‘sport’s most influential industry gathering’, final touches are being made to the summit’s event programme focusing on this year’s theme, the ‘power of sport’, and speaker list.
The programme already includes Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman MBE; secretary general of the World Union of Olympic Cities, Melanie Duparc; and CEO of Global Esports Federation, Paul Foster.
The region’s instrumental role in shaping Britain’s sporting tradition – having invented rugby, lawn tennis and the Football League, and hosted the forerunner to the Olympic Games in Much Wenlock – will be covered during a sporting tour, to include Villa Park and Edgbaston Stadium.
The West Midlands has recently hosted some of global sport’s biggest spectacles, including the Rugby World Cup, The Ashes and the FIG World Trampoline Championships. The ESL One – Dota II esports tournament in Solihull (26-28 April); the European Judo Union Junior Cup in Walsall (15-19 June); and the Kabaddi World Cup (24-31 March 2025) are a snapshot of the sporting fixtures taking place in the West Midlands in the next 12 months, thanks to the region’s Major Events Fund.
SportAccord 2024 will also present opportunities for companies, brands, products, services and destinations to showcase their offer as part of a dedicated exhibition, running in parallel with the summit at ICC Birmingham.
Companies and individuals, which provide cutting-edge governance, research, advisory services, sports tech, insurance and fan engagement across the business of sport are encouraged to contact the West Midlands Growth Company to receive more information about getting involved
Interested parties can visit the official website here to register their interest in attending.
