Five cities have submitted their application files for the Winter Olympic Games by the deadline of Friday 14 March. The IOC Executive Board has until 9 July to select the successful candidate cities.

While safety concerns have exerted a major influence on recent hosting decisions, individuality will the critical factor for future host cities, IOC Executive Board member Prof. Dr. Ugur Erdener told HOST CITY.

The pool of applicants – Krakow, Oslo and Almaty, Lviv and Beijing – presents a strong emphasis on growth markets, with only one Western European city and none from America. This is particularly notable given that the 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be preceded by two editions in new territories.

“There was a very successful organisation in Sochi and everybody was very happy being there,” Erdener told HOST CITY. “It was one of the very best Olympic Games organised. The next Winter Games will be held in PyeongChang, and now we have potential candidates from Europe and Asia again.

“We will have to see their applicant files, their projects and some of their explanations and then we can have some ideas. At the moment we don’t have any idea of the projects details, budget et cetera.”

Under the new leadership of Dr Thomas Bach and his revitalised top table, the IOC is keen to uphold the value of its flagship events. “The Olympic Games is the top priority for the IOC and the Olympic Movement,” Erdener said.

However, this does not necessarily give an established, known host like Oslo an advantage. The IOC will always be interested in something new to promote.

“It should be a unique activity; it is very important that all Winter, Summer and Youth Olympic Games should be unique – this is very important for the IOC,” said Erdener. 

“We have to be more attractive, especially for TV – because TV is the most important factor for all kinds of sports facilities, especially for the Olympic Games.”

As President of the Turkish Olympic Committee, Erdener led Istanbul’s bid for the 2020 Olympic Games. “I congratulated my friends in the Tokyo team; it was a very fair competition and there was only one place for the winner for 2020.

“After having seen some delays in Rio 2016 project, probably some of our colleagues thought that a safe city would be better. As we all know, still there are some discussions about Rio project.”

IOC members will vote for the host city of the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games during the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur on 31 July 2015.

Prof. Dr. Erdener is also president of the World Archery Federation and president of the Organising Committee for SportAccord Convention, which takes place in Belek, Turkey from 6-10 April.

For the full exclusive interview with Prof. Dr. Erdener, register for HOST CITY and make sure you get the next issue.

At the opening of SportAccord Convention on Monday, professional services firm PwC have revealed research that shows that the event will bring a major increase in the economy of the host city, Belek / Antalya.

PwC, a Gold Partner of the event, estimates that the local economy will benefit to the tune of US$3.85 million from hosting the sports industry gathering, which will also help Antalya and Turkey to achieve longer-term development goals. 

The organisers anticipate that the 12th annual edition of the Convention will bring more than 1,500 delegates, most of whom will stay in the city for the entire week.

Non-resident participants in the event are expected to spend around US$2.25m, much of which will benefit local companies. The biggest proportion of this direct spending – 83.6 per cent – will go to hotels and restaurants. 

The transport, retail, social and cultural services industries are also expected to benefit from the direct impacts of SportAccord Convention. Indirect economic impacts throughout the value chain are estimated at US$1.59 million.

“SportAccord Convention has become an important vehicle for popularizing sport and healthy lifestyles worldwide,” said Bob Gruman, Managing Partner of PwC’s Global Sports Mega-Events Centre of Excellence. 

“Hosting 1500 delegates from global sports associations and media for a full week also provides an excellent opportunity to promote Antalya’s beautiful landscape and rich cultural heritage, while encouraging delegates and guests to visit the city again for personal or business reasons.”

According to PwC, SportAccord Convention will support the Turkish government’s 2023 Strategic Plan and the region of Antalya’s development plan by encouraging business activity in areas related to the event through the development of social and intercultural networks. Demonstrating the region’s ability to host such events will attract further major events to Antalya. 

Hosting a significant number of delegates from all over the world and publicizing the event through global media will promote Antalya as an important global destination for sporting and cultural activities.  Promoting sports and the hosting of sports events will also inspiring healthy lifestyles, the PwC reports states. 

SportAccord Convention’s managing director Nis Hatt said “We are extremely pleased to know that our event will deliver real economic benefit to Belek and Antalya. To be validated by PwC’s authoritative research means a great deal to our organisation and to our stakeholders.”

Holding training camps in Turkey is no rareness for years. Especially the region around Antalya is almost second home for professional soccer leagues in winter. Now Belek, only 30 kilometres away from Antalya and known as the mecca for golf enthusiasts, is becoming one of the most favoured destinations for top-ranking athletes from all branches. Thanks to Özaltin Holding, having founded the Gloria Sports Arena from the ground beginning of 2015, and now can boast about great occupancy rates in the second year of operation. 

Each day elite athletes – especially from Germany, Austria and Scandinavia – use the multipurpose sports facility for tests, training and regeneration. Athletes, swimmers and divers, martial artists, basketball and volleyball players as well as hockey players train in the proven outdoor and indoor facilities and in the aquatic centre, to optimize their best times for diverse competitions such as the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam or Olympics in Rio. The majority of the national coaches agree that the Gloria Sports Arena is one of the best sports complexes of Europe due to its comprehensive services, conditions regardless of weather and the reachability from many parts of the world. In particular the first internationally standardized hockey course of Turkey with Olympic coating is a blessing to hockey players for their outdoor-training even in winter.

Since the opening in January 2015 professional and amateur athletes from more than 54 countries and over 100 sports teams could convince themselves of the excellent training possibilities. 

More than 50 sports 
There are no limits regarding sports disciplines at the Gloria Sports Arena: More than 50 sports can be exercised on a total area of 105.000 sq. indoor, outdoor and in the aquatic centre. Next to the track and field stadium with a football field, comprising 1.600 spectators, all track and field disciplines, boxing, fencing, judo, wrestling, handball, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, gymnastics, badminton, dance sports, weight lifting and more can be trained here. Outside of the stadium one Olympic pool, one short lane multi-purpose and diving pool, diverse running tracks, tennis courts, climbing walls and further areas for aerobic, Pilates and Boccia are at service. In the indoor halls the galleries can be extended for up to 1.200 spectators. The equipment is also second to none: The parquet floor for the basketball hall for example was imported from the USA and is the same, on which the NBA-stars sink as many baskets as possible. 

The aquatic centre of the Gloria Sports Arena on 5.800 sq. offers next to Olympic pools also areas for diverse exercises before or after the swimming practice.  Among the equipment are an Olympic outdoor pool with 10 lanes, an 50 m indoor pool with 5 lanes, an outdoor pool for short distances with 6 lanes (25m), an Olympic diving pool, an Olympic water polo pool and a rehabilitation pool. The aquatic centre is equipped with a mobile Contemplas high performance video analysis system for all pools. 

Whether professional or amateur – in the Gloria Sports Medicine & Performance Centre professional sports scientists look after the concerns of all guests. The areas of performance physiology, movement control, biomechanics and all sorts of sports performance analysis are covered here. Gloria Sports Arena is a certified physiotherapy partner of Eden Rehab in Germany (www.eden-reha.de). All requirements for modern physiotherapy and sports rehabilitation are fulfilled. The experienced team consists of sports scientists, physiotherapists, sports coaches and sports massage therapists, who were educated in leading institutions in Turkey, Europe and the USA. Those who wish to overnight in the Gloria Sports Arena can enjoy the sports hotel with 100 rooms, all looking over the track and field stadium. The hotel´s own restaurant offers an extensive buffet in the morning, noon and evening with focus on healthy nutrition. 

First LEED Gold Certificate in Turkey  
Özaltin Holding is known for its passion for the environment. As one of the leading construction companies of Turkey they have committed themselves to realize environmentally compatible projects. Among them is the 5-star Gloria Verde Resort, attracting the eye with its construction around the nature, and now also the Gloria Sports Arena, being awarded as one of the most energy- and resource-saving construction of Turkey with the LEED Certificate (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The Gloria Sports Arena is the first construction of Turkey with this worldwide recognition.  This is an important milestone for Gloria, duly framing the own campaign "Habitat of Gloria – For our future". 

Sports Events 2016
From top-class dancing tournaments via swim camps with professional coach Dirk Lange, former head trainer of the German and South African national league, up to the most challenging endurance sports event of the world, the Ironman, and the new three-week summer camps for kids from 6 to 16 – numerous occasions ensure that the Gloria Sports Arena remains a sporty melting pot of diverse cultures. 

Range of Events:  
14th - 16th October: Gloria Senior Open Dance Competitions
23rd October: Gloria Ironman 70.3 Turkey

Source: Gloria Hotels & Resorts

In just less than two months the second Ironman 70.3 starts in Turkey under the patronage of the brand Gloria: On 23rd October 2016 more than 2.500 athletes from over 60 nations are expected to Belek. The second edition of the Gloria Ironman 70.3 Turkey will be held in the memory of Nuri Özaltın, Özaltın Holding Chairman and Owner of the Gloria Hotels & Resorts, which sadly passed away a few weeks ago. Start and final is once again in the beautiful premises of the Gloria Hotels & Resorts: While swimming starts at the beach of Gloria Serenity Resort the finish line awaits the athletes at the Gloria Sports Arena, the largest sports facility of the country.

This race gives 20 qualifying slots for the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. In 2015 the premiere of the Gloria Ironman 70.3.Turkey attracted 1.224 triathletes from over 60 countries, among them 25 percent of women. Thus, Gloria Hotels & Resorts could write a piece of history. More than 1.000 volunteers supported the event on 25th October in all areas. Together with the Gloria-Team more than 5.000 spectators shared the excitement onsite, while whole Turkey could follow the event on CNNTürk live.  

"This year we dedicate the second edition of Gloria Ironman 70.3 Turkey to our Nuri Özaltin, who sadly passed away a few weeks ago. His contribution to tourism and sports in the country is significant", says Mutlu Sagsözlü, Head of Sales & Marketing of the Gloria hotel group. "It is clear enough that sports is the best way to connect cultures and we will continue to work on this branch."

Again this year Gloria is promoting these four disciplines: "Swim, Bike, Run, and Holiday". Gloria Hotels & Resorts target athletes, who not only want to train on-site for the triathlon, but also want to enjoy a relaxing holiday with the family after the challenging event. With its Five-Star resorts Gloria provides a wide choice of accommodation: The bed capacity of all four hotels alone (Gloria Sports Arena Hotel, Gloria Golf Resort, Gloria Serenity Resort, and Gloria Verde Resort) amounts to 3.000. Moreover, there are numerous hotels around the premises of Gloria, which have profited from the event last year clear enough.  

The courses of Gloria Ironman 70.3 Turkey
The Ironman-Triathlon in Antalya and Belek will once again be challenging: The swim will start at the beautiful sandy beach of the Gloria Serenity Resort with a 1,9k one loop course in the calm and crystal clear water of the Turkish Riviera. From there the bike will be on a 90k one loop course, parallel to the Mediterranean, taking past the Expo 2016-area – this course has been optimized for this year´s event – and ends at the Gloria Serenity Resort. A 21,1k loop run course leads the athletes on two rounds through the picturesque landscape of the 45-hole Gloria golf course and through the streets of Belek centre back to the finishing line at the Gloria Sports Arena. 

Packages in the Gloria Sports Arena
The Gloria Sports Arena offers the ideal platform for athletes, who want to prepare for the triathlon. Diverse packages are available for young and old, among them complete packages for top athletes or for targeted individual training. Balance tests, gait analysis, Speedcourt training, ICELAB-units and more can be booked.  

Gloria Sports Arena – the largest sports facility in Turkey
It is 105.000 sq. large – the merely two years old Gloria Sports Arena, Europe´s most comprehensive privately financed sports arena, being the largest facility of Turkey for more than 50 sports disciplines. Next to a track and field stadium for 1.600 spectators, it houses an Olympic Aquatic Centre, a sports science and performance center and further indoor and outdoor areas for trainings of all kinds. There is also a sports hotel with 100 rooms, motivating to high performances with their direct view onto the stadium. The Gloria Sports Arena also convinces with its accessibility. The international airport Antalya is only 30 kilometres away and ideally connected from all important airports of the world. With the Gloria Sports Arena the owners Özaltin Holding have started a project, that is said to be a new landmark for the country´s sport tourism. 

Information and registration: www.ironman.com/turkey70.3
hotel bookings via www.gloria.com.tr.