CONTEXT
Eurovision had a major presence at two of the sports industry’s top trade shows in the US – Sportel America, held this year in Miami, and Sportaccord 2009 in Denver, Colorado.

Sportel America attracts the leading players in sports production, sports rights, TV broadcasters, leagues and federations, and service providers, as well as marketing agencies, satellite operators, new media, event organizers and providers of new technologies.

Sportaccord is a five-day gathering of some 1,500 leading representatives from the international sports world, including 100 international federations and bidding and host cities for the Olympic Games.

For Eurovision, participation in and attendance at these important shows underscores our commitment to the industry and our role as a leading provider of distribution services worldwide.

EUROVISION TEAMS
An international team from Eurovision attended the Sportel America event. The team comprised Alan Jones (London), Jean-Claude Gisiger (Geneva), Jim Scott (New Jersey) and José Moraes (Sao Paulo). At Sportaccord, the Eurovision team was Nicole Anhalt from Geneva and Phil McInnes from Los Angeles.

STATISTICS
Sportel America
> 500+ participants
> Nearly 300 companies represented
> Delegates from 49 countries worldwide
Sportaccord 2009
> 1,500 delegates from 60 countries
> A select group of approximately 80 exhibitors

RESULTS
Sportel America 2009 proved to be an excellent opportunity for the Eurovision team to meet with important clients and contacts. Eurovision will also have a strong presence at the upcoming Sportel Monaco (October 2009). Together, the two Sportel shows are two ‘have-to’ events in the Eurovision calendar.

Sportaccord is also a key conference each year for Eurovision. It is the commercial platform with a ‘one-stop-shop’ access to the world's governing bodies and their key decision-makers. The relationship with the world’s sports federations is one of Eurovision’s major interests. The conference offers Eurovision a powerful opportunity to meet the sports community on a global scale and in an exclusive networking environment, to build relationships, to share knowledge and to develop ideas.

“Sportaccord was a very important event for us once again this year. The opportunity to meet the world's sports federations in one place is unique. A great meeting place. I look forward to it every year!”
— Nicole Anhalt, Business Manager, Eurovision

“We weren’t sure what to expect this year at Sportel America, given the current economic climate. Attending was a very good decision on our part; the event gave us an excellent opportunity to meet with clients and and reaffirm our commitment to the sports industry. Now we’re looking ahead to Monaco in the autumn.” — Jean-Claude Gisiger, Head of Eurovision Sports Services