World’s Best Major Event Management Heavyweights Gather in Melbourne

By Imago Group
Tuesday 24 April, 2007

Against the backdrop of Melbourne’s pride-stirring Bledisloe Cup clash in June, a group of management heavyweights, with expertise in running the world’s most prestigious events, will pass on their knowledge to the next generation of CEOs and event masterminds.

Australian talent is in high demand for major event management, as witnessed most recently at the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, in December 2006. Some 600 Australians are estimated to have contributed to what was described as the most successful Asian Games ever. The Asian Games is the second largest international multi-sporting event, surpassed only by the Summer Olympics.

SYDNEY - Fittingly from 27 June to 2 July, Melbourne, the world’s number one sports event city, will host Sport Knowledge Australia’s (SKA) intensive six-day educational programme which will see top level industry identities deliver instruction on the process of staging world-class sporting events.

Leighton Wood, CEO of SKA, and former Chief Executive of the Melbourne Major Events Company and Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, stated that the ability of an event to garner strong government support would be high up on the agenda. He said, “Most aptly, we have Peter Abraam, CEO of the Victorian Major Events Company (VMEC), a dynamic force in achieving the city’s top international ranking [proclaimed by London’s ArkSports survey] – as one of our key presenters at the Sport Knowledge Australia course.

“The role of organisations such as VMEC, and its rise to a globally dominant position, will be studied. So too, will the value of event-driven tourism, and its ability to contribute to the Gross State Product.”

Wood added that the course was wide ranging, encompassing all aspects of major events. “We have gathered the very best in world-wide knowledge and expertise from those who have conceptualised, identified, bid upon, implemented marketed, financed, enhanced, risk managed and evaluated major sporting events”.

The six day programme includes a case study of the Bledisloe Cup culminating in a real life look at the event in action at the MCG on 30 June. Australian Rugby’s Brian Thorburn, who presided over commercial operations for the Rugby World Cup of 2003 will host and present the Bledisloe segment. He will also reveal how the 2003 Rugby World Cup – internationally the most successful to date - attracted 95,000 visitors to Australia, generated $A200 million in gate-takings and reaped $A289 million for the GDP.

Collectively, the presenters’ bring knowledge acquired through key roles in events and bidding processes including Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Olympic Games, Doha 2006 Asian Games, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games, Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010, the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the 2007 FINA World Championships.

Presenters:
Peter Abraam, CEO, Victorian Major Events Corporation
Brian Thorburn, General Manager, Commercial Operations, Australian Rugby
Jim Sloman, CEO of MI Associates, former Chief Operating Officer for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and consultant to successful bidding and organisations committees including Doha Asian Games 2006, Beijing 2008 and the London 2012 Olympics
Lois Appleby, Chief Executive of Tourism Victoria 2001-06, current Board Director for the Rugby World Cup 2011, Basketball Australia and the National Basketball League
Mike Bushell, Managing Director of Sports Marketing & Management
Bob Elphinston, President, Federation of International Basketball, consultant to Beijing Olympic Games
Maria Appla, Senior Associate, Lander & Rogers, Chair Risk Management Committee 2007 FINA World Championship
John Harnden, Chief Executive, International Theme Parks, Village Roadshow
Professor Leo Jago, Deputy CEO and Director of Research, National Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre

For full biographical details on the SKA presenters and course outline, please see here

ABOUT SKA: Launched in June 2005 with a Federal Government grant, SKA is jointly owned by the University of Sydney, University of Technology, Sydney and the Sydney Olympic Park Authority. SKA assists the continued global growth of the sports industry, helping more communities around the world to benefit from Australia’s strong sporting culture. Since its launch, SKA has delivered sport management programmes at the prestigious Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, run facility management courses in China and various seminars and courses in Australia on topics as diverse as player valuation strategies, genetic doping in sport, player welfare, executive sport management, elite sport coaching, major event management and facility management.

ATTENTION EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: Leighton Wood is available for interview by contacting –Imago Group – Liz Herbert, Mobile: 0407 234 221 Tel:+61 2 9331 7222