Sport Industry Group

Sam: South Africa will bid for the Olympic Games- 9 Jun 2010 00:00:00

Gideon Sam, President of the South Africa Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), who has today been unveiled as the latest high-profile member of the Judging Panel for the inaugural Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards 2011, has confirmed that South Africa is looking to bid for the Olympic Games in either 2020 or 2024.

Speaking exclusively to the Awards’ breaking news and views website, Sportindustry.co.za, Sam stated that he had already discussed the idea of bidding with the International Olympic Committee and would confirm his intention following the World Cup.

“We told the International Olympic Committee following a meeting in Vancouver earlier this year that we would like to host the Olympics but that we wanted to wait until we had the full report after this summer’s World Cup which will give us much more concrete evidence as to our abilities to host such a major sporting event. All being well, and with the full backing of FIFA, we would like to look at hosting either the 2020 or 2024 Olympics.

“Our Minister of Sport has been very encouraging of such a prospect. He even turned round to me and said “what are we waiting for?” and he’s absolutely right. We are even looking at bidding for a Commonwealth Games even sooner. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be in the frame for these kinds of spectacles.”

Sam will add his considerable expertise to the Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards Judging Panel – a role in which he will be responsible for helping to choose the inaugural Awards’ winners.

Presented in front of a star-studded audience of all the key stakeholders in South African sport, the Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards will recognise and reward the best the South African sport business has to offer in categories covering marketing, PR, sponsorship, media, advertising and design.

The City of Ekurhuleni will stage the inaugural Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards which will take place on February 17th, 2011 and will be hosted by Emperors Palace.

The annual Awards ceremony will see the country's top-performing sport brands and organisations receive recognition for their work at a glamorous black-tie event in what has become the most visible and sought-after endorsement of commercial achievement in sport.

Further announcements regarding the make-up of the Judging Panel for the Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards will be made in the coming weeks.

Click here to read the full interview with Gideon Sam and his views on why the administration of South African sport is lagging behind the rest of the world.