Seven Nations Express Interest in World Equestrian Games
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LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Nov. 16–A record seven nations have submittd formal Expressions of Interest to host the World Equestrian Games in 2018.
Australia, Canada, Hungary, Morocco, Russia, Sweden and the U.S. sent Signed Expression of Interest documents to the International Equestrian Federation by the deadline of midnight Central European Time, Tuesday, Nov. 15.
The winner for 2018 will be announced by the FEI Bureau in the spring (April-May) of 2013.
The 2014 WEG of the seven FEI disciplines of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, jumping, reining and vaulting plus para-equestrian dressage will be held in Normandy, France.
“Having a record seven Expressions of Interest in hosting the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2018 is the best possible endorsement of the FEI’s flagship event,” FEI Secretary General Ingmar de Vos said. “It also shows the value of the review that the FEI has commissioned of the bidding process for the FEI World Equestrian Games and FEI European Championships, which is aimed at raising the profile of these events and their associated revenues by creating a competitive, well structured and transparent bid process.”
An economic impact study of the direct and indirect economic impact generated by Kentucky’s hosting of WEG in 2010, the first time the event held once every four years was staged outside Europe, claimed a total economic impact of between $373-$396 million (€276-€293 million). The Deloitte study commissioned by the FEI put the direct economic impact at $233 million (€173 million).
The FEI put total attendance at 507,000, though WEG officials gave the number of tickets sold and given away as 419,853.
The Games in Kentucky generated 16 days of live high definition broadcast coverage, with 66 television channels from around the world airing 1,556 broadcasts. Approximately 474 broadcast hours were transmitted, an additional 153 hours, or a 32 per cent increase over WEG in Aachen, Germany, in 2006..
The inaugural WEG was in Stockholm in 1990 followd by The Hague in 1994, Rome 1998, Jerez, Spain, 2002, Aachen 2006. and Kentucky in 2010.
The U.S. proposed venue is the Palml Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida, while Sweden’s bid is for Gothenburg.
