Singapore named world’s best sport city

Contributed by Dominic Tay

London, Thursday, November 4, 2010 — Singapore has added another jewel to its crown of international sports accolades by being named the Gold winner for the Sport City Award at the International Sports Event Management (ISEM) Awards 2010 Gala Dinner held at 3am this morning (3 November 2010, 8pm, UK time) at the Twickenham Stadium in London.

Other contenders for this prestigious international award this year included Liverpool and London. Previous year’s winners included top sports cities such as Manchester and Melbourne.

The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) is proud that Singapore has been named the Gold winner for this Award and considers it yet another defining achievement in the history of Singapore sports for two reasons. Singapore was the only Asian city in the shortlist for the Award and it won the Gold against other strong European contenders like Manchester and Dusseldorf.

Said Oon Jin Teik, CEO of SSC: “We are delighted to be named the Gold winner for the Sport City Award at the International Sports Event Management Conference. 2010 has been a golden year for Singapore as the global sporting community has recognised our capabilities in hosting a diverse and exciting range of sporting events.

“As host of the inaugural Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, we delivered an event for the young sporting elite of the world, complemented with a lively culture and educational programme. As drivers of the Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, the only night race in the F1 circuit, we continue to show our flair for innovation. As organisers of the upcoming Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010, we build on our city’s carefully nurtured love of marathon running. With every event, a sense of legacy has underscored every decision we have made. We thank the organisers of ISEM 2010 – Informa Sports Group and Rushmans – for this very fine tribute to Singapore as a sports city.”

The latest accolade comes hot on the heels after being named the number two Ultimate Sports City at the biennial Sport Accord Convention in Dubai this year. Singapore has also picked up various other awards. The Singapore Grand Prix alone bagged no less than three awards in 2008 – Promoter of the Year Award by the Federation Internationale De L’Automobile (FIA), Pioneering and Innovation Award at the Autosport Awards in London, and World-wide Motor Sport Facility of the Year Award at the Professional Motorsport World Expo Awards in Cologne.

Over the past three years, Singapore has been the venue of several high profile international sports events. Still fresh in Singaporeans’ minds are the inaugural Youth Olympic Games which placed Singapore squarely in the centre of the international sports map.

Other recent events included the Singapore Grand Prix which was held for the third consecutive year, the FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup, the Barclays Singapore Open 2010 and NBA Basketball Without Borders Asia which was held in Singapore and Southeast Asia for the first time. Singapore also hosted the inaugural Asian Youth Games, which was co-organised by the SSC and the Ministry of Education, in 2009.

The Singapore Sports calendar will continue with more exciting world class sports action such as the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore on 5 December 2010, the World Netball Championships 2011 from 3 to 10 July 2011 and the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe World Marathon Championships from 22 to 23 October 2011.

Speaking from London where he received the Award on Singapore’s behalf, David Voth, Senior Director, Sports Business, Singapore Sports Council said: “Our strategy is simple – to position Singapore as a premier venue for international sports events. This will attract organisers of world class sports events to site their events here and spells many opportunities for us in terms of sponsorship, broadcast, networking and business development.

“Winning this award is a firm validation of our strategy and efforts in leveraging on the resulting business opportunities. Not only that, it will further increase our attractiveness as a premier sports venue and open many more doors of opportunities for us. Good business can only breed more good business. We are confident that this Award has unlocked more potential for the future of sports business in Singapore.”

Sport City Award
Gold Winner: Singapore Sports Council – Singapore
Silver Winner: Events for London, Visit London for London
Bronze Winner: Sportstadt Dusseldorf for Dussledorf

Judging Criteria of the Sport City Award
The judging criteria of the Sports City Award include “the level of support and commitment made by a municipality in terms of funding and resource, legislation and planning as well as marketing and promotion.”

About the International Sports Event Management (ISEM) Awards
The ISEM Awards are the only awards to recognise excellence in the global sports event management industry. The event sector is the life-blood of the business of sport and those who set the standard, innovate and excel, deserve to be recognised and rewarded at the industry’s flagship Awards, the International Sports Event Management Awards.

An ISEM Award brings with it the status of global recognition as a current market leader, placing the winning company or individual firmly in the international sports event industry through extensive media coverage and professional recognition from industry peers and colleagues.

For more details about the International Sports Event Management (ISEM) Awards, please go to http://www.iirme.com/isem/home