2005 Valencia Summit: The Manifesto
THE VALENCIA MANIFESTO
ON NEW TRENDS IN MANAGEMENT OF MAJOR SPORT EVENTS
From October 18 through 21, 2005, in
At this year's Valencia Summit debate has been focused on discovering new trends in management of major sport events to ensure that they fulfill their potential as sources of growth.
Based upon a number of talks and discussions, we, the participants, have agreed the following:
CONCLUSIONS
1. Host cities should create programs to maximize the impact of major sport
events. A proactive attitude is required in order to obtain the full benefit in terms of city development. Their plans and actions should take into account the peculiarities of their society, cultural material and idiosyncrasy.
2. Major sport events are unique opportunities to carry out strategic city projects. The holding of a sport event can act as catalyst to develop a city's capacities and improve its infrastructures. This impulse can help to foster its international projection and promote a citizenship culture.
3. The management of the expectations of urban organizations and business associations is crucial to the success of a sport event. Being able to meet the expectations about the future impact of a major sport event is crucial in order to produce a social evaluation.
4. The organizers of major sport events must work to make these events profitable both for the cities that host them and for the sponsoring companies. These general objectives must guide the decisions and actions of the organisms that manage the events.
5. Corporations will achieve higher results if their sponsorship actions are aligned with their competitive strategies and the needs of society. Moreover, companies need the right programs to develop and communicate their sponsoring activities.
6. The civil society from host cities wants to actively participate in major sport
events. Their participation is an important factor to ensure that the event is viewed as an opportunity for the city.
7. Major sport events can act as promoters of sporting, social and environmental values. Thanks to the passion it generates, the world of sport is capable of acting as a tool to spread these positive values.
8. The academic and management world must work together to design a working agenda that is capable of meeting the challenges posed by the complexity of major sport events managing. The current developments on the subject are not sufficient and the situation requires more effort in research and investigation.
9. In future years, collaboration between cities to share and spread their knowledge will be paramount. Building a network of cities and professionals that share their best practices can accelerate in a great manner the innovation in the field of major sport events management.
10. The potential capacity of major events to project the image of a city internationally needs to be specifically studied. The main sporting events can contribute in a decisive way to the international branding of a city and this field of study needs more attention and effort.
