"There is always a desire to maintain at least one foreign market, whatever the continent" (L. Menoni, Sportel Monaco)

What's your first impression of this 2024 edition, which began on 28/10/2024?

We're very satisfied. There are a lot of people and a lot of excitement in the exhibition hall. The stands are packed and there are meetings everywhere. The lounges where people can meet are full. There's a good dynamic.

We'll be welcoming around 2,000 participants from nearly 800 companies. 75 countries will be represented. Sportel's international profile is well known, but these figures confirm it. There really is a community from all over the world, with a large concentration from Europe and America.

Companies are also returning to us in good numbers. This is something we are also very watchful about. We have between 150 and 160 new companies this year. There's a good mix between these new entities and those that are used to being present at Sportel Monaco.

We have a number of company ambassadors present this year, including Gerard Piqué (Kosmos) and Marco Materazzi (Blockchain Sports). It's good for us to have these high-profile people on board. There's always a buzz when these people are present. It's also a way for our clients to showcase what they have to offer. It's something that's going to become more and more common. That's what we're pushing for.

What themes have been defined for this event?

The themes are linked to technological advances in sports broadcasting. The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee. were a real playground for all the new technologies that were being introduced. We also surfed on the Games. We are offering an exclusive conference on 29/10 with some very high-level personalities: Yiannis Exarchos CEO @ Olympic Broadcasting Services
(CEO of OBS), Michael Evans (president of Alibaba Group) and Scott Young (senior vice president of content, production & business operations at Warner Bros. Discovery Europe). These people were key players in the broadcasting of the Games. Beyond the record audiences and hours of broadcasting, there were all these new technologies via the cloud Cloud computing is the use of computing power or storage of remote computer servers via a network rather than a personal computer or local server. , artificial intelligence and fan engagement.

Have the Games led to a different approach to organising Sportel?

The impact of the Games is still there. Quite a few people are present thanks to the Games. But the major professional leagues are also present at Sportel, even though they are completely outside the scope of the Olympic Games. It's a mixture of the traditional big players and new start-ups.

The "Innovation stage" is among the new features for the 2024 edition. What's the idea behind this stage dedicated to innovation?

Since last year, we've had strong demand from companies for speaking time. It's really important for them to have this window in which they can showcase their projects through panels or presentations. We got stuck in because the programme covers two and a half days. We had a lot of requests. These are mainly smaller start-up companies that don't necessarily have the same resources. That's why we set up the 'Innovation stage'. Smaller companies want to speak for shorter periods than traditional keynotes or panels.

We want to make this a long-term project. The conference programme is upgraded with each edition. A lot of hard work is put in by the Sportel teams. The results are that all the companies want to talk. We're even getting requests from companies to speak, even before they ask if they can have an exhibition space. There's a whole relay system via social media and the press. It's a really important way of promoting ourselves.

The "Women's lunch" is also new for 2024. How did you come to highlight the role of women leaders in the world of sport?

For a long time, the sport business was a fairly male-dominated field. Despite this, there have always been women with high profiles. We thought we should highlight these women who are also present in the industry, who are driving forward innovation in sport and broadcasting sporting events. We came up with the idea two years ago.

The event has been a great success, albeit with a limited number of places (150). It's also an event for networking and enabling people to meet each other in a rather special context. We can see this in the people attending Sportel. It's predominantly male. But we're seeing more and more women rising to the top. And that's a good thing.

The Sportel Awards are also a major part of your event...

It's an event that's gone mainstream now that it has its own brand and identity, with the Awards in particular. The people who win awards are players in the market. We benefit from all the champions we invite. They're not there just to be photographed on the red carpet, but to benefit from the spotlight.

The idea is to showcase all sports, all disciplines, including those that receive little or no media coverage. Some of them have this window of opportunity during the Olympics when we see a lot of them, and then they disappear a little afterwards. We want to attract as many disciplines as possible to showcase them. All these athletes are deserving.

Sportel will also be in New York at the end of 2024 and in Miami in 2025...

Sportel Talks New York (USA) is a dedicated half-day conference within an event organised by the Sports Video Group (SVG, an organisation that brings together various players in the sports ecosystem to promote the development of sports broadcasting). We have the possibility of organising our own session in New York, with the aim of developing Sportel abroad for the community that can't necessarily travel.

The idea is for Sportel Monaco to remain the flagship event, but we have these parallel events. We're returning to Miami (Florida, USA) in 2025 in a format more or less equivalent to Monaco, but with slightly fewer participants. The New York event will enable us to raise awareness as early as December (16/12) of the Miami event, which will take place at the beginning of 2025 (01 and 02/04).

Sportel seems to be concentrating its activities on North America...

We have organised several events in Miami. Over the last few years we've concentrated on South America and Asia, notably with the Sportel Rendez-vous Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Bali (Indonesia). There is always a desire to maintain at least one foreign market, whatever the continent.

These events are also organised according to the sporting events that are taking place or are going to take place in these regions. We want to make the Sportel brand present so that we can both satisfy a community that doesn't necessarily have the time or the means to come to Monaco, and also attract new players who might, by taking part in the event in Miami, want to come to Monaco to discover the European spectrum.

Will the 2026 World Cup The XXIII edition of the World Cup will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada (Concacaf zone).
• Decision of the 68^th FIFA Congress, in Moscow (RUS), on 13/06/2018.
• First edition with 48… and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games play a major role in your presence in North America?

Yes, it's entirely possible. Nothing has yet been decided for the next few years. But it's definitely possible for 2025.

What else will Sportel be doing in the future?

The Grimaldi Forum is expanding thanks to the work carried out over the last few years. We're going to have an exhibition space that will give us new areas. We're currently thinking about how to use these spaces for the next edition. It's also good to be able to renew and offer a slightly different face to our participants. The work will be completed in early 2025. Sportel remains a world leader in its field, but it's still a niche sector. It's not an event open to the public where we can attract tens of thousands of participants.

We are working hard on projects abroad. Nothing is set in stone after 2025. We like the Sportel brand. It's well-known and successful. We've been approached a lot in recent years by countries that want to position themselves for events that could take place in their country. We then have to make choices based on the latest sporting news and the business aspect.

Sportel

Activity: convention for sports marketing & media industry leaders.
2024 Edition at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco from 28-30/10/2024
Headquarters: Monaco
Address: 5 Rue du Gabian - 98000 Monaco
Founded: 1990
Business type: public administration
Workforce: 11 to 50 employees
Specialist area: event management

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Category: Events & Venues

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# 2886, created on 09/02/15 at 06:02 - Updated on 29/10/24 at 10:15