Monaco – The second day of the IAAF Council meeting (9-11 Nov) in Monaco presided over by President Lamine Diack focussed on reports from various IAAF World Athletics Series competitions, and there was also an update of planning for the celebrations of the IAAF Centenary.
A Closing Report concerning the 13th edition of the IAAF World Championships, Daegu, Korea was delivered by Dong-Hoo Moon, Vice-President and Secretary General of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of Daegu 2011. Council thanked Mr. Moon for his team’s hard work and cooperation which delivered a competition which exceeded all expectations especially the wonderful atmosphere in the stadium.
Istanbul 2012
With four months to go until the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Istanbul, Turkey (9 – 11 March 2012), the LOC delivered a Progress Report.
Istanbul 2012 is implementing the largest ever promotional campaign for any sporting event held in Turkey with a budget of over US$5 Million (as part of an overall organisational budget of just under US$20 Million). The promotional money is being used to create a ‘WOW’ effect across the city, promote athletics across the country and region, and to organise a national youth programme to encourage interest across Turkey’s universities including a popular volunteer programme which has been heavily oversubscribed.
The installation of the track in the newly constructed Atakoy Athletics Arena is due to take place in mid-December. The venue, which has a capacity of 7450 seats, in the configuration for the championships will offer just over 5000 spectator seats per session.
The main test event will be the National Indoor Championships (27-29 January 2011) which will follow the timetable of World Indoor Championships.
An IAAF Council meeting will be held in Istanbul immediately following the championships on Monday 12 and 13 March 2012.
Saransk 2012
The 25th edition of the IAAF World Race Walking Cup, Saransk, Russia (12-13 May 2012) will be the second time that Russia has held this competition, the first occasion being in Cheboksary in 2008.
The construction of new buildings in the competition area, a new competition course and renovation of surrounding areas began in May 2011 and are already well underway, with 90% of the new competition course with a grainy asphalt specially being laid for the World Race Walking Cup.
The course is in the central part of the city, and will be on a closed, flat urban
road. The circuit is 2km, and the start/ finish area will be located at the Mordovian University building. The course will be tested in April 2012 with the championship races of the Mordovia Republic.
The overall budget of Saransk 2012 is over US$1.5 Million.
Barcelona 2012
The LOC of the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships, Barcelona, Spain (10 – 15 July 2012) detailed to Council that the promotion of the championships is designed to leave a legacy for the long term development of athletics in Spanish schools.
They also highlighted that the championships, which have an overall budget of over US$7 Million, 5 million of which is being provided by the City Council of Barcelona, is receiving great support of local and regional institutions.
It was confirmed that those involved in Barcelona 2012 will benefit from the short travelling times between the sports venues and the official accommodation. The Olympic Stadium of Montjuic, and the training and warm-up facilities are considered ‘state of the art’ having been renovated for last year’s European Championships.
Moscow 2013
The LOC for the 14th IAAF World Championships, Moscow, Russia (10 – 18 August 2013) briefed Council about the progress of their preparations emphasising the immense organisational skill and knowledge at their disposal. In particular the experienced team which in a space of just two months planned and staged the World Figure Skating Championships this year, an event which had to be moved to Moscow after the Japanese tsunami disaster, is a partner of the LOC of Moscow 2013.
During Moscow 2013 all the main facilities of the Olympic Complex of Luzhniki will be used. The complex comprises 145 hectares and is one of the biggest sports facilities in the world.
The main venue will be the Big Sports Arena (Luzhniki stadium), which hosted the track and field events of the XXII Olympic Games in 1980, while the North Sports Complex will be the warm-up area, South Sports Complex and Sportgorodok will be training venues, Universal Sports Hall (Druzhba) will act as the Main Accreditation Centre, and the Small Sports Arena, will house the Main Press Centre.
The stadiums which will be used all have standard 400m tracks and are being renovated for the Championships with the work beginning in 2012. The first of a series of six warm-up events will take place when next year’s edition of the IAAF World Challenge meeting is staged in the Luzhniki stadium on 11 June 2012.
IAAF Centenary
The planning of the celebrations for the IAAF Centenary has been underway since February 2010 when an IAAF Centenary Working Group was established by President Diack, chaired by IAAF Council Members Helmut Digel and Jose Maria Odriozola.
To celebrate this unique year, a special IAAF Centenary Logo has been designed which will be used throughout 2012.
The actual IAAF Centenary, 17 July 2012, falls just two days after the end of the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain (10-15 July 2012), and a temporary IAAF Centenary Historic Exhibition composed of audio-visual displays and physical exhibits, will be open to the public for two months – 20 June to 20 July 2012 and 30 October to 30 November 2012 – in the city’s Olympic and Sports Museum, Museu Olímpic i de l’Esport Joan Antoni Samaranch,
On 24 November 2012, Barcelona will also host a special edition of the annual International Athletics Foundation Gala, which usually takes place in Monaco. The IAAF Centenary Gala Show and Welcome Dinner will be the focus of a long weekend of activities (Thu 22 to Sat 24) in the Catalan capital, including an IAAF Council Meeting, Kids’ Athletics and other participation events and the presentation of the 2012 Athletes of the Year Awards.
An IAAF Centenary Book, which is being written and edited by historian and statistician Mel Watman in conjunction with other renowned experts including Roberto Quercetani, David Miller and Alain Billouin, was commissioned in the autumn of 2010. This impressive publication chronicles the political and administrative history of the IAAF as well as the themes and highlights of international competition since 1912, and will be published at the time of the Gala.
A permanent virtual IAAF Hall of Fame is also being created which will honour the legends of our sport, with the first members being inducted during the Gala.
ERRATUM – Press Release issued 9 November 2011
“Summary: IAAF Council Meeting, Monaco – Day One, 9 Nov 2011”
