SportAccord president: Bangkok conference a success

The head of SportAccord said that preparations of the upcoming Olympic Games in 2020 and 2024 will be discussed during an ongoing international convention in Bangkok.

In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Patrick Baumann said this year's N°1 Sport Convention from April 15-20 has so far been a success.

“Conditions are good. We have a city – Bangkok – which is very keen on the event and a Thai government strongly supporting the organization. Thailand is a country which adores sport. Besides all the family of world sport is gathered here in terms of international federations," he said.

Nearly 1,500 representatives of sport federations, association and goods companies, governments, regions and cities have gathered at the Thai capital for a series of meetings aiming to shape the global sport agenda for the years to come.

The International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach arrived at the convention on Monday morning.

The six-day event hosted by the Sport Authority of Thailand in the Bangkok Convention Center includes a two-day summit conference, as well as a three-day exhibition represented by industries, sport organizations, governments offices, cities and events services. Special sessions will be devoted to health, socially responsible marketing, sponsorship, media management and technology.

According to Baumann, who also heads Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), Thailand is eager to learn from this year's convention. “The Thai government is holding meetings with various international federations in order to create national federations in different sports,” he said.

The main themes of this year's convention are innovation, technology, good governance, as well as the fight against doping, said Baumann. GAISF established in 2012 has a unit to fight doping, the Doping Free Sports Unit (DFSU).

It provides anti-doping services to many of the association members and was appointed by the International Olympic Committee to manage doping control at the PyeongChong Winter Olympic Games in South Korea earlier this year.

Baumann said the Tokyo Olympic Committee will present reports on the 2020 Olympic Games and that a delegation from the Paris Olympic Committee was also participating to the convention. Paris will host the 2024 summer Olympic Games.

A large exhibition, which opened on Tuesday at the Bangkok Convention Center, saw participants coming from across the world.

“We want the exhibitors to be happy. We know that it is an excellent opportunity for them to present their sport, their city or their region,” said Baumann.