Tuesday, December 3Sports. Travel. Events

Stadiums & Venues

LaLiga and Rafa Nadal Academy sign three-year collaboration deal
Sports Business, Stadiums & Venues

LaLiga and Rafa Nadal Academy sign three-year collaboration deal

Spanish football’s LaLiga and the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar have signed a collaboration agreement to share experience and knowledge and mutually reinforce the reputation of both brands nationally and internationally. The alliance, which covers the next three years, will see the football and tennis organisations offer two-way support and launch a series of joint projects and initiatives. Javier Tebas, LaLiga president, said: “Our alliance with the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar represents another step forward in our bid to expand the world of sport. Rafa and his team will help to promote the values that are fundamental to us and to give even greater visibility to the LaLiga brand.” Men’s tennis world No.3 Rafa Nadal added: “Since we opened the Academy in 2016, we’ve grown consis...
LaLiga Exhibition: Spanish football to be showcased on world tour
Sports Business, Stadiums & Venues

LaLiga Exhibition: Spanish football to be showcased on world tour

LaLiga will later this year launch LaLiga Exhibition - an interactive and immersive experience showcasing Spanish football’s top division and its clubs.  The exhibition will travel around the world, beginning in Latin America in the second half of 2021. The launch marks the next step in LaLiga’s commitment to support its clubs in their international expansion and to bring the competition closer to fans. Fans will have access to two experiential areas at LaLiga Exhibition. The first is a free access area, with no time limits, where they can enjoy a range of different games plus a hospitality area. The second is a closed tour, with specific time slots for each group of visitors, where they can experience the clubs’ changing rooms, the tunnel leading to the pitch, the pressroom and int...
F1 Portuguese Grand Prix: motorsport fans get revved up for Algarve race
Events, Holidays & Trips, Hotels & Resorts, Sports Business, Sports Travel, Stadiums & Venues

F1 Portuguese Grand Prix: motorsport fans get revved up for Algarve race

Motorsport fans could witness history at the next Formula 1 grand prix when it descends on the beautiful southern shoreline of the Algarve later this month.  Having equalled Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 91 F1 victories by winning the Eifel GP at the Nürburgring, Lewis Hamilton could go one better with a win in Portugal and write a new chapter in the sport.  For that reason motorsport fans will be even more eager to say “I was there” if indeed Hamilton takes the checkered flag on 25 October.   This year the 2020 Portuguese GP takes place over 66 laps of the 4.684-kilometre Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão.  João Fernandes, president of Algarve Tourism, said: “Formula 1 has been absent from Portugal for 24 years and it is a prestigious int...
Sport + Travel Interview: Marco Koch – Olympic elite swimmer
Holidays & Trips, Hotels & Resorts, Sports Business, Sports Travel, Stadiums & Venues

Sport + Travel Interview: Marco Koch – Olympic elite swimmer

It is not often you have the chance to pose questions to a European and World Champion swimmer, who is the former world record holder in the 200 meter breaststroke (short course). So here at Sports Tourism Media we are both excited and delighted to introduce Marco Koch, a German competitive swimmer, specialising in breaststroke events who has competed at the 2012 & 2016 Summer Olympics and took gold at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia. Marco says "I'm in my comfort zone in the water as swimming is my passion. I enjoy every second. The water unfolds my full potential. It carries and leads me. Water gives me a great feeling." (marco-koch.org, 20 Jan 2018). We are grateful Marco has taken time out of a gruelling training regime to answer our questions… Newsletter...
‘Escapade Living’ brings motorsport to your living room window
Holidays & Trips, Hotels & Resorts, Sports Travel, Stadiums & Venues

‘Escapade Living’ brings motorsport to your living room window

It is somewhat of an understatement to say that 2020 has been and continues to be a year of seismic changes. The pandemic changed the world as we know it and whilst much pain – mental, physical and economic – continues to affect our lives, it has catalysed the need to for adaptability, innovation and resilience, especially within all areas of the travel sector. Clearly the travel industry that emerges at the end of this year will be very different from the one that entered it. But one thing the pandemic has turbocharged is the growing trend for ‘experiential travel’. Experiential travel – in which the traveller immerses themselves in a destination rather than superficially seeing it – is now coming of age in double time. The sports travel sector is of course at the very forefron...
Sport + Travel Interview: Riyad Ayyoub of the Royal Jordanian Falcons National Aerobatic Team
Holidays & Trips, Sports Travel, Stadiums & Venues

Sport + Travel Interview: Riyad Ayyoub of the Royal Jordanian Falcons National Aerobatic Team

If you look into the skies above Jordan’s Red Sea resort of Aqaba you may well catch a glimpse of ‘The Royal Jordanian Falcons National Aerobatics Team’. Founded and established in 1976 at the behest of his Majesty the late King Hussein Bin Talal, himself an accomplished pilot. Soon after their formation, Riyad Ayyoub now the General Manager of the team, joined the Falcons back in 1985. Not only has he been part of their journey ever since, he has also witnessed the growth in tourism to this region of Jordan and certainly the realisation of its Sport Tourism potential. To view the current RJ Falcons team please go to https://rjfalcons.com/rjf-team/ Newsletter: sign up for updates from Sports Tourism Media What was your most memorable sporting holiday and why? I learnt to water-sk...
Review: Fifa World Football Museum in Zurich
Guides, Sports Travel, Stadiums & Venues

Review: Fifa World Football Museum in Zurich

Switzerland is home to the headquarters for two of the biggest sporting organisations in the world – the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa).  Both support their own museums, which provide Lausanne and Zurich with two of the most incredible sports attractions anywhere in the world.  Sports Tourism Media's co-editor Ramy James Salameh visited the Fifa World Football Museum in Zurich and picks out the best things to see. Newsletter: sign up for updates from Sports Tourism Media Up for the cup Without doubt a spine-tingling moment is getting up close and personal with the Fifa World Cup trophy, which is a global “celebrity” in its own right.  Introduced in 1974, the Fifa World Cup trophy is made of ...
CopenHill: Copenhagen’s mountain sports destination takes urban sustainability to new heights
Sports Travel, Stadiums & Venues

CopenHill: Copenhagen’s mountain sports destination takes urban sustainability to new heights

By Sports Tourism Media co-editor Ramy Salameh Copenhagen aims to become carbon-neutral by 2025 - an impressive and challenging goal for any destination.  However, when one hears about some of the latest innovations taking place in the city, you come to understand how likely it is for that goal to be met.  The Danish capital is fuelling its reputation as one of the greenest cities on the planet through a growing portfolio of green initiatives and projects changing the urban landscape for the better. One example is CopenHill – an urban ski slope and epicentre for urban mountain sports which opened in October 2019.   It's located on Copenhagen’s peninsula of Refshaleøen, an old industrial area transformed into one of the city’s newest neighbourhoods with a trendy vibe.&nb...
The Sports Tourism Blog: a tour of The Olympic Museum in Lausanne
Guides, Holidays & Trips, Stadiums & Venues

The Sports Tourism Blog: a tour of The Olympic Museum in Lausanne

Lausanne is truly an Olympic city. Not only is it home to Olympic House, the International Olympic Committee's HQ which opened in June 2019, but also The Olympic Museum.  Referred to as TOM for short - there's no doubt that this is one of the best sports museums anywhere in the world. The permanent and temporary exhibitions provide a lasting sporting narrative and legacy for all citizens and creeds. It also provides for a unique events venue that has mass appeal across many industry sectors.  Sports Tourism News co-editor Ramy Salameh paid a visit to The Olympic Museum in Lausanne and here he picks out some of the best things to see. An Olympic journey  Even before you step through the entrance of the museum, your personal Olympic journey starts within the “Olympic Park” that sits eith...
Etihad Arena: naming rights deal signed for new venue at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi
Sports Business, Sports Travel, Stadiums & Venues

Etihad Arena: naming rights deal signed for new venue at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi

Etihad Airways has secured the exclusive naming rights for a new 18,000-capacity venue at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.  Called the Etihad Arena, the multi-purpose indoor entertainment facility is being developed by Abu Dhabi-based Miral and according to reports will open this year.    Operated by Flash Entertainment, the Etihad Arena has been designed to accommodate large-scale and private events, offering a capacity ranging from 200 to 18,000 people. Once open, the venue will host a variety of events including sporting competitions, corporate events, cultural performances and concerts.  The Etihad Arena will be a major addition to Yas Bay Waterfront, which will also include the Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, a beach club as well as a pier that boasts 12 licensed cafes and restaurants, and 19...
New Porsche Experience Centre to open in 2021 in Franciacorta, Italy
Stadiums & Venues

New Porsche Experience Centre to open in 2021 in Franciacorta, Italy

German sports car manufacturer Porsche has announced that a new Porsche Experience Centre (PEC) will be built in Franciacorta, Italy.  After openings in Leipzig, Silverstone, Atlanta, Le Mans, Los Angeles, Shanghai and the Hockenheimring, the PEC Franciacorta will be the company’s eighth in total.  Covering an area of around 60 hectares, the modern facility is being constructed at the Autodromo di Franciacorta racetrack in the centre of northern Italy.  Porsche Italia is investing more than €26m (£22m) in the destination and it’s expected that it will be ready after a massive refurbishment at the beginning of 2021.  State-of-the-art and spacious, the PEC will feature a multi-purpose 2,400sqft area crossed by an impressive suspension bridge. A restaurant and the terrace overlooking the ...

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