Hosting the Olympic Qualifier Series - an immersive Olympic experience merging sport, art, music and culture
The hosts have been announced for the first ever Olympic Qualifier Series – a new urban multi-sports competition and festival merging music, art, culture and fashion with top-level athletic performance. Pierre Fratter-Bardy, Associate Director, Olympic Games Strategy and Development, answers questions about what it means to be an Olympic Qualifier Series host.
What is the Olympic Qualifier Series?
The Olympic Qualifier Series is a new Olympic property – a series of Olympic-branded qualification events that will take place in the lead-up to the Olympic Games Paris 2024. For the inaugural edition there will be two stops, of four days each, in Shanghai, China; and Budapest, Hungary.
Four sports have been chosen, all of which share an “urban” DNA and are very popular among young people: BMX freestyle, breaking, skateboarding and sport climbing.
Each stop in the tour will be complemented by an urban festival - a celebration of what these sports stand for and their lifestyle.
How will the Olympic Qualifier Series enhance the road to the Olympic and Paralympic Games?
The series has been launched to do exactly that, as part of Olympic Agenda 2020+5 Recommendation 6: “Enhance and promote the Road to the Olympic Games.”
From a host perspective, the concept is very attractive. It will be a compact event in the city centre where there is already a lot of footfall.
From a fan standpoint, the qualification process has been simplified: 464 athletes are set to compete for places at Paris 2024. At least half of the qualification quota spots in the four sports will be allocated through the Series.
The timing, from May to June, has been chosen to build excitement and momentum for the Olympic Games, which in turn will benefit the host region and country of Paris and France. The Series will conclude in Budapest on Olympic Day, 23 June 2024 – which also marks the final day that athletes for any sport will be able to qualify for Paris 2024.
What is the hosting model for the Olympic Qualifier Series?
We usually refer to the hosting model as very similar to the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, but on a vastly smaller scale. A Local Organising Committee (LOC), of up to around 30 people, is in charge of delivering each city stop.
The International Federation of each sport is a key delivery partner for the event, and remains in charge of its respective competitions.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also contributes to the delivery by providing a number of direct services, such as broadcast operations or results management.
What are the requirements on the part of each host?
The Series adapts to each city’s vision and value proposition. Our one venue, the urban park, is indeed very flexible. For example, in Shanghai the competitions will happen during the day, using indoor and outdoor facilities within the same park.
A reference document, the Olympic Qualifier Series Event Manual, summarises in 80 pages the requirements to deliver a stop. This can be made available to potential hosts on request.
What are the benefits for hosts?
The event will trigger economic spend, from local sponsorship to the thousands of spectators coming from inside and outside the city.
The competitions will be watched across the world, creating a direct opportunity for the host to link its city brand to the Olympic rings, the four popular urban sports, and some of the world’s best athletes.
Another benefit will be community engagement. Both hosts will involve local communities, in terms of delivery and in connection to the urban festival, putting local artists on stage side-by-side with the sports competitions.
Infrastructure legacy will also be another benefit, as some of the sports facilities can be moved and used elsewhere in the city, for example the BMX park or the climbing walls, offering opportunities for local residents, especially, to engage in these sports.
The locations and dates for the Olympic Qualifier Series are:
Part 1
Shanghai, China
Location: Huangpu Riverside
Dates: 16-19 May 2024
Part 2
Budapest, Hungary
Location: Ludovika Campus
Dates: 20-23 June 2024
Find out more: Shanghai and Budapest selected as Hosts for the inaugural Olympic Qualifier Series (olympics.com)