Edinburgh on Target for Archery World Cup
Edinburgh’s Events Champion, Cllr Steve CARDOWNIE joined on Wednesday leading Paralympian and Commonwealth archers in Princes Street Gardens to announce that Edinburgh will host the Archery World Cup Final in 2010, the first UK city to do so.
The Council is expected to approve the capital’s support for the event at its Culture and Leisure Committee meeting on 6 May 2009.
The World Cup Final, which will take place over the weekend of 17–18 September 2010 in East Princes Street Gardens, will be free to view and is expected to attract thousands of spectators. There will also a series of ‘come and try’ events to encourage participation in the sport.
The City of Edinburgh Council, EventScotland, UK Sport, ArcheryGB and the Scottish Archery Association have all been involved in discussions with FITA, the world governing body for archery, to bring the event to Edinburgh, and the UK, for the first time.
This tournament is the culmination of four World Cup qualifying stages hosted in Porec (CRO), Antalya (TUR), Ogden (USA) and Shanghai (CHN) during 2010. The Final will feature the top 32 archers in the world and will be televised and broadcast internationally.
Cllr CARDOWNIE said: “Edinburgh is delighted to be the first British city to host the Archery World Cup Final. The City has an excellent track record of hosting world class events and this is no exception.
“The spectacular setting of East Princes Street Gardens is a fitting arena for such a prestigious tournament and I am sure that the people of Edinburgh and visitors to the City will get right behind it.
“As well as encouraging participation in sporting activity, major televised sports events such as these provide an excellent opportunity for Edinburgh to showcase its spectacular city centre attractions to a global audience.”
Paul BUSH OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, the national events agency, said: “Bringing the final stage of the 2010 Archery World Cup to Scotland is an extremely exciting prospect. This will be a world class event with Olympic standard archers and Edinburgh will provide an iconic backdrop for the action.
“Being staged right at the heart of the city in Princes Gardens will also expose a whole new audience to the sport and come and try sessions will ensure spectators can really get involved. This is a fantastic win for Edinburgh and, indeed, for Scotland.”
Prof Dr Ugur ERDENER, FITA President, said: “The Finals are reserved for extraordinary cities with extraordinary venues and the natural setting of the event in Edinburgh certainly fits that description. We are looking forward to what promises to be another great Archery World Cup Final, in line with the spectacular locations we have enjoyed in previous years.”
Lynne EEVANS, Chairwoman of Archery GB, said: "On behalf of Archery GB, we are absolutely delighted the Archery World Cup Grand Final is coming to Britain, and delighted that the city of Edinburgh will be the hosts.
“We hosted a World Cup stage in Dover two years ago, and that was a big success, but the Grand Final takes it to a new level, and I'm really excited that Edinburgh has shown such enormous enthusiasm to host the event.
“I know it will be a big success, and that the archers from around the world who will have qualified through the elimination process, plus archers from the United Kingdom, will be made extremely welcome, and have a wonderful time.”
For more information:
Mike PINKERTON
Media Officer
City of Edinburgh Council
Phone: +44 131 529 6471
Email: Michael.pinkerton@edinburghleisure.co.uk
Didier MIEVILLE
FITA Communication Director
NOTES:
1. Outdoor target archery can be played on almost any flat outdoor area that is large enough, but FITA was particularly interested in a city centre location which was close to iconic landmarks, and which would provide an attractive showcase for the sport. It should also be accessible to passers-by with a casual interest who would perhaps not go out of their way to attend an archery competition. After considerable research and a number of site surveys, FITA decided that the best site for the event would be East Princes Street Gardens, which fulfils all the technical requirements and forms a natural amphitheatre.
2. The event will have an estimated total budget of GBP 400,000 (for Local Organising Committee), the breakdown of which is detailed below:
UK Sport GBP 150,000
Council GBP 130,000
EventScotland GBP 110,000
Archery GB GBP 10,000
Total GBP 400,000
3. This will be the fifth Archery World Cup Final to be staged. The 2009 Final is taking place in Copenhagen (DEN). Previous cities that have hosted the event are
Ø 2008 - Lausanne (SUI)
Ø 2007 - Dubai (UAE)
Ø 2006 - Merida (MEX)
4. The four cities for the 2010 World Cup stages are Porec (CRO), Antalya (TUR), Ogden (USA) and Shanghai (CHN).
5. There is more than USD 200,000 in prize money for the Edinburgh Final.
6. The programme for the Final consists of two compact 3-hour sessions held on the Saturday 18 September and Sunday 19 September 2010.
7. Facts and Figures:
Ø There are more than 7 million archers worldwide
Ø More than 140 countries are Member Associations
Ø Over 250 million TV viewers from over 100 countries will tune in for the Archery World Cup Final
8. The Archery World Cup Final 2010 will form part of Activcity 2010. Activcity is City of Edinburgh Council's Sport and Physical Activity Events Calendar, and is part of our mission to make Edinburgh the most physically active city in Europe by 2020.
The Council is expected to approve the capital’s support for the event at its Culture and Leisure Committee meeting on 6 May 2009.
The World Cup Final, which will take place over the weekend of 17–18 September 2010 in East Princes Street Gardens, will be free to view and is expected to attract thousands of spectators. There will also a series of ‘come and try’ events to encourage participation in the sport.
The City of Edinburgh Council, EventScotland, UK Sport, ArcheryGB and the Scottish Archery Association have all been involved in discussions with FITA, the world governing body for archery, to bring the event to Edinburgh, and the UK, for the first time.
This tournament is the culmination of four World Cup qualifying stages hosted in Porec (CRO), Antalya (TUR), Ogden (USA) and Shanghai (CHN) during 2010. The Final will feature the top 32 archers in the world and will be televised and broadcast internationally.
Cllr CARDOWNIE said: “Edinburgh is delighted to be the first British city to host the Archery World Cup Final. The City has an excellent track record of hosting world class events and this is no exception.
“The spectacular setting of East Princes Street Gardens is a fitting arena for such a prestigious tournament and I am sure that the people of Edinburgh and visitors to the City will get right behind it.
“As well as encouraging participation in sporting activity, major televised sports events such as these provide an excellent opportunity for Edinburgh to showcase its spectacular city centre attractions to a global audience.”
Paul BUSH OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, the national events agency, said: “Bringing the final stage of the 2010 Archery World Cup to Scotland is an extremely exciting prospect. This will be a world class event with Olympic standard archers and Edinburgh will provide an iconic backdrop for the action.
“Being staged right at the heart of the city in Princes Gardens will also expose a whole new audience to the sport and come and try sessions will ensure spectators can really get involved. This is a fantastic win for Edinburgh and, indeed, for Scotland.”
Prof Dr Ugur ERDENER, FITA President, said: “The Finals are reserved for extraordinary cities with extraordinary venues and the natural setting of the event in Edinburgh certainly fits that description. We are looking forward to what promises to be another great Archery World Cup Final, in line with the spectacular locations we have enjoyed in previous years.”
Lynne EEVANS, Chairwoman of Archery GB, said: "On behalf of Archery GB, we are absolutely delighted the Archery World Cup Grand Final is coming to Britain, and delighted that the city of Edinburgh will be the hosts.
“We hosted a World Cup stage in Dover two years ago, and that was a big success, but the Grand Final takes it to a new level, and I'm really excited that Edinburgh has shown such enormous enthusiasm to host the event.
“I know it will be a big success, and that the archers from around the world who will have qualified through the elimination process, plus archers from the United Kingdom, will be made extremely welcome, and have a wonderful time.”
For more information:
Mike PINKERTON
Media Officer
City of Edinburgh Council
Phone: +44 131 529 6471
Email: Michael.pinkerton@edinburghleisure.co.uk
Didier MIEVILLE
FITA Communication Director
NOTES:
1. Outdoor target archery can be played on almost any flat outdoor area that is large enough, but FITA was particularly interested in a city centre location which was close to iconic landmarks, and which would provide an attractive showcase for the sport. It should also be accessible to passers-by with a casual interest who would perhaps not go out of their way to attend an archery competition. After considerable research and a number of site surveys, FITA decided that the best site for the event would be East Princes Street Gardens, which fulfils all the technical requirements and forms a natural amphitheatre.
2. The event will have an estimated total budget of GBP 400,000 (for Local Organising Committee), the breakdown of which is detailed below:
UK Sport GBP 150,000
Council GBP 130,000
EventScotland GBP 110,000
Archery GB GBP 10,000
Total GBP 400,000
3. This will be the fifth Archery World Cup Final to be staged. The 2009 Final is taking place in Copenhagen (DEN). Previous cities that have hosted the event are
Ø 2008 - Lausanne (SUI)
Ø 2007 - Dubai (UAE)
Ø 2006 - Merida (MEX)
4. The four cities for the 2010 World Cup stages are Porec (CRO), Antalya (TUR), Ogden (USA) and Shanghai (CHN).
5. There is more than USD 200,000 in prize money for the Edinburgh Final.
6. The programme for the Final consists of two compact 3-hour sessions held on the Saturday 18 September and Sunday 19 September 2010.
7. Facts and Figures:
Ø There are more than 7 million archers worldwide
Ø More than 140 countries are Member Associations
Ø Over 250 million TV viewers from over 100 countries will tune in for the Archery World Cup Final
8. The Archery World Cup Final 2010 will form part of Activcity 2010. Activcity is City of Edinburgh Council's Sport and Physical Activity Events Calendar, and is part of our mission to make Edinburgh the most physically active city in Europe by 2020.