Sochi 2014 Leader Joins Around the Rings Newsmaker Breakfast: Keeping the Games Alive

Jan. 25, 2010 - PRLog -- What happens in an Olympic city once the Games have moved on is the topic of next month’s Around the Rings Newsmaker Breakfast. Sochi 2014 CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko is among the panelists who will address those issues in Vancouver.

“Keeping the Games Alive” is set for Monday, Feb. 22, at the Olympians Reunion Center. The event is presented by VisitBritain and UK Sport.

“Sochi 2014 and indeed Russia is learning all the time, and therefore I am delighted to have this opportunity to pass on our Olympic experience and knowledge to shape the future of the Olympic Movement,” Chernyshenko said.

Chernyshenko will join ATR editor Ed Hula; John Steele, UK Sport Chief Executive; Charmaine Crooks, Olympian and member of the VANOC Board of Directors, and a representative from London 2012.

In addition to the conversation about how the Games contribute to the development of international sport, Hula will lead panelists in a discussion about the importance of working to ensure that the main focus isn’t only medals and events.

“Our discussion will be more than just a review of the physical legacies like stadia and other venues. We will discuss the way the Olympics can affect athletes in a country by boosting interest in sport, and how the Games can open doors to other sports events,” says Ed Hula, ATR editor.

“At the sharp end of sport, the Olympic and Paralympic Games are about striving to win medals. It is all about the competition.  But while we struggle against other countries for those medals, we all need to create the environment where sport overall can flourish and where we work together to protect, promote and develop international elite sport,” Steele said.

“Without this recognition that nations must both compete and work in partnership, the system fails. Olympic Legacy for UK Sport therefore is about how we can use the Games, and the opportunity that London 2012 in particular gives us, to contribute to the work of International Federations and the other leading bodies in international sport and make sure that we do everything we can to create that environment,” Steele continued.

Around the Rings Newsmaker Breakfasts began at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta when Olympic newsmakers were invited to the ATR office for an informal chat with select journalists over coffee, juice and bagels. Since then it has become a truly international event, with breakfasts in Sydney, Salt Lake City, Beijing, London, Chicago, Copenhagen and now Vancouver.

“I am delighted to once again speak at the ATR Newsmakers Breakfast, which traditionally gathers the opinion leaders from around the world. ATR Newsmaker Breakfasts are always hosted in the spirit of Olympism and allows everyone in the Olympic Movement to listen and learn from gurus within the Movement,” Chernyshenko said.

Previous Newsmaker guests have included IOC President Jacques Rogge, then president of the European Olympic Committees; NBC sports Chairman Dick Ebersol; Gianna Angelopoulos, chair of Athens 2004, and Prince Albert of Monaco.

The Newsmaker Breakfast will take place at the Olympians Reunion Center, 51 East Pender Street in the Wing Sang building, in Vancouver. Breakfast from 7:30 to 8 a.m. will jumpstart the event, which begins at 8 a.m. when ATR Editor Ed Hula introduces the topic and panel. Following a Q & A with his guests, the floor will be turned over to questions from the audience for the remainder of the event.

Space is strictly limited. RSVP via email to: breakfast@aroundtherings.com, or call Isia Reaves +1 404 874 1603.

Around the Rings, the leading source for information about the business of the Olympic Movement, will continue its comprehensive coverage during the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

ATR will cover the IOC Executive Board meeting ahead of the Games, Feb. 7 to 8 and the 122nd IOC Session, Feb. 10 to 11. During the Olympics, a printed publication -- Vancouver View -- will publish every other day to cover the latest news, beginning Feb. 13 through Feb. 27. It also will be available free of charge at http://www.aroundtherings.com/specialeditions/default.aspx.

To schedule an interview with Ed Hula, contact Sheila Hula at Sheila@aroundtherings.com.  

For a two-week trial of Around the Rings, email twoweektrial@aroundtherings.com.

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About Around the Rings
For nearly 20 years, AroundTheRings.com has been the only publication devoted to providing original, on-the-scene reporting about the $5 billion dollar business of the Olympic Movement. Based in Atlanta, Ga., with a worldwide team of correspondents, Around the Rings provides thorough international sport business news coverage with daily email blasts, a weekly newsletter and special edition magazines.