On February 21-22, 2025 the RIOU campus in Sochi will provide a venue for the international conference on "Sports Events: Generating Social Impacts”, organised jointly by the Russian International Olympic University, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University) and the Rosa Khutor mountain resort.
The conference will bring together experts from Armenia, Belarus, China, France, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The attendees will include Senator of the Russian Federation, three-time Olympic champion Alexander Karelin, honorary president of the International Ice Hockey Federation René Fasel, representatives of Russian federal ministries and agencies, Sochi City Administration officials, experts of the International Olympic Committee, and Russian Olympians – grants recipients of the Russian Olympians Foundation.
The morning of the first conference day will be marked by a commemorative event to be held in the Riviera Park, Sochi. The honorary guests will continue the tradition of planting trees as a token of peace and friendship among nations, which has run since 1960. The park’s avenues have trees planted by renowned political figures, and the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, to give an example. In 2015, the “green” tradition was maintained by President of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee Dmitry Chernyshenko and Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Sochi 2014 Games Jean-Claude Killy.
RIOU Rector, full member of the Russian Academy of Education, Professor Lev Belousov said: ‘Sport is a social phenomenon extending beyond sporting arenas. Societies and governments agree on the importance of sport, and that is the reason why our country places a great emphasis on building sports infrastructure and staging sports events at varying levels. But equally important is assessing the effects of this work. We invite all those interested to join experts from 8 different countries and discuss best international practices in developing territories through hosting sports mega events.’
The conference will feature foresight sessions and panel discussions. The participants will focus on a wide range of issues in planning the social legacy of sports mega projects, designing innovative strategies to develop regions through the integration of sport and tourism, and will analyse international practice in assessing the effects of sports events. The conference will culminate in the expert discussion of the outcomes of the Paris 2024 Games and a presentation of socially oriented sports projects implemented by RIOU graduates.
The conference programme can be viewed here: https://sol.olympicuniversity.ru/
The conference will be held on the RIOU campus in Sochi (11 Ordzhonikidze Street). Live streaming will also be available. Participation is free of charge. To register, please use this link: https://forms.office.com/e/snVBzGXKyD
Organising Committee: baluk@olympicuniversity.ru (Yekaterina Balyuk)
Media accreditation: as@olympicuniversity.ru (Alexey Sanchenko)
