International attention will be focussed on Kuala Lumpur as the destination was recently successful bidding to host the 127th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in 2015.
The event is expected to receive the arrival of approximately 1,500 international delegates to Kuala Lumpur. These delegates will include IOC members and their accompanying guests, IOC Honorary Members, representatives of Host Cities of future Olympic Games, Bid Cities of the 2020 Olympic Games, sponsors /partners of the IOC and staff members of the IOC. It is also estimated that the occasion would also be joined by an additional 1,500 members of the print and electronic media.
Supported by the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Zulkefli Hj. Sharif, chief executive ffficer, MyCEB said “It is an exciting moment for us and an outstanding milestone to have secured this bid. This is due to a particular significance of the session, whereby the Host City of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games will be selected and announced.”
“For the announcement to be made in Kuala Lumpur will definitely made a positive impact on the country and at MyCEB, we couldn’t be even more encouraged to pursue our mission in positioning Malaysia as Asia’s business events hub,” he added.
As the session will be stretching up to a seven-day span, including a build up over a fortnight, IOC is estimating the requirement of 8,000 rooms around the city to accommodate participants. The session is expected to garner approximately RM 26 million (EUR 6.6 million / USD8.4 million) in economic impact to the country.
YAM Tunku Tan Sri Imran ibni Al-marhum Tuanku Ja’afar, president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) said “The hosting of this session marks Malaysia’s entry into the ranks of other Asian countries that has previously hosted this prestigious meet such as China, Japan, Korea and Singapore. This is no doubt a prestigious meeting of which we are thoroughly proud to be a part of. We are grateful to the IOC for choosing Malaysia and recognising our determination and hard work to ensure the success of the bid”.
Established in 1894, the IOC is an international non-governmental not-for-profit organisation, of unlimited duration recognized by the Swiss Federal Council. Today, the committee consist a maximum of 115 persons as members and about 15 persons who have retired from the IOC but have been appointed as Honorary Life members. It is the most influential sports organisation in the world in connection with multisport Games, with ownership of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Winter Games and the Olympic Youth Games.
As a measure to further develop the international events industry, MyCEB has launched a specialist unit known as the International Events Unit (IEU) which focuses on identifying and supporting international event bids including sports, art and culture and lifestyle events. The IEU’s goal is to identify and assist homegrown events with the potential to attract international publicity and international attendances.
