Connecting hundreds of players in the world of sport in Lausanne is the main mission of the nonprofit ThinkSport. Four years after its creation, director Anna Hellman talks about making the region an epicenter of sports expertise and innovation, and how its annual event, The Spot, can help expand Lausanne as a hub even further.The business of sport climbing in Switzerland
Since it was announced that sport climbing will make its debut on the Olympic program in Tokyo 2020, its popularity in Switzerland has taken on another dimension. The easy proximity to mountains has always made it easy to climb, but now even indoor climbing has had a major boost. Hanspeter Sigrist, head of sport climbing at the Swiss Alpine Club in Bern, talks about qualifying at next year’s Olympics and the real dream: to host the 2023 Climbing World Championships in Bern.
What you need to know about indoor climbing in Switzerland
Hanspeter Sigrist, head of sport climbing at the Swiss Alpine Club in Bern, discusses indoor climbing, which has seen a boost in popularity thanks in part to its debut next year at the Tokyo Olympics.
The business of sailing in Switzerland: “Every boat needs a crew”
Despite being a landlocked country, Switzerland has the second highest number of sailors per capita after New Zealand. Bernard Schopfer, organizer of the Yacht Racing Forum, takes Matt Leighton through the country’s long tradition of sailing and explains how easy it is to join the Swiss sailing community.
Switzerland catches up to the growing love for stand-up paddling
After making its debut in Switzerland 10 years ago, the stand-up paddle market is thriving, and Cédric Reynard, founder of Geneva-based Water Walk, is capitalizing on this booming trend. The next big push, he says, will be destinations with guides for mass stand-up paddle tourism.
Beyond FIFA, a Swiss company looks to India for its next big market
Lausanne-based Advanced Sport Instruments is another example of the region’s expanding sports ecosystem. The company is placing big bets on its electronic performance and tracking systems for athletes. CEO Marie Ivorra Grosse says they’re already tapping into FIFA and sees a potential target of as many as 200 million athletes all over the world for their products.
Uncertainty means big changes ahead in European sports
Threat or opportunity? Vincent Gaillard, CEO of European Professional Club Rugby, talks about the “radical changes” that private funding is bringing to Europe’s sports landscape. Both event and broadcast organizations are at a tipping point, he says.
IOC: new Olympic House is the “ID card of the Olympic movement”
Building a new Olympic House that was both sustainable and iconic was no small task for the IOC’s director of corporate development, brand and sustainability, Marie Sallois-Dembreville. Ahead of its opening to the public on June 22, we look at the new IOC home in Lausanne—and the immense six-year project behind taking it down and building it back up.
