The evaluation of TWG 2017
The World Games 2017 are in the books – but not yet consigned to history. Documentation of the event in Wroclaw, Poland last summer is now complete.
- The facts and figures, collected from several parties and partners and put into writing, are needed to reach the next goal: delivering an outstanding event in Birmingham, Alabama in 2021. The upcoming host, the member federations and of course the IWGA itself will make use of the data and experiences to learn from and improve on The World Games 2017. They serve as a guide for potential hosts of The World Games 2025 as well.
Last week Chantal Boehi, IWGA General Manager, received a parcel with the copies of the Final Report written by The World Games 2017 Organising Committee (WOC). It runs to close to 300 pages with all the information about the event. The WOC designed the report as a ‘real book’, one that you can put on a shelf and might look quite appealing. “We will work with the data and evaluation provided by our partners in Wroclaw, to see what went best, and where we can achieve some enhancements on our road to Birmingham,” the IWGA General Manager states.
The final report complements other reviews analysing The World Games 2017. Earlier this year a study conducted by Sportcal was presented to the IWGA Board members. This analysis looks at a range of impact indicators and examines the economic, tourism, media, sponsorship, sporting and social benefits of hosting the event. Sportcal was commissioned to undertake the study by the International World Games Association, the Wrocław Organising Committee and the Local Organising Committee of The World Games 2021 in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the first time in the history of The World Games that an independent study has examined the impact of the multi-sports event.
There is also the evaluation report created by Co Koren, Honorary Secretary General of the IWGA and involved in the development of The World Games since their premiere in 1981. This is another tool available to learn from the detail of what happened at the event in Wroclaw. Several experts contributed their on-site observations of each competition in July 2017. The IFs were invited to bring in their experiences as well as the IWGA staff members and partners, reporting about special sections such as media, results service, accreditation and hospitality services. In addition, media intelligence company Meltwater provided media monitoring analysis of The World Games.
Joachim Gossow explains why it is necessary to work on such detailed and comprehensive documentation: “The reports serve several purposes. Firstly it is necessary to have everything recorded in a transparent way for our archive. Secondly, we will make use of the data when designing the sports programme for The World Games 2021. And of course, looking at the big picture supports the organisers in Birmingham. There is no need to reinvent the wheel for each edition. By studying the reports they’ll find useful information about numbers, and how to work on specific issues.”
“Finally, we offer potential host cities for 2025 the opportunity to study the reports. These reports will help the cities to understand why it pays off to bid for The World Games, and what it means to run such an event.”
"Moreover, we know that other very well-known multi-sport event organisers are looking into our information to learn how the financial costs of such Games can be significantly lowered, and how infrastructural “legacies” can be prevented from turning into “white elephants.” All of us are following these discussions very closely at the moment – and for very good reasons!"
The Sportcal Survey can be downloaded from the IWGA website (PDF).
A copy of the The World Games 2017 WOC Final Report (as a PDF file) can be requested by contacting the IWGA headquarters at [email protected].