Award Categories

The SportBusiness Sports Event Management Awards will recognise the best, brightest and most competent practitioners and programme in the business of major international sport events.

This is the time to recognise the achievements of our peers.Winning a SportBusiness Sports Event Management Award is the pinnacle of achievement and due recognition of outstanding contribution to the major sports event business.

The categories for 2008 are:

CEREMONIES
The winner of the award for the best Opening / Closing Ceremony will be judged on the ability to demonstrate how creativity and innovation led to the creation and delivery of ceremonies which were relevant, credible well received by the media and the public and which helped define an event in the eyes of the watching world.

EVENT LOOK
The Event Look Award will go to the entry judged to have most effectively defined and captured the spirit of an event within and outside its venues and integrated from stadium dressing to ticketing and posters.

EVENT MARKETING
In selecting the winner of the award for Event Marketing, judges will consider the use of creativity and application of technology to create and execute an effective marketing campaign and its measured success against pre determined objectives.

EVENT OVERLAY / FACILITIES
The Event Overlay / Facilities award will be judged on the broad merits of a project based on the creativity, architectural and managerial skills demonstrated in order to overcome the challenges of scale, timing (deadlines), logistics and accessibility, availability of local resources and budget.

EVENT SERVICES
Every major sports event draws upon a range of specialist services from catering and personnel training to accreditation and media management. In this broad category, judges will seek evidence of the way that service providers have overcome specific challenges to deliver services which have had a demonstrable impact on the success of an event.

EVENT TECHNOLOGY
From timing systems to ticketing and security, technology plays an increasingly pivotal role in the planning and management of major sports events. In this category, judges will look for examples of the way that technology has been developed and applied to significantly enhance the efficiency of event management and the spectator experience.

HOSPITALITY
The Hospitality award will go to the entry which best demonstrates how innovation and enterprise has fashioned a hospitality offering whose success makes a major contribution to an event's revenues. In considering this they will take account of the particular challenges presented by an event, the creativity behind the offering - including creation of themed facilities and menus as well as sales and marketing.

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT
A personal award to the individual considered to have made the most significant contribution to the development of the sector.

SECURITY
Judges will take an holistic view of entries in this broad category. They will consider the planning and implementation of a security programme, the application of appropriate technology, recruitment and training of staff and integration of established intelligence and security services against general or particular threats at the time of the event.

SPORTS CITY
Companies operating in event management will be asked to nominate city authorities for this award. Judges will consider the level of support and commitment made by a municipality in terms of funding and resource, legislation and planning as well as marketing and promotion.