First Olympic Host City Summit In Lausanne

Lausanne's mayor Daniel Brelaz said "the Lausanne Summit is the first ever gathering of these Olympic cities where experiences will be shared to build the platform for the future".

More than 30 cities are participating in the summit, which will bring together cities that have organized, will organize, or are considering organizing the Olympic or Youth Olympic Games, both summer and winter.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said "the IOC is committed to ensuring that a city understands as early as possible the importance of integrating the Olympic Games into its long-term urban development strategy, in order to leave the best possible urban and sporting legacy to the country, the city and its entire community. This is why the IOC supports its first Lausanne Summit and the General Assembly of the World Union of Olympic Cities, which will be the perfect platform to share and exchange information and knowledge".

An IOC press release says Simon Anholt, the world's leading specialist in creating brand strategies for countries, cities and regions, will give a keynote speech about how sports events can be used to help a host build its own competitive identity.

Joining the list of keynote speakers is Michael Knight, former Minister of the Olympics for the 2000 Sydney Games. He will be addressing the summit on the topic of socio-political opportunities related to hosting the Olympic Games.

Gilbert Felli, Olympic Games Executive Director at the IOC, will explain how the bidding, planning and staging of the Olympic Games has changed over the last 10 years.