On 2-4 July 2018, the Sport Parks team met in Ljubljana for the last project meeting before the final conference.
The main topic on the agenda was the finalization of the content of the Handbook for Olympic Festival Organizers, the main output of the Sport Parks project. Participants have reviewed all the main chapters of the Handbook, discussed the from and the presentation of the event case studies which will be featured in the online version, and agreed on the final touches of the visual form of the website.
The study visit was also the last occasion for the whole team to discuss together the content and the format of the final conference, which will take place on 25 October in Prague. Based on the results of the deliberation, conference participants can look forward to an interactive format characterised by a dynamic sequence of expert panel discussions on the main 6 topics covered in the Handbook – organisation, marketing, resources, communications, sustainability and evaluation of Olympic Festivals, and OF-like events.
To conclude the meeting on a positive note, full of inspiration and ideas, the Slovenian hosts first guided the Sport Parks team through the new Slovenian Olympic Educational Centre, and then shared details with their colleagues of 3 interesting projects and initiatives:
- Foksi, the mascot of the NOC of Slovenia, which was created in 2015-2016 and has since become very popular, especially among children.
- Slovenian House in Pyeongchang 2018, which was organised for the first time after a gap of 8 years.
- Slovenian Torch, an interactive project organised over several weeks in 8 cities one month prior to the start of the Pyeongchang Games.