Caribbean Sports Week Curacao

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP VOLLEYBALL IN THE NETHERLANDS SUSTAINABLE AND INNOVATIVE

After the Olympic Games in 1928 and the UEFA Euro 2000, the Volleyball World Championship for women is the third largest sporting event ever organized in the Netherlands. With a television audience of more than two billion people and 125,000 fans coming to watch a total of 60 matches in three Dutch cities, the World Championship is a huge catalyst for social integration, sustainability and innovation. Two examples are the SportNXT conference, where sharing experiences in the field of media, marketing and communication was central, and the Volley Running Game developed especially for the World Championship, where gamification provides greater engagement of the adolescent target group.

Memorable Events

As the Dutch sports and (beach) volleyball follower knows, the Dutch Volleyball Association Nevobo has a reputation for organizing memorable events. In 2015, the Beach Volleyball World Championships were played in four cities, including stadiums on Dam Square in Amsterdam and on the Hofvijver in The Hague, the pond in front of Prime Minister Rutte's office.

Organizing one of the biggest international sporting events was first considered in 2017. Nevobo have never been just about organizing a sporting event, they want to Connect sport with society. It’s not just about developing an event, it’s about creating a lasting legacy. Healthy food and sustainability were set as themes, resulting in a wonderful story for the Dutch sports industry.

Gelderland

The Province of Gelderland joined as a partner. The province recognised the social value for its citizens, but also the economic and international value of one of the largest universities in Gelderland: research university Wageningen, which has been a global leader in nutrition and food production for 50 years. This was expressed in the Gelre Food Court, in the fan zone at the GelreDome stadium. Twenty restaurants produced healthy and responsible meals for fans and players. This theme could be lifted by the World Champioship and is now being rolled out at a higher level.

Nothing was held back for the 2022 Volleyball World Championship. It was the first time that all 24 participating countries played their first match in the same venue. Nevobo and its partners converted the football stadium and event location GelreDome into a volleyball temple. No fewer than three stadiums were built there, an unprecedented achievement. More than 10,000 spectators could watch the matches on centre court, while the other two courts had room for over 4,000 fans.

SportNXT Congress

In this inspiring environment, the SportNXT conference was organized by Dutch marketing firm Techonomy, a specialist in sports and innovation in the field of marketing, media and communication. Representatives of sports associations, major sponsors, ministries, cities from both the Netherlands and abroad gathered on Friday September 30 to share the knowledge gained in five years of preparation and organization in the field of sports marketing, media and communication. In the middle of GelreDome, on one of the courts, major international parties presented their successful cases.