China
A1 GRAND PRIX GEARS UP FOR INAUGURAL SEASON
A1 Grand Prix has unveiled a provisional calendar for its new 12-race series, dubbed ‘The World Cup of Motorsport’.
BEIJING’S OLYMPIC INVESTMENT
Beijing will invest more than 320 billion yuan ($36billion) over the next four years to beautify the city in time for the 2008 Olympic Games, up from an original investment of 230 billion announced in 2003.
NBA AND NOKIA EXPAND INTO CHINA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Nokia have reached a multi-year agreement to expand their US relationship into China.
VOLUNTEERS TO TURN OUT IN NUMBERS FOR BEIJING
Some 60,000 to 100,000 volunteers will be mobilised to help out with the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
CHINESE AMERICA’S CUP CHALLENGE GETS INFRONT
Infront Sports & Media and its subsidiary Infront Beijing Consulting will be handling the marketing rights for the first-ever Chinese challenge in the America’s Cup.
MICHELOB IN ULTRA GB BACKING
Michelob ULTRA, the low-carbohydrate premium lager from Anheuser-Busch, has taken on ‘Official Beer’ sponsorship of both the winter and summer Team GB Olympic squads.
NEW SPIN FOR C-ZONE
Top US table tennis manufacturer, Killerspin, will be the presenting sponsor of C-Zone, China’s leading sports marketing conference.
BARCA CLOSE TO DEAL WITH BEIJING
Press reports in Spain indicate an historic sponsorship deal is imminent between FC Barcelona and the City of Beijing.
CHINESE CONFERENCE FLYING HIGH WITH VIRGIN
Virgin Atlantic Airways has signed up as event partner for the C-Zone sports marketing and brand management conference.
SAMSUNG UP OLYMPIC CAMPAIGN
Worldwide Olympic sponsor Samsung has signed Italian ski great Alberto Tomba as its global athlete ambassador, part of a series of announcements for the company’s 2006 marketing programme revealed in Turin.
NEW RECRUITS FOR KHP
Sports Marketing and Communications Agency, KHP Consulting, has announced five new recruits to its London HQ and Bahrain office.
NEW ORDER FOR TABLE TENNIS
There is a new look to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) executive committee following its Annual General Meeting in Shanghai on May 1.
REAL MADRID IN CHINA PLEDGE
Real Madrid vice president Emilio Butragueno has promised that the Spanish soccer giants will bring all its 'galacticos' for the club's second tour of China this summer.
KHP STEP UP PRESENCE AT GERMAN HOCKENHEIMRING
KHP Consulting has been appointed by the Hockenheimring Baden Wuerttemberg, home of the German Formula One Grand Prix, to carry out an ongoing PR and communications strategy.
ATP ANNOUNCES VIETNAM FIRST
Vietnam will stage an ATP-level professional men’s tennis tournament this year for the first time in history.
CHINA REVEALS ANTI-DOPING PLANS
Anti-doping work in China is set to benefit from the launch of a new 24-hour doping control service in Beijing with an expanding number of doping control officers.
REAL LAUNCHES INTERACTIVE ASIAN SHOW
Soccer giant Real Madrid Club and Interactive Sports Television Ltd. (ISTV) have agreed to jointly develop and broadcast an interactive television programme to be launched in several of Asia’s soccer markets this autumn.
McDONALD’S AND NBA IN LIFESTYLE PARTNERSHIP
McDonald’s Corporation and the NBA are teaming up to bring basketball to hundreds of thousands of fans with NBA events and promotions in four continents.