SportAccord Exhibition Space sold our with three months to go.

With just under three months to go before the opening day, regular exhibition stand space is sold out for the 4th annual SportAccord convention at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in Seoul, South Korea on April 3-7, 2006, according to a press release by SportAccord on Jan. 17, 2006.

Since it launched in 2003, SportAccord has rapidly become known as the place to meet International Sports Federations. SportAccord is owned by GAISF (General Association of International Sports Federations), ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) and AIOWF (Association of the International Olympic Winter Federations), whose 100 members include the global governing bodies of sports such as football (FIFA), athletics (IAAF), skiing (FIS) and swimming (FINA).

SportAccord brings together representatives from the International Federations affiliated to GAISF, ASOIF and AIOWF, as well as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board, to discuss the key issues facing the sports movement alongside sponsors, architects, sports lawyers, broadcasters and other specialists. The convention includes open conference sessions, workshops, seminars, scheduled networking opportunities and an exhibition, all scheduled around the Associations' meetings.

In 2006, SportAccord is visiting Asia for the first time, following its successful event last year in Berlin. In the German capital the mayors of all five of the cities bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games gave presentations, alongside key figures in world sport such as IOC President Jacques Rogge, Acting President of GAISF Hein Verbruggen and Vice President of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany organising committee Wolfgang Niersbach.

This year SportAccord has once again attracted major exhibitors including UK Trade & Investment – which is also a Silver Sponsor of the conference – the Seoul Olympic Sport Promotion Foundation, Comunidad Valenciana and the XV Pan American Games Rio 2007. Although the exhibitor places are already taken, there is a waiting list now in place in case more stands become available. For further information on exhibiting at SportAccord, please contact Fiona Lunnon on the details given below.

SportAccord has also secured nine Sponsors for the 2006 event, including two Gold Sponsors – IEC in Sports and The Contemporary Group.

IEC in Sports will be a Gold Sponsor of the event for the third consecutive year. Stockholm-headquartered IEC in Sports is principally involved in the distribution of television rights for sporting events and television coordination of those events. The company represents clients on all continents and distributes television rights worldwide to television stations and media companies.

"SportAccord is the ideal forum in which to showcase our products and services and we very much look forward to getting together with current and prospective clients in Seoul next April. We feel sure our presence at SportAccord will continue to help grow our global business," explains Jonas Persson, Chief Executive of IEC in Sports.

The Contemporary Group is a world-renowned specialist in staging premier international sports and entertainment events. It has participated in events including the Olympic Games in Athens, Sydney, Atlanta and Salt Lake City, the NFL Super Bowls since 1977, the Ryder Cup and the Academy Awards. It reported that SportAccord 2005, held in Berlin, had been a huge success for the company.

Richard Bezemer, Principal of The Contemporary Group, says: "SportAccord 2005 was a tremendous success for The Contemporary Group, and we couldn't be more pleased to return as Gold Sponsors in 2006. The convention represents a singular opportunity for our event professionals to interact with an extraordinary group of delegates from throughout the global sports movement. We are particularly excited by the topics of this year's plenary sessions and knowledge exchange workshops. Everyone at The Contemporary Group is looking forward to another outstanding experience this year in Seoul."

In a first for SportAccord, there will also be three sports federations exhibiting: the international archery federation, FITA; the European Go Cultural Centre; and the global governing body of basketball, FIBA, which is also a Bronze Sponsor of the conference. "SportAccord is the perfect environment in which to promote FIBA and its activities to the IOC, the International Federations and to those companies specialising in sports," explains Aldo Vitale, Director of Study Centre for FIBA.

For more information on SportAccord, contact:

Anna Hellman, General Manager, SportAccord, CMC, CH-1860 Aigle, Switzerland. Tel: +41 (0)24 468 5972 Fax: +41 (0)24 468 5812 Email: info@sportaccord.com