- The 2004 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship – Praha, Ostrava
- The 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship – Praha, Ostrava
- The 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship – Ostrava, Třinec
- The 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship – Praha, Ostrava
Challenge
Probably the biggest… The most organizationally demanding sports event held in the Czech Republic, in terms of the duration of the tournament, the number of TV broadcasters and other crews and other media, spiced up by moving media, including TV crews, between the host cities and arenas.
Strategies
We don’t know how to reproduce or clone ourselves yet, so we rely on our experience and strategic skills and a lot of Excel spreadsheets to ensure everything we need – from a sufficient number of plug-ins to a suitable area for interviews to press conferences.
Result
Rich and trouble-free international media coverage of the championship. Countless interviews, television broadcasts on several continents and in several languages, countless satisfied respondents, journalists and ice hockey fans. And the IIHF and its marketing partner, Infront.
- planning of work spaces in particular arenas such as the press centre, media tribune, mixed zone, TV compound, commentators´ positions and TV studios, and preparation of spaces according to the specific needs of individual types of media
- preparation of facilities for television operation, definition of space for parking of the broadcasting vehicles, setting of cable routes, planning of camera positions, preparation of technological support for television broadcasting
- defining the equipment of particular media areas
- preparation of logistics related to the movement of journalists with regard to the needs of the media
- management of a press conferences area with all equipment
- defining the so-called killed seats = tickets that cannot be released for sale due to blockages for the needs of the media in cooperation with the “Ticketing” section
- coordination of the media accreditation process
- coordination of the World Broadcasters Meeting as a fundamental meeting of all broadcasters, on the basis of which the details and requirements for the television operation are defined
- creation of the so-called rate card = price list of individual services offered to the media (especially within the framework of the TV operation)
- coordination of constructions within media spaces, including the needs of television broadcasting
- planning of the photo positions on various levels and providing access to them
- coordination of media requests for accommodation in official hotels in cooperation with the “Accommodation” department
- preparation of the official transport plan for the media between the media hotels and the event venue together with the “Transport” department
- preparation of a plan to provide refreshments for the media
- planning and coordinating a media trip not only for foreign journalists
- preparation of a comprehensive Media Guide with all the information needed for the media
- management of media areas during the event, providing information about the event to the media
- coordination of photographers and their specific activities during the event. Organization and management of the photo briefing
- managing the mixed zone and coordinating post-game interviews
- organization, moderation and interpretation of press conferences with coaches of individual teams or the LOC/IIHF members