A total of four venues have put in bids to host the FEI World Cup™ Finals in 2017. London (GBR) and Omaha, Nebraska (USA) have applied to stage both the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping and the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Finals. The other two venues have put in bids to host just one Final, with Hong Kong (HKG) putting in a bid for the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final and ‘s-Hertogenbosch (NED) bidding to host the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final.
London’s O2 Arena, which was renamed the North Greenwich Arena for the Olympic and Paralympic events staged there during London 2012, is the proposed venue for the British bid for the joint-Finals in 2017. The Century Link Center, which hosts sports events and concerts, has been put forward as the venue in Omaha, Nebraska for the American double bid.
AsiaWorld Expo, venue for the Longines Hong Kong Masters and which is situated next to Hong Kong International Airport, is the venue proposed for the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final. Indoor Brabant, which hosted the double FEI World Cup™ Finals in 2012, has been put forward as the venue for the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final.
The FEI has also confirmed today that all three applicants – Wellington (USA), Lexington (USA), and Bromont/Montreal (CAN) – have been accepted as Official Candidates in the bid process to host the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 following assessment of the Bid Questionnaires by the FEI Evaluation Commission. Site visits by the Evaluation Commission will precede presentations by the bidders to the Commission and to the FEI Bureau.
In other bidding news, the FEI has received bids for the senior FEI European Championships in 2017. Gothenburg (SWE) has applied to host Jumping, Dressage, Para-Dressage and Driving (Four in Hand), Rotterdam (NED) has put in a bid to host the Jumping, and there are two bids to host the Eventing Championships, one from Strezgom (POL) and one from Fontainebleau (FRA).
“It is gratifying that our key events are attracting such strong interest from bidders,” FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos said. “We have got a very impressive portfolio that includes the FEI World Equestrian Games™, our FEI series and the Championships. It’s testament to the value of these events that so many countries are vying to host them.”
Allocation for all these events will be made during the FEI in-person Bureau meeting in June 2014.
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