Olympic Press Committee member Alan Abrahamson gave a reality check to a record number of delegates at the FEI Sports Forum as almost 320 participants debated the future shape of equestrian sport in Lausanne (SUI) today. “What you’re facing is nothing less than a reality check for the sport,” the former Los Angeles Times and NBCOlympics.com correspondent said.
“A lot of the public don’t know anything about equestrian sport. There are tons of new sports trying to knock on the Olympic door. Skateboarding, surfing and rock climbing are almost guaranteed to be on the Olympic programme for Tokyo because they are perceived as cool and sexy sports. You know you’ve got a great sport. You have that core audience, what you need are more and younger fans. This is not a crisis point. It’s not a moment of desperation for you, it’s a moment rich with opportunity.”
Alan Abrahamson, who has covered eight Olympic Games over the past 18 years, was speaking at the opening session on today’s programme, focusing on the changing communication landscape and how to use new media to reach a massively increased fan base. He was joined on stage by Richard Johnson, FEI Director of Corporate Communications, who outlined the FEI’s global campaign in the build-up to Rio 2016 and beyond.