‘Welcome to Hell’. That was the message unfurled on a banner at Istanbul airport when the then English Premier League Champions Manchester United visited the city for a Champions League match against their Turkish counterparts Galatasaray way back in 1993.
Intended to intimidate the United players and staff, and maximise home advantage, ‘Welcome to Hell’ soon became a signature rallying-call for Turkish teams taking on the opposition in European competition - and shorthand for all that appeared foreign and unpredictable about Turkey to western eyes. How things have changed. Now the country with a population of around 74 million, the second largest in Europe, is promoting a very different image of itself as a haven if not a heaven for major sport events in a fast-growing domestic economy energised by a young population.
The national tourist board slogan may today be a bland ’Turkey Welcomes You’ but the country’s sporting profile is anything but dull. Bounded by continental Europe, Russia and the Middle East, Turkey is showing some of the most proactive sports event hosting characteristics from each region.
In football, having done its homework with bidding experiences for Euro 2008 (jointly with Greece) and Euro 2012, Turkey is bidding to host Euro 2016 up against established western European powers in France and Italy, while at club level, the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul hosted the 2005 Champions League final, while the city’s Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup final.
Meanwhile, like the progressive, sports-focused states in the Gulf region, Turkey is successfully competing to host some of the most prestigious world championship events: the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championships will be staged across five venues in Turkey this summer; the WTA’s Sony Ericsson Championships, held in Doha, Qatar from 2008-201, has ear-marked Istanbul for its end-of-season showcase from 2011 to 2014, while the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships, also staged in Qatar in 2010, will come to Istanbul’s Sinan Erdem Dome in 2012.
And like its rich Russian neighbour, Turkey is also going for major winter sports events. Although the country eventually passed on a chance to bid for the 2014 Winter Games won by Sochi, the Winter University Games will be held in Erzurum in the north-eastern Anatolia region in 2011. Add to that annual events like F1’s Turkish Grand Prix (on the racing series calendar since 2005) and the MotoGP Grand Prix of Turkey, plus a vibrant domestic football and basketball scene and Turkey’s sporting event CV looks world class by any standards. What’s driving Turkey’s impressive sporting progress?
According to Bettina Kuperman, director of TSE Consulting Turkey, which has advised a number of Turkish sports federations over recent years in landing important sports events, Turkey’s commitment to hosting elite international sport events is driven by a multi-faceted push into the global mainstream.
“Turkey has definitely realised the benefits of hosting major sports events,” says Kuperman, part of a TSE team that has helped bring the Indoor Athletics World Championships, the Swimming Short Course World Championships and the Golf World Championships to the country. “Besides the direct economic impact major sports events bring, it is an important driver for Turkey’s overall nation branding strategy.
“Major sports events are second to none in terms of getting media attention and an excellent way to raise awareness about the country as a business and leisure destination. Turkey is rich country with a strong economy but it is still considered to be an emerging market. Major sports events are a way for Turkey to show, not just tell the world, that they are a country on the rise and to watch out for.”
For a full international focus, please see the latest issue of SportBusiness International out May 1.
