SAUDI ARABIA OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
‘OLYMPIC FALCON PROGRAMME – LONDON 2012’
For immediate release
Sunday, June 7th, 2009 (embargoed until 21.00hrs)
SAUDI ARABIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES
EXCITING NEW SAUDI ‘OLYMPIC FALCON PROGRAM’
- New logo launched for Saudi Arabia’s London 2012 challenge
- SAOC appoint Roush Consulting for pre-Games training program
- Austrian agency Adhurricane contracted to handle sponsorship and marketing opportunities
- Attractive incentives offered to budding athletes by SAOC
- SAOC website revamped and re-launched soon for London 2012
RIYADH (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia): The Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) launched its new ‘Olympic Falcon Program – London 2012’ at a multimedia press conference and VIP/sponsor gala show in Prince Sultan’s Grand Hall at the Al-Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh on Sunday (June 7th).
The exciting new incentive marks the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s first steps in a complete re-launch of its bid for medal success at the 30th Olympic Games London 2012.
The launch was attended by HRH Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, President General of Youth Welfare and President of the Saudi Youth and Sports Body. Also in attendance was HRH Prince Nawaf bin Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Vice-President General of Youth Welfare and Vice-President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as well as prominent officials from the GPYW companies and organisations.
HRH Prince Nawaz has been a member of the IOC since 2002 and is also the President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and the Executive Vice-President of the Union of Arab Football Associations.
The senior Olympic delegation announced an exciting new ‘Olympic Falcon’ logo that will be used by the Saudi Arabian Olympic Team in the build-up to London 2012.
“This landmark launch will revolutionise Saudi Arabia’s approach to the Olympic Games,” enthused HRH Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz. “We want to increase the awareness of our athletes across a broad range of sports and bring these sports closer to the youth of Saudi Arabia.
“We will work closely with the relevant federations to achieve maximum success for our athletes.”
HRH Prince Nawaf stressed that the announcement focused on two programs for the future. “We want to first focus on training and the subsequent qualification of our athletes for London 2012 and then take that a stage further with a view to achieving medal success in three years time.”
Plans for a ‘Search for a new Saudi Sporting Hero’ and an ongoing ‘Green Yacht’ hospitality program have also been mooted, in addition to a potential tie-in with Saudi Arabian Airlines and contractual agreements with a leading American sports management consultancy and an Austrian-based advertising and marketing agency.
The SAOC is also in the process of revamping and re-launching www.saudiolympic.org.sa, which will go live soon after the Riyadh launch and will be continually updated with breaking news and events during the build-up to London 2012.
Roush Consulting appointed to handle pre-Games training program
The SAOC also announced the appointment of the American company Roush Consulting to work with athletes and members of the Saudi Arabian team in the three-year build-up to the Games in London. A contract has already been signed with Steve Roush.
Preparations for London 2012 have already started, but the emphasis will be placed on ensuring that Saudi Arabia’s sporting representatives are well-prepared and focused for qualifying events and major sporting meetings such as the 16th Asian Games Guangzhou 2010, Muscat 2010 2nd Asian Beach Games, the 3rd Asian Indoor Games Hanoi, Vietnam 2009 and the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Roush achieved considerable success in his role as Chief of Sports Performance at the US Olympic Committee and joins the SAOC to nurture and develop the Kingdom’s athletes from the various sporting federations.
“We are delighted to welcome Steve on board and are looking forward to the input from his exciting new role as a key member of our back-room team for London 2012,” said Dr. Rashed Al-Heraiwel. “Steve has a distinguished background in Olympic sport, through his sterling work with the American team and we hope that he can pass on his expertise to our athletes in our build-up to the Games.”
“It is a privilege and an honour for me to be working with the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee on this exciting new project,” said Roush. “I aim to pass on as much of my knowledge and experience as I can to the athletes from Saudi Arabia and the ultimate goal is obviously to have individuals finishing in medal positions in London in three years time.”
Adhurricane set to handle marketing and sponsorship opportunities
Salzburg-based advertising agency Adhurricane have been appointed to handle pre-Games marketing and sponsorship agreements and will work closely with the SAOC in the build-up to London 2012.
The Austrian agency are headed by Peter Wawra, the branding and marketing specialist, and his team will work on furthering the goals of the SAOC and handling a detailed publicity campaign in the build-up to the Games.
The company is planning to launch an exclusive new video channel with regular updates of athletes’ progress in their detailed preparations for London 2012 and is discussing plans for an exclusive web page for SAOC news on the sports pages of two leading Saudi Arabian newspapers.
Plans are also afoot to launch a sports-orientated ‘Olympic Talk Show’ following a proposed exclusive tie-in with a satellite television network. These programs will feature past and present Olympic greats, members of Saudi Arabia’s sporting communities and potential stars of the future.
A ‘Fan Reporter Contest’ will also be launched in association with a leading local Arabic and English newspaper to encourage up and coming sports writers to air their views on sporting topics.
The winner will be chosen from a prominent panel of judges and invited to attend the Games as part of the official Saudi Arabian media delegation. He or she will be offered a position within a publishing house, be sent to attend the Games and also be encouraged to submit regular news reports and stories from the heat of the action when the 30th Olympic Games get underway in London on July 27th 2012.
Adhurricane is also working on plans to start a thorough media and public relations program in the build-up to the Games, with You Tube and a world- renowned fast food chain targeted for the airing of SAOC and Saudi Arabian Olympic team material.
The agency is also working on exciting plans for the Saudi Olympic Falcon Simulator Roadshow. The state-of-the-art facility will be launched later in the year and will carry out a nationwide tour of cities and major sporting facilities. It features a four-dimensional Falcon flight to London and gives the viewer a thrilling overview of the road to London 2012.
In conjunction with the SAOC, Adhurricane are also in the process of finalising an agreement to brand the fuselages of select Saudi Arabian Airlines aircraft from the fleet and to deck them out in the new Olympic Falcon logo of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee.
Attractive incentive package announces by the SAOC
The Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee is also offering an attractive Saudi Olympic Falcon Award incentive package to budding athletes from the wide spectrum of Olympic sports governed by the various Saudi Arabian federations.
The packages are being sub-divided into several categories:
Qualification for Olympic Games London 2012
– Individual sport: The athlete wins SAR 100,000
(One hundred thousand Saudi Riyals)
– Team sport: The team wins SAR 500,000
(Five hundred thousand Saudi Riyals)
Medal winners
Bronze medal winners
– Individual: The athlete wins SAR 400,000
(Four hundred thousand Saudi Riyals)
– Team: The team wins SAR 2,000,000
(Two million Saudi Riyals)
Silver medal winners
– Individual: The athlete wins SAR 700,000
(Seven hundred thousand Saudi Riyals)
– Team: The team wins SAR 3,000,000
(Three million Saudi Riyals)
Gold medal winners
– Individual: The athlete wins SAR 1,000,000
(One million Saudi Riyals)
– Team: The team wins SAR 5,000,000
(Five million Saudi Riyals)
Generous remunerations will be awarded to members of the delegation, as well as the technical and administration support staff of the winning athletes and teams.
Ends