Partnerships
Les protagonistes posent assis en groupe.
Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, surrounded by the participants in the 5th Tokyo Global Partners Seminar. Geoffroy Clerckx, the representative of the Brussels-Capital Region, is sitting on her right.

5th Tokyo Global Partners Seminar: spotlight on sports

From 19 until 21 November 2019, the 5th Tokyo Global Partners Seminar, in which the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR) participated, discussed the promotion of sports.

In November, representatives of the Brussels-Capital Region, the City of Tokyo and 16 other cities from around the world gathered in Tokyo for the 5th Tokyo Global Partners Seminar: they included bilateral partners of the BCR such as Beijing and Berlin, as well as Los Angeles, Tomsk, Bangkok and Jakarta.

Yuriko Koike is pictured standing, giving a speech, surrounded by other participants.
Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo.

This international seminar, which was superbly organised by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, provided the participants with a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences and develop their networks.

 

Cities and sport

The theme of the 5th Tokyo Global Partners Seminar was “City Growth through Promotion of Sports”. It was specifically chosen in the run-up to the Olympic Games and Paralympics which the Japanese capital will host in 2020. The last day of the programme included a visit to the Olympic Museum and such sites as the Olympic Village and the Sea Forest Waterway, where the rowing and canoe/kayak races will be held.

The participants pose around the Olympic rings.
Visit of the Olympic Museum.
View of the stands along the water.
Visit of Sea Forest Waterway, which will host the rowing and canoe/kayak races during the 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympics in Tokyo.
  
The visitors are shown looking at buildings.
Visit of the Olympic Village.

The seminar was divided into two sessions: “A Society where Sports are enjoyed by Everyone” and “Local Revitalisation through Hosting International-Scale Sports Events”.

 

The example of Brussels, which hosted the Grand Départ of this year’s Tour de France

During the second session, Geoffroy Clerckx, a representative of Brussels International, gave a presentation about the Grand Départ of the 2019 Tour de France, which took place in Brussels last July. The capital was decked out in yellow for four whole days. The public gave former and present-day cycling champions a warm welcome, including a moving tribute to the Brussels cyclist Eddy Merckx, who is widely considered the greatest bicycle racer in history. The presentation of the Brussels representative generated a lot of reactions from the participants, including the City of Rotterdam, which hopes to host a Grand Départ in the years to come.

two photos of Geoffroy Clerckx, speaking.
Geoffroy Clerckx (Brussels International) gave a presentation about the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Brussels in July 2019.

 

Preparation of the Brussels Days in Tokyo

The Brussels delegation also took advantage of its presence in Tokyo to make visits and attend preparatory meetings for the Brussels Days which the Brussels-Capital Region will be organising during the last week of July in Tokyo in the margin of the Olympic Games. The programme includes several events: a major networking event, a power lunch, a tourism seminar, political and economic meetings, site visits… And of course, the participants will also be cheering on our elite athletes, who will hopefully return from Tokyo with plenty of medals!

Les protagonistes posent debout.
Left to right: Brent Van Tassel, First Secretary at the Embassy of Belgium in Tokyo, Frédérique Neuville, responsible for sport at visit.brussels, Geoffroy Clerckx, the representative of Brussels International, and William Delsemme, Economic and Commercial Attaché of the BCR in Tokyo, during the welcome reception of the 5th Global Partners Seminar.