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Smart Cities & Sport: What is Destination Halmstad’s strategy in regards to the promotion of the city through sport?

Ann Johansson: The citizens of Halmstad love sport, as shown by the many sport clubs we have in the city as well our four elite teams in football, handball, volleyball and table tennis. It was therefore natural for us to use sport to promote our destination. In our strategy to host more events, sport is the main driver.

We try to promote the love that the citizens of Halmstad have for sports. Many hearts beat for sport here and we like to tell the citizens’ stories about their connection with sport. This is also linked to our new initiative to open more youth camps in sport, not only for our own kids but also for visitors from other parts from Sweden and from other countries.

We also work hard to attract sport events. To promote the city in our bids, we use our local clubs and our star athletes. For example, we have recently used Jörgen Persson, World Champion in table tennis, who contributed to our campaign to win the right to host the World Table Team Tennis Championships in 2018.

It is also important for us to involve the entire community when we want to attract events to Halmstad. The community has to support our initiative and we therefore make sure the event will leave a positive impact for the city.

Smart Cities & Sport: Would you have a few hints to share with cities interested in using sport as a strategic tool to promote their city?

Ann Johansson: I can definitely think of two hints that every city should follow:

1. Do not try to do something that the citizens and local sport clubs don’t support. Public support is key to ensure the success of an initiative.
2. Tell the international audience about what your city can offer, but not only in terms of sport. Show how you can create a good event all over the city and turn it into a party for everyone, even for those who don´t like sport! Everybody needs to be involved for the event to make an impact internationally!

Smart Cities & Sport: In your experience, what should cities beware of when they wish to attract events to promote themselves?

Ann Johansson: Cities should make sure that the sport events they target have a good potential audience in the city. In the past, we have bid and won the right to host events that didn’t have any fan base in our city. It was therefore difficult to get attention, whether it is from the citizens or media. You need to do your homework carefully and look at the number of participants for the sport in your city, number of local events, etc.