A record seven National Federations have sent in formal Expressions of Interest to host the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018.
 
Signed Expression of Interest documents have been received from the National Federations of Australia, Canada, Hungary, Morocco, Sweden, Russia, and the USA. The deadline for receipt of signed documentation was midnight CET last night, 15 November 2011.
 
“Having a record seven Expressions of Interest in hosting the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018 is the best possible endorsement of the FEI’s flagship event,” FEI Secretary General Ingmar de Vos said. “It also shows the value of the review that the FEI has commissioned of the bidding process for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ and FEI European Championships, which is aimed at raising the profile of these events and their associated revenues by creating a competitive, well structured and transparent bid process.”
 
An economic impact study of the direct and indirect economic impact generated by Kentucky’s hosting of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010 showed a total economic impact of between USD 373 and USD 396 million. The Deloitte study, which was commissioned by the FEI, revealed a direct economic impact of USD 233 million and an indirect economic impact of between USD 140 and USD 163 million.
 
The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010 generated attendance figures of 507,000, with spectator numbers exceeding 40,000 on four separate peak days. Ninety-six percent of local visitors agreed that hosting the event was beneficial to Kentucky, and 74% of international visitors stated that they would be more likely to return to Kentucky as a result of the Games.
 
The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010 generated 16 days of live High Definition broadcast coverage, with 66 television channels from around the world airing 1,556 broadcasts. Approximately 474 broadcast hours were transmitted, an additional 153 hours, or a 32% increase, when compared with the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2006.
 
The 2010 Games, the biggest equestrian event ever staged in the US and the first FEI World Equestrian Games™ held outside Europe, received the largest block of equestrian programming ever available for viewing in the US market. More than 38 hours of programming was aired in the US, including over 20 hours of live coverage. US Olympic network NBC broadcast 8.5 hours of coverage, which included a five-hour broadcast on Cross Country day, 3 October.
 
FEI TV produced 16 days of live internet broadcasts, which included 175 hours of Video on Demand, daily highlight shows and 116 features and interviews.
 
Full details of the bidding process, the timeline and requirements for hosting the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018, will be sent to the seven National Federations that have completed and returned the Expression of Interest form.
 
Notes to Editors:
The FEI World Equestrian Games™ are held every four years, in the middle of the Olympic cycle. The seven FEI disciplines – Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining – are all included on the competition schedule.
 
The inaugural FEI World Equestrian Games™ were hosted in Stockholm (SWE) in 1990. Since then the Games have been staged in The Hague (NED) in 1994, Rome (ITA) in 1998, Jerez (ESP) in 2002, and Aachen (GER) in 2006. The first Games to be staged outside Europe were the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Kentucky (USA) 2010.