Official bid from the City of Tromsø, Norway

Chess Olympiad 2014

Official bid from the City of Tromsø, Norway
and the Norwegian Chess Federation

Tromsø, 27 April 2010

The city of Tromsø and the Norwegian Chess Federation (NSF) are strongly committed to hosting the 41st Chess Olympiad in 2014. The application is backed by the Norwegian Government through an allocation of NOK 70 million, approximately € 8.8 million based on today’s exchange rate.

With its 75,000 inhabitants, including 10,000 university students, Tromsø has all the amenities of “a small large city”. Chess players around the world will discover a friendly and open-minded population with hotels of excellent international standard, an attractive restaurant scene and diverse cultural activities.

Tromsø has a very active chess community and hosts an international festival, the Arctic Chess Challenge, every August. The tournament will be further upgraded in coming years to prepare for the potential Olympiad in 2014. As an important element of this preparation Sjakk Tromsø also offers to host the World Cup in 2013 as part of the application for the 41st Chess Olympiad.

A national project group to prepare the Olympiad application was established in 2007 and in May 2008 the bidding company, Sjakk Tromsø 2014 AS, was established with The City of Tromsø (90%) and the NSF (10%) as shareholders. Thus, this application is the result of a long and thorough process, and Sjakk Tromsø will be well prepared to take on the responsibility of the Olympiad in 2014.

Key factors in our application are briefly presented below and further outlined in the application document.

• Sjakk Tromsø will apply to host the Chess Olympiad during 1-14 August 2014, a period of pleasant and comfortable weather, offering the Olympic chess community a range of attractive experiences beyond the chess itself.

• The main objectives are:

Organize an Olympiad that is perceived as highly successful by all involved parties
Recruit more players via increased Internet presence and access
Spotlight the significance of chess in education and intellectual development
Provide an unforgettable and positive experience of Tromsø, northern Norway, and Norway

• The Olympiad itself will begin on 2 August and end 14 August 2014. The tournament will consist of 11 rounds, one round per day and two rest days. All matches will be transmitted via the Olympiad’s Internet portal and selected matches will be shown on large screens with commentary in the hall.

• The playing venue will be the new cruise ship Port Terminal located by the harbor, 300 meters from the main Tromsø hotels. The complex will consist of three adjacent buildings of which 8,000 square meters are available for the Chess Olympiad.

• The biennial FIDE Congress takes place over nine days in parallel with the Chess Olympiad, and concludes at the same time. The FIDE Congress is held in an appropriate facility, in one of the city’s main conference hotels, next to the playing hall.

• Sjakk Tromsø is committed to staging an attractive opening ceremony that contains both procedural and cultural elements and a slightly less elaborate closing ceremony. In addition the Olympiad will be center stage for the host city and its residents, and a comprehensive cultural calendar will be an integral part of the Tromsø 2014 Chess Olympiad.

• During the Chess Olympiad, a range of side events will be held. These will include various tournaments, seminars and the NSF board meeting.

• The web site/portal will be the event’s most important communication channel to the public and major resources will be allocated for this purpose. Expected number of participants, leaders, guests and functionaries.

• 1400 players divided over 150 open teams and 130 women’s teams from up to 150 nations
• 300 accredited for the FIDE Congress
• 400 accredited media reporters
• 1750 participants in the side events.
• 100 sponsors, election candidates, bidding cities, and guests.

Accommodation

There will be a need for about 35,000 overnight stays spread over 20 days. The peak need will be 2600 beds during the FIDE Congress, which is the nine last days of the event.

Sjakk Tromsø has received positive response from the hotel industry with about 80% of capacity free for the Chess Olympiad in the period 1-14 August.

Transport to and from Tromsø

Most of the transport needs are linked to the 2600 accredited attending. Most of these are coming from abroad and will arrive by air.

The Chess Olympiad will involve concentrated traffic, which makes it possible for airlines to increase capacity in advance and to fill planes more than during ordinary traffic. The conclusion is that the Olympiad represents a manageable traffic increase for the airlines. August is a month with good weather conditions and high regularity. International air traffic will come over Oslo Gardermoen Airport (OSL), the main airport in Norway, which has more than sufficient capacity to handle the traffic.

In its preparation Sjakk Tromsø will, in cooperation with the authorities, focus particularly on the visa issue, securing a smooth and effective entry to Norway for accredited personnel.

Here is the full bid: http://www.tromso2014.no/OfficialBid_30April2010.pdf