Hospitality support vital to bid for 2018 World Cup

Hospitality's support is crucial to England's bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, according to David Hornby of England 2018 Hotels and Hospitality, which, if successful, wlll get the cash rolling in. Hornby presents his case in Caterer's weekly Viewpoint column.

Support from the hotel and hospitality industry will be a key factor in a successful bid for the FIFA World Cup in 2018. In fact, as a nation, our hospitality, hotel supply and the quality of the product could be one of the factors which differentiates England from our competitors.

We have a great deal to do, but we have started early and have time to get the right brands and hotels on board. The industry must be engaged and champion the bid from the very beginning of the bidding process, which is why we are about to launch our bid to the sector this month.

The bid was launched on 18 May by a wealth of supporters at the highest level of both football and Government, including bid vice-presidents such as David Beckham and the prime minister, Gordon Brown.

Attending this event were leaders from prospective applicant cities, and they will play an important part in the bidding process over the coming months.

The FIFA World Cup is the largest event in the world. During the Germany 2006 FIFA World Cup 32 teams played in 64 matches in 12 stadiums over 31 days; 3.36 million fans attended the games; 18.4 million fans travelled to specially organised fan parks and watched the games on big screens, while TV reached a global audience of 24 billion people in 240 countries, showing the world a warm and welcoming Germany. The event generated billions of euros for the German economy.

The prize of England 2018 is huge, and to host the event would be a privilege for England. The chance to see the world's best footballers on our turf and welcome the world to England would be a once-in-a-generation experience.

To make this happen we must work together and exceed the expectations of FIFA and live up to the high expectations of English football fans.

The world's top footballers will pull in the crowds if the England bid succeeds

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By David Hornby

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