Academics and industry gather for Olympic event in Northampton

The University of Northampton's Business School is hosting a major conference next Wednesday 13 July on 'Examining the Global Impact of the Olympics'.

Together with Emerald Publishing, The Academy of Marketing and the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the event will be a uniquely designed forum for debate and discussion around the submission of academic abstracts for future publication in the sports and leisure fields surrounding this unique sporting global event.

The event is designed as a platform for an international Olympics conference to be held at the University in 2012. This conference represents the ideal opportunity for academics and practitioners to engage and gather to discuss current issues and opportunities in the bourgeoning field of Sports Leisure & Marketing.

The University has recently launched a new degree in the subject discipline BA Sports Marketing, as well as introducing a brand new 'Field of Leisure' within the Marketing & Entrepreneurship faculty in the Business School. This conference is testimony to the importance placed in the development of the curricula and academic pursuit in this subject area.

The conference will feature many active researchers and academics in marketing, sports marketing, leisure and other relevant disciplines in events and marketing communications. Also in attendance will be many sports marketing practitioners, agencies, sports and leisure organisations and properties. Themed workshops on all aspects of the global importance of the London Olympics will be constructed around the themes of the abstract submissions.

Keynote speakers include Professor Andy Miah, Dr. Vassil Girginov, Dr. Dikaia Chatziefstathiou, Dr. Paul Baines, Dr. Lisa O'Keeffe, and Professor Gayle McPherson, as well as many senior academics and luminaries from sport and academia.

The agenda and themes for the day include the following workshops:

• The Social Media Olympics- Harnessing the Twitter Olympics?-The use of New Media from Vancouver 2010 to London 2012
• The Cultural legacy of the London 2012 Games
• The Games-Sporting PR Opportunity or PR Clutter?
• Marketing Impacts & Olympics Sponsorship-A marketing perspective through Global Brands?

For enquiries or to book your place at the conference, please visit http://tinyurl.com/sports-leisure-conference or contact Hayley Hunter at business@northampton.ac.uk, telephone: 01604 892036.