The theme: When the Playbook Changes: Leading Sport in a New Reality.
Geopolitical pressure. Rising costs. Participation habits in flux. Technology moving faster than most strategic plans. The rules of international sport are being rewritten, and SportAccord Forum 2026 asks what leadership looks like when they are.
Three days at the Olympic Museum bringing together the Olympic Movement, International Federations, major events, host destinations, business and technology.
The Forum opens on Monday 5 October with an address from SportAccord President Prof. Dr. Uğur Erdener, followed by a keynote from IOC President Kirsty Coventry. Hosting duties go to SportAccord’s long-standing MC David Eades, joined this year by three-time Olympian Ana Jelušić Black.
Monday: Leading through a new reality
Following the official welcomes and opening addresses, the programme turns to the future of winter sport. Climate change, venue challenges, the relationship between summer and winter sport and the future Olympic programme all come into focus as the Forum considers how winter sports are adapting to a changing environment. The welcome reception follows.
Tuesday: Where federations act
The bigger picture first: geopolitical pressure, economic uncertainty, technology and changing participation habits. What do those forces mean for sport, and where do organisations act?
Then participation: how people, including younger generations, are discovering, playing and staying connected to sport. Where are the new routes to growth? And as the global events market shifts, where is demand moving and which hosting models still work?
The afternoon turns to response: where the real gaps in digital readiness lie, what happens when fast-growing new sports meet established federation structures, and how athletes can continue to shape sport beyond competition.
Wednesday: What comes next
IOC leadership looks ahead with Fit for the Future: where the Olympic Movement is heading, followed by updates from forthcoming editions of the Olympic Games.
Then the SportAccord City Forum: federations, cities and governments in one conversation about hosting strategy, sports tourism and creating value that lasts beyond the event itself.
At a glance
Mon 5 Oct | 15:00-19:00 — Official opening and keynote · Winter sport and the future Olympic programme · Welcome Reception
Tue 6 Oct | 09:15-12:30 The forces reshaping sport · New routes to participation · The changing global events landscape · 14:00-17:00 Digital readiness · When new sport meets the system · The athlete perspective · 17:30-20:00 Evening reception, Mövenpick Hotel
Wed 7 Oct | 09:30-12:30 The Olympic Movement: Fit for the Future · Updates from forthcoming Games · 13:30-16:00 SportAccord City Forum · Hosting strategy · Sports tourism · Creating shared value · Closing
