BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government will begin promoting its pet project, the Men’s Hockey World Cup which is nearly two months away on a larger scale not just in different parts of India but beyond national shores as well, IANS reports.
The marquee tournament will have Odisha as its title partner and Odisha Tourism as its host partner. The government will also be sponsoring the Indian men’s and women’s junior and senior teams, making it a rare combination of sports tourism and sponsorship. The six Indian metros, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad will witness promotional road campaigns out of the 17 stops that the Odisha government has zeroed down upon.
While overseas, it will be replicating its London bus campaign ‘Odisha by Morning, Hockey by Evening’ in Australia, Germany and Malaysia which also happen to be hockey-loving nations. The tourism department is expecting a footfall of around 40,000 foreign tourists during the Hockey World Cup.
The government has confirmed that the renovation work of the Kalinga Hockey Stadium has entered its final leg. The capacity of the stadium has been increased to 15,000. For enhancing tourism, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) have started the beautification work of the city. The civic body has commissioned artists for wall painting themed after hockey and its players.
As many as 300 new buses in two phases will be deployed in the city. To ensure that fans catch all the action as well as feel the buzz of the tournament in all parts of the city, the civic body has identified several public congregation places where large LED screens will be installed during the tournament.
Notably, Bhubaneswar has played host to major international sports events in the past. It organized the FIH Champions Trophy 2014, 22nd Asian Athletics Championships 2017, Hockey World League Finals 2017 and Hero Super Cup 2018.
“The sports and tourism promotion will go together. We have decided to promote Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup and popularise Odisha tourism in the country and abroad as well,” Chandra Sarathi Behera, the state’s sports minister was quoted as saying to IANS.
“We have successfully organised the Asian Athletics Championships 2017 within a limited period. We will use our experience to make the hockey event a spectacular one that will enhance the image of the state as a sports destination,” he added.
“We have planned to start the bus campaign in Sydney in Australia, Munich in Germany and Malaysia. It will showcase the state as an exciting tourist and sporting destination,” Sports and Tourism secretary Vishal Dev said.
“We are perhaps the only state who is pushing the agenda of sports tourism in its true essence. We want to make sure we push the campaign in every tourism event we participate,” he added.
Recently, CM Naveen Patnaik also launched the “My Heart Beats for Hockey” in the city. This campaign aims at spreading the passion and love for the game of hockey.
