Lord Mayor Hosts Velo-City Contract Signing with European Cycle Federation
Lord Mayor of Dublin, Brendan Carr welcomes Mr. Bernhard Ensink and Mr. Marcio Deslandes from the European Cycle Federation (ECF) to the Mansion House on Thursday, 6th April 2017 at 10.30 am to sign the contract that will bring the Velo-City Conference to Dublin in June 2019.
The Velo-City conference series is the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) annual global cycling summit organised by the ECF and selected host cities. Velo-City conferences are widely considered as the premier international cycling conference series and serve as a global communications and information platform to target and influence decision makers, and improve the policies, planning and provision of infrastructure for cycling and the daily use of the bicycle in an urban environment. The conferences traditionally involve experts, representatives of associations, institutions, policy-makers and social agents, universities and companies.
In August 2016, Dublin City Council made a formal submission to bid for Velo-City to take place in Dublin 2019. Dublin, along with Helsinki, were shortlisted as potential host cities for Velo-City 2019 in September 2016, an intensive site visit took place in both Dublin and Helsinki in November 2016, with Dublin announced as being awarded the bid in December 2016. The 2019 conference will take place in the Dublin Convention Centre from 25th – 28th of June in 2019.
Lord Mayor Brendan Carr said “I am delighted that Dublin has been chosen to host Velo-City in 2019. I would like to congratulate Dublin City Council and the other partner agencies who successfully bid to bring this prestigious international conference to Dublin city. Hosting Velo-City will accelerate efforts to further the development of Dublin as a world class cycling city.”
Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Shane Ross T.D., today congratulated Dublin City Council on winning the right to host Velo-city 2019. He said “I was hugely impressed with the Dublin City Council led bid and am delighted that Dublin has been chosen to host Velo-city 2019.
I was pleased to meet with the European Cyclist’s Federation CEO Bernhard Ensink and his colleagues on their recent visit to Dublin to assess the Dublin bid to host Velo-city 2019. I assured Mr. Ensink of the Government’s commitment to supporting this conference, and look forward to welcoming the 2,000 participants in June 2019.
Ireland, and Dublin in particular, is well positioned to attract international conferences of this scale with our increasing air connectivity and excellent facilities such as those available at the Convention Centre Dublin which will be the venue for this fascinating conference. I hope to see many more events of this scale being awarded to Ireland in the coming years.”
Bernhard Ensink, ECF Secretary General said “We are excited to bring participants from all continents in 2019 to Dublin. Velo-City 2019 Dublin will – as all our Global Cycling Summits do – offer a great opportunity for sharing the experience, knowledge and expertise about the promotion of cycling worldwide.”
Colm Ryder, Chairperson Cyclist.ie said “The international Velo City conference series is the most prestigious and largest cycling related conference in the world, with thousands of delegates from all parts of the globe attending. Dublin Cycling Campaign/Cyclist.ie, as the Irish member of the European Cyclists’ Federation the conference coordinator, is proud to be a partner in Dublin city’s successful bid to host this conference in 2019 and to welcome potential delegates.”
Dublin previously hosted Velo-City in 2005 and is the first city in the world to be awarded the conference twice. Hosting Velo-City in 2005 proved a catalyst for cycling growth in the city – the number of cyclists in the city increased by 150% since 2005, but also the conference showed that cycling was a real and viable mode of transport for Dublin despite its decline over the previous years. The experience that the delegates shared with Dublin and their insights really changed attitudes at a number of levels to cycling and showed that there was a need for strong policy decisions, ambitious targets and an integrated approach to encouraging sustainable travel.
The 2019 conference promises to double these efforts in terms of delivering Dublin as a word class cycling city. Dublin as a Smart City has also embraced Intelligent Transport solutions and is also exploring ways in which innovative technology can contribute to growing and promoting cycling in the city.
Dublin’s theme for Velo-City 2019 is Cycling for the Ages, which will encourage cycling by people of all ages, young and old, male and female and to promote the health, environmental, social and economic benefits of cycling. The theme will also show the evolution of cycling in Dublin through the ages and into the future.
Dublin looks forward to welcoming delegates from all over the world to share experiences, successes and challenges in promoting and developing cycling during Velo-City Dublin, 2019 and anticipate that, just as in 2005, hosting Velo-City will be a game changer for cycling in Dublin.
The Velo-City conference will attract 2,000 international delegates and as such will be a hugely beneficial event for the city and the country with an estimated €3.8 million boost to the economy.
