Lausanne, July 31, 2008 - The City of Lausanne, the Olympic Capital, has just announced that Mr. Simon Anholt, nation branding expert, will be giving a keynote speech at the Lausanne Summit, held on October 9-11, in Lausanne Switzerland.

Simon Anholt is regarded as the world’s leading specialists in creating brand strategies for countries, cities and regions and will give a keynote speech about how sports events can be used to help a host build its own competitive identity. Anholt is an independent policy advisor to the governments of countries, cities and regions on branding, public diplomacy, economic development, public affairs, cultural relations and trade, tourism and export promotion.
 
The Lausanne Summit will be the first ever gathering of Olympic Cities. In the Olympic Capital, the Summit will bring together the Mayors of Cities who have organised, will organise, or are considering organising the Olympic or Youth Olympic Games. Joining together for the first time, past Olympic hosts will share experiences that will help to further build the platform for the future success of each and every Olympic and Youth Olympic Games to come. Future hosts will have many of their questions answered through this platform for the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
 
Mayor of Lausanne, Mr. Daniel Brélaz, said: “We are honoured to be hosting this first gathering of Olympic Cities. Host cities are the building blocks of a successful Olympic experience. This is why we have taken the initiative, along with the full support of the International Olympic Committee, to launch this Summit. We look forward to welcoming the Mayors from around the world to the Olympic Capital.”

President of the IOC, Dr. Jacques Rogge, said: “The IOC has committed to ensuring that a city understands as early as possible the importance of integrating the Olympic Games into its long-term urban development strategy, in order to leave the best possible urban and sporting legacy to the country, the city and its entire community. This is why the IOC supports the first Lausanne Summit which will be the perfect platform to share and exchange information and knowledge."