altApril 3 - Hill & Knowlton has been appointed as the official communications agency for the joint candidature of Belgium and Holland for the World Cup 2018 and 2022, it was announced today.

 

They will be responsible for all the candidature’s strategy and realisation of all worldwide communications activities in the run-up to the decision by FIFA's ruling Executive Committee in December 2010.

 
Hill & Knowlton is making its entire network of 73 offices in 41 countries available for the candidature of Belgium and Holland, which will be up against England, who are the favourites to win the bid to host the 2018 tournament.
 
The company has put together a central bid team of advisors from Amsterdam, Brussels and London, with its Dutch office co-ordinating the activities.
 
Their first task will be to overcome the negative publicity they has attracted after FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that he did not think a joint bid could win when there were so many strong single country bidders.
 
Harry Been, the managing director for the Belgian and Dutch bid, said: “We have chosen Hill & Knowlton because of their extensive experience both of bids for major sports events and of the management and realisation of large-scale international communications projects.
 
"With the co-operation of Hill & Knowlton, we intend to show the world the contribution that a FIFA World Cup in our countries could make to the development and wider significance of football.”
 
Hill & Knowlton has a proven record in relation to the communication of candidatures for major sports events.
 
Among others, the agency supported the successful Olympic and Paralympic campaigns of London 2012 and Athens 2004. Hill & Knowlton was also the official communications agency of the organising committee of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. 
 
Paul Taffe, the chairman and chief executive of Hill & Knowlton, said: “In the next two years, we at Hill & Knowlton will provide our expertise to help the bid committee convince the world of the strong candidature of Belgium and Holland.
 
"The race to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022 is a milestone in the history of bid campaigns: it is the first time that as many as 11 candidatures, a total of 13 countries, have applied to host this great event.
 
"We are honored to take on the responsibility for the Belgium and Dutch Foundation for this important and significant candidature.”
 
Besides Belgium and Holland and England, the other bidders are Australia, Japan, Qatar, Mexico, Russia, Indonesia and South Korea.

 

There is also another joint proposal from Spain and Portugal.