Arsenal lift the 2009 Emirates Cup
Emirates Cup wins Silver Visit London Award
Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that the Emirates Cup has won the Silver Award for ‘Sports Tourism' at Thursday night's Visit London Awards, in recognition of the success of Emirates Cup 2008.
The prestigious annual Visit London Awards highlight the very best of the capital, including accommodation, attractions, entertainment and cultural events, showcasing London's leaders in creativity and innovation.
The awards were voted for by industry professionals from around London, with Arsenal Football Club being up for the Sports Tourism Award against events and organisations including Redbridge Cycling Centre for the Inspri8tion, the Olympic Handover with Beijing and the ICC World Twenty 20 England 2009.
The high profile Emirates Cup pre-season weekend tournament, which has run for three successive years, has welcomed nearly 350,000 people in total from over 40 countries, with the visitors watching Arsenal compete with Europe's leading teams including Real Madrid, Juventus and Inter Milan.
Since opening in July 2006, Emirates Stadium has rapidly established itself as one of the most spectacular and successful sports stadia in the world. In addition to the regular Arsenal home fixtures and Emirates Cup, the stadium has played host to four international friendlies involving Brazil, two major music concerts, whilst also hosting over 1,000 events for businesses and individuals from around the UK and Europe.
Arsenal Head of Marketing Angus Kinnear said: "We're delighted to haves won this Visit London Award, in recognition of producing an event that encourages the growth of sports tourism in London."
"The weekend tournament was established in 2007 after indentifying a gap in the UK market for a European pre-season friendly tournament in the lead up to the new league season.
"With the ever increasing popularity of football in the UK, access to tickets to see top class European teams and, also, Arsenal fixtures, has become difficult to many football fans.
"The Emirates Cup was established to give all football supporters the opportunity to watch some first class football in English at a time of year where there is a lack of live matches in the UK. "
Kinnear continued: "The tournament also gives the Arsenal team the opportunity to prepare for the season and showcase the football which fans can expect to see in the forthcoming year. By working with leading sports agency, Kentaro, the tournament has sold out for three consecutive years and we are already planning 2010's event."
Emirates Stadium has also won many awards for its construction process, regeneration and its Meetings and Events offering, including: 2007 ‘Visit London' - Business Venue of The Year and 2008 ‘Meet England' - Business Tourism Gold Award.
Details on Emirates Cup 2010 will appear on www.Arsenal.com in due course.
[Friday, November 06, 2009]
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