Stakeholders in Japan’s Chiba prefecture join hands to court the global dance congress
CID-UNESCO, founded in 1973, is an organisation for different styles of dance from all over the world. It is a non-governmental organisation within UNESCO and is based in Paris.
There are 4,000 members and 600 member organisations from 155 countries. Members include students, teachers, choreographers and dancers. The Dance Congress is held to promote peace regardless of nationality, age, sex, or occupation.
A spokesman from the Chiba Convention Bureau and International Center (CCB-IC) said Urayasu City was designated an International Meeting Tourism City in 2010, and the mayor of Urayasu City met CID-UNESCO staff in 2011 in Greece during Japan National Tourism Organization’s annual Meet Japan programme.
From that point on CCB-IC, Urayasu City and JNTO worked together to convince organisers that Urayasu City would be the best destination for the 2014 dance congress, based on its convenient access to two international airports, the superb facilities of the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel, and the area’s abundance of accommodation and amenities aimed at foreign travellers.
Working together, Team Chiba won the bid for the 38th CID-UNESCO World Dance Congress and it became the first congress to be awarded a convention subsidy, which had just been created in 2011, from Chiba Prefecture.
In Chiba Prefecture subsidies from the prefectural government, municipal governments, and CCB-IC are available.
In addition, the 38th CID-UNESCO World Dance Congress was awarded JNTO’s International Congress Bid Contribution Award in recognition of it being the first time the event was being held outside Europe, and the opportunity to bring the meeting to Japan, which was created through JNTO’s Meet Japan programme. The award, the spokesman added, is meant to raise awareness of international conferences to the public.
The event was promoted locally for two years and was supported by local stakeholders from the bidding process.
The Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel provided the perfect setting. Located within the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu City, just 15 minutes away from Tokyo Station by train and featuring a spectacular view of Tokyo Bay, the hotel is an excellent destination for any business event.
The main ballroom, The Club Fuji, one of the largest meeting rooms in Japan, which was renovated in September 2014, was used at the main space.
The Chief of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister’s Secretariat Multilateral Cultural Cooperation Division and the mayor of Urayasu City gave welcome speeches at the opening ceremony. World famous ballerina Yoshida Miyako, goodwill ambassador and actress Daichi Mao, PR and goodwill ambassador Dave Spector and his wife Kyoko also attended.
“I was touched by the chance to interact with Japanese culture” and “the last couple of days were like a dream” were some of the comments made by delegates at the congress.
Event 38th CID-UNESCO World Dance Congress 2014
Organiser CID-UNESCO
Venue Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel, Japan
Date October 23-27, 2014
No. of participants 600 people, including 140 from 25 overseas countries
Challenges To convince CID-UNESCO to hold its first event outside Europe and that Urayasu City was the right host city
