Ghent has won the bid to host Velo-city 2024, becoming the first Belgian city to host the conference since Brussels in 2009.
1. Ghent
The European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) said it has chosen Ghent based on its impressive commitment to cycling in recent years, as well as its exceptional application to host the annual world cycling summit.
“Ghent is a remarkable cycling city that has shown an impressive commitment to cycling over the last decade, implementing progressive policies and innovative measures that have transformed its urban space and resulted in significantly more people using bikes as their go-to mode of transport,” said Jill Warren, CEO of ECF.
2. ’Connecting Through Cycling’
Bringing together business, government, research and education, the cycling summit 2022, set to take place in June 2021, will have the theme “Connecting Through Cycling.”
The conference will be jointly organised by ECF and several governmental entities from the region of Flanders, including: the Government of Flanders, the Province of East-Flanders, Mobility East-Flanders, the City Council of Ghent, the Official Convention Bureau Ghent Congres, Fietsersbond, the Cycling Embassy of Ghent and Fietsberaad Vlaanderen, while also being backed by professional conference organisers.
By hosting the world cycling summit, Ghent will have the perfect opportunity to showcase its recent successes in improving cycling mobility. The city is widely regarded as a cycling stronghold thanks to a series of dramatic changes implemented over the last decade which saw the introduction of effective pro-cycling mobility measures year by year.
“It is an incredible honour to be able to organise this bicycle event. Velo-city is not just a conference, it is a statement. The people of Ghent can be very proud about this. Velo-city 2024 is also the perfect opportunity to highlight our recent successes in the field of bicycle mobility,” said Filip Watteeuw, Deputy Mayor for Mobility.
