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A total of 10 countries have put in formal bids to host the FEI World Championships 2022, including two proposals to host the multi-discipline FEI World Equestrian Games™. Bidding countries are Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America.
More than 20 years after Rome stepped in as host city of the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 1998 following Ireland’s late withdrawal, the Italians are looking to once again host the full Games. The Saudi Arabian capital city of Riyadh is also in the running having put forward an all-discipline bid for 2022.
“The number of formal bids that we’ve received for single and multi-discipline FEI World Championships and full Games is an excellent indication that the interest in the World Championships is as strong if not stronger than ever,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “We knew that some of the countries that put in expressions of interest back in February were just dipping their toes in the water, but these formal bids are a great validation of the new bidding process and show that we have a really strong product.”
The FEI initiated a bidding process for individual World Championships in all disciplines for 2022 after the FEI General Assembly in Manama (BRN) in November 2018.
The FEI Board decided that multi-discipline bids would be given preference and that Dressage and Para Dressage should be combined. The World Championships in 2022 in the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines will serve as qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The new bid process allows for the sustainable and cost-effective use of existing equestrian sports facilities and was put in place to provide the opportunity for the FEI to partner with National Federations that may have hesitated to put forward multi-discipline bids in the past.
In a key change to the bid procedure, the FEI hosted an interactive workshop at the end of March 2019 in Lausanne for all National Federations/Organising Committees that had submitted an expression of interest.
The workshop provided interested parties with detailed information of the structure, opportunities and minimum requirements for hosting the FEI World Championships 2022. By working more closely with the National Federations and Organising Committees from the outset, the FEI and its stakeholders can establish an achievable set of goals and work towards a unified vision for 2022.
All bids will be fully evaluated over the summer and allocation of FEI World Championships 2022 will be made at the in-person Board meeting during the FEI General Assembly in Moscow (RUS) in November this year.
All Disciplines
Multi-Discipline
Eventing
Jumping
Endurance
Driving
Dressage
Para Dressage
Reining
Vaulting
About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org
The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in 1921. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since the 1912 Games in Stockholm.
The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting, and Reining.
The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para Dressage and Para Driving.
