Lausanne, Switzerland, February 13, 2019 – The FIVB Beach Volleyball Commission met this week to discuss the beach volleyball calendar and plan its future event strategy following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Commission looked specifically at the key FIVB beach volleyball events, including the FIVB World Tour and the upcoming 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. The 2018-2019 FIVB World Tour season will travel to five continents across 33 countries, with 44 men’s and 47 women’s events, and a total prize pot of 7.325 million USD, up 29% on the 2017/2018 season.
The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships will be held from June 28 – July 7, 2019 in Hamburg, Germany. Rothenbaum Stadium, with capacity for 13,000 spectators, will witness 48 of the world’s best teams competing for the title of World Champion and an all-important ticket to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Updates on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was another significant item on the agenda. Beach volleyball will be staged at the 12,000-capacity venue at Shiokaza Park. In terms of qualification, the top 15 teams per gender, when the FIVB Tokyo 2020 Olympic ranking window closes on June 14, 2020, will secure a place for their National Olympic Committee in Japan.
The winners of the Hamburg 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships and the FIVB Tokyo 2020 Olympic Beach Volleyball Qualifying Tournament will qualify directly, and the other five places will come from the Continental Cup Finals, to ensure that all five continental confederations are represented. Japan’s highest ranked male and female Japanese teams will qualify automatically as hosts.
During the meeting, FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça Fᵒ said: “Beach volleyball is one of the most captivating sports on the Olympic programme. It was very successful during the last two editions of the Games in London and Rio, with each of the venues completely sold-out. In 2017, the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Vienna also brought in huge crowds, with more than 180,000 spectators over 10 days, and we expect the same this year in Hamburg.
“The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and its qualification process will be another important milestone for us, but it is crucial that we discuss and prepare the strategy for beach volleyball events after the Olympic Games, to ensure we capitalise on the sport’s popularity.”
Following an intensive but productive brainstorming discussion on the beach volleyball future event strategy post Tokyo 2020, the Commission also created a number of working groups that will report back to its members and the FIVB Board of Administration later this year. The aim is to continue the success of beach volleyball after the Olympic Games and create an elite beach volleyball event series that is built around players.
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