Annual Report 2021

A Message from the FEI President

Longines Editorial

FEI World of Sport

FEI Governance Highlights

FEI Solidarity

FEI Awards

FEI Facts and Figures

Financial Report

FEI... More than Sport

FEI Campus & FEI Education

FEI 100 Years

Thank You

Communications Highlights

At a glance…

  • Communications around Covid-19/EHV-1
  • FEI 100 Years
  • Media at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Games
  • Media Coverage & Media Operations of FEI Named Events
  • Corporate Media Communications

 

Covid-19/EHV-1

The FEI’s extensive communications efforts around the Covid-19 pandemic, and its impact on FEI Events and Rules & Regulations, continued throughout 2021. Transparency and information dissemination remained a priority and the dedicated Covid-19 hub on InsideFEI was an important tool for communications, alongside the FEI’s regular newsletters to its stakeholders.

The serious EHV-1 outbreak which occurred in mainland Europe at the end of February 2021 required a full crisis communications plan which included the monitoring of all media platforms and social media channels. Two online press conferences with the FEI Secretary General and the FEI Veterinary Director were organised to provide updates to the media.

A dedicated EHV-1 hub was also created on the corporate website, providing:

  • Updates on the number of equine deaths, countries with confirmed cases and EU nations in which international events were cancelled.
  • A timeline of the events as they happened.
  • A Return to Competition 12-section mini-hub providing guidelines for FEI Stakeholders.
  • Weekly FEI Veterinary Epidemiology Working Group Reports.
  • Creation of FEI Biosecurity Requirements and a Biosecurity “How To” page
  • Information on the EHV-1 Relief Fund.

*All relevant information regarding EHV-1 has since been migrated to the FEI Veterinary section.

FEI 100 Years

The FEI launched the 100 Years campaign on 28 May 2021, with a feature video, press release and the launch of a dedicated FEI 100 Years hub. With the motto “Shaping the future together since 1921” the activity included regular content on all FEI channels and platforms as well as vibrant branding at the FEI Headquarters to mark this important milestone for the equestrian community in Lausanne (SUI), the Olympic capital.

The 100 year campaign ran over 12 months and we invite you to discover all the details in the dedicated…FEI 100 Years…section.

Media at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Games

Equestrian sport enjoyed significant coverage during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with equestrian featured on the front pages of key publications around the world. Powerful storytelling was at the core of the FEI’s media effort. Audiences the world over witnessed history being made, as the top international media shared the story of the first 36 horses arriving into Japan – the first full cargo load of horses ever to land at Haneda airport.

Online media coverage was the key driver of exposure for the sport during the Olympic Games. Working closely with the news distribution platform PR Newswire, every press release, competition sports reports and other related content was translated in six languages and circulated on the Wire distribution circuit across Europe, USA and Asia and published on global news agency platforms to reach an online audience of almost 2 billion. In addition, close collaboration with wire distribution agency EFE Communications, helped to target Latin American markets to generate additional exposure of all FEI sports content, reaching an audience of almost 7.5 billion.

Media Coverage & Media Operations of FEI Named Events

Alongside the Olympic & Paralympic Games which generated extensive worldwide media coverage, the second half of 2021 saw a continuation of great opportunities for equestrian sport to gain further prominence with the FEI European Championships and the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final. The response of the mainstream media to the coverage regarding these events was very positive and hosting VIP media onsite and ongoing media sell-in on the sport proved successful with coverage reaching a global audience of 6.8 billion across all events.

Corporate Media Communications

The FEI Communications department also worked closely with the FEI Commercial team to drive the creation of articles for SportBusiness and SportsPro to promote the FEI’s digital advertising opportunities as well as the developments in the eGaming sphere.

The Olympic digital campaigns, the FEI’s Commercial activities and the Federation’s work around horse health has increased the scope of ‘corporate story telling’. Articles have been published in online Olympic and trade media publications like Around the Rings, Inside the Games, SportBusiness, SportsPro, SportCal and The Sustainability Report.

The publications have helped to keep the FEI’s work outside of the field-of-play visible and top-of-mind within the IF and the wider sporting community.