500 Festival Receives 2018 International Place Marketing Award

500 Festival recognized for how the nonprofit uses events as a lever for mobilizing the community

INDIANAPOLIS (June 19, 2018) – The 500 Festival, a nonprofit organization providing life-enriching events and programs that celebrate the spirit and legacy of the Indianapolis 500®, today announces its selection as one of seven laureates at the 2018 Place Marketing Forum, an international conference where participants discover and exchange new trends and practices of place marketing around the world. The 500 Festival received a Place Marketing Award at the conference, which is organized by the New Place Forum Marketing and Attractiveness Chair (A&NMT) of the Public Management Institute (Aix-Marseille University).

After a pre-selection of 42 worldwide emblematic projects in place marketing, the 500 Festival won the 2018 award for the theme, “Events as a lever for mobilizing local actors.” The jury, made up of the A&NMT Chair’s members and experts, based its selection on three criteria of excellence: innovation, remarkable results and emblematic projects. The jury selected the 500 Festival due to the organization's large volunteer base, tourist attractiveness, economic benefits, diversity of programs and events, civic engagement and ability to showcase the City of Indianapolis and State of Indiana nationally and internationally.

“We are always excited to receive an award on an international scale,” said Bob Bryant, president and CEO of the 500 Festival. “The events and programs we produce for the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana are the means we have to impact the community for the better. The opportunity to share our success and have our hard work highlighted through awards and achievements is always an honor and a testament to the significant work of thousands of volunteers, a dedicated staff and board of directors as well as numerous organizational partnerships and great collaboration with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With a growth of international partnerships for our state and community, not to mention our new direct flight to Paris, we look forward to more collaborations like this one with the Institute of Public Management and Territory Governance at Aix Marseilles University”

The 500 Festival was the only honoree from the United States. The other 2018 laureates are:
• Montréal International (Canada) for “Global strategy of economic attractiveness”
• The Garocamp Festival (Val de Garonne - France) for “From an event to the creation of an economic ecosystem”
• Make Something Edmonton (Canada) for “Collaborative platforms for storytelling”
• Eindhoven 365 (The Netherlands) for “New ways to finance a territorial brand and to attract talents”
• Smart Dubai (United Arab Emirates) for “Smart Cities: hospitality and quality of life”
• The Festival de Chaillol (Hautes-Alpes - France) for “How to strengthen the attractiveness of low-density areas.”

Bryant delivered a keynote presentation entitled, “Place Marketing with a Purpose” to nearly 400 decision-makers, elected officials and managers focused on the attractiveness of territories, who attended the Place Marketing Forum. The presentation highlighted how the 500 Festival’s diverse and large-scale schedule of community events, mostly free to the general public, highlight much of what is great about Indianapolis.

To learn more about the 500 Festival’s free events and programs, please visit www.500festival.com.

About the 500 Festival
Founded in 1957, the 500 Festival is a not-for-profit organization that produces more than 50 life-enriching events and programs that celebrate the spirit and legacy of the Indianapolis 500 and foster positive impact on the city of Indianapolis and state of Indiana. One of the largest festivals in the nation, each year more than half a million people attend an event or program produced by the 500 Festival. Since its founding, the 500 Festival has contributed more than $400 million in economic value to Indianapolis. To learn more about the 500 Festival, please visit www.500festival.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.