Qatar 2022 – The biggest sports tournament, the FIFA World Cup took place in a unique setting. It was the first World Cup to be held in winter, the first football event with participating teams from all continents, and the most compact tournament in the history of football. The FIFA World Cup is not only a global celebration of football but also an opportunity for host nations to showcase their capabilities and leave a lasting legacy. In this regard, Qatar, the first Middle Eastern World Cup, has redefined the standards of conducting mega sporting events. Qatar marked its ambition by hosting the most expensive World Cup in history and aiming at setting new benchmarks in sustainability, carbon neutrality, and inclusivity.

Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) is a pioneer in esports education. Gaming is a digital form of leisure and a huge industry. There are approximately three billion gamers on this planet (Newzoo, 2021). Some people play casual games after a hard day’s work to relax, whereas for others it is a lifestyle. Creative Media and Game Technologies educates students to design and develop these games. Esports is the pillar of gaming that goes beyond its digital environment. These are titles played competitively in an organised way with official teams, tournaments and competitions. In esports it is quite common that fans watch tournaments and cheer for their favourite players and team, sometimes without actively playing the games themselves.

Gaming has become an integral part of children's leisure activities. Thanks to tablets, smartphones, game computers and because almost every family in the Netherlands has access to the internet, the current generation of children (born after 2000) is totally familiar with playing (online) games. Gaming has become an accepted part of leisure activities. Eighty-one per cent of all children play games regularly, half of them more than three times a week.

The leisure industry is influenced by what happens in society. This impact may take a while, such as the gradual ageing of the western population. Such gradually (sometimes even imperceptibly) increasing forces are also called stress factors. But Covid-19 has also shown that suddenly something unexpected can happen which can affect the industry considerably. These are referred to as shock factors or black swans or, in severe cases, disruptions. As a company or an organisation, you can try to guard against the effects of future influences in advance, by spotting them early and taking measures which reduce vulnerability to such developments. If you can manage that, you become more ‘future-proof’.

Voormalig bondscoach hockey en oud tophockeyer Tom van 't Hek wordt de nieuwe voorzitter van de voor...

Een leuke invulling van de vrije tijd wordt voor Nederlanders steeds belangrijker. Goed nieuws voor de sector dat nog beter wordt door het feit dat Nederlanders dit jaar meer geld te besteden hebben. Er zijn qua vrijetijdsvoorkeuren wel verschillen tussen de landsdelen. Dat blijkt uit de nieuwste Stand van de Leisure van ABN AMRO.

Het toerisme heeft zich onverwacht snel hersteld van de pandemie. De sector noteert in volume en omzet weer records. Dat tekent een veerkrachtige sector maar nog veel meer een consument die vrijetijdsbelevingen vooropstelt in het leven. Toch staan we als maatschappij, vrijetijdssector en consumenten voor grote veranderingen. Dat blijkt uit het nieuwste Trendrapport toerisme, recreatie en vrije tijd van NRIT dat begin februari verscheen.

De straat is het nieuwe sportveld en in de stad kun je iedere dag op vakantie zijn. In de openbare ruimte rond ons huis zoeken en vinden de stedenbouwkundigen van bureau Urhahn plekken om te bewegen, recreëren, ontmoeten en ontspannen. We vroegen Wendy van Kessel en Ad de Bont naar 4 adviezen.

In Arnhem, Apeldoorn en Den Haag wordt van 13 t/m 18 augustus gestreden om de Europese titel. De Arnhemmers maken zich op voor een echte lokale sportzomer.