Sportswear giant Adidas has joined the French Ministry of Sport, French banking group BPCE, and EGG Events as a founding partner of the event. 

GSW Paris claimed the partnership stemmed from the company's "commitment to equality and sustainability".

EDF and Vivendi have been named as associate partners, while the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), UN Women, the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization are among the organisations to become official proud supporters. 

"We’re pleased to renew our support for Global Sports Week, which offers an important platform for exchange around the key issues linking sport, business and society," said IPC President Andrew Parsons. 

"The IPC firmly believes that change starts with sport and Global Sports Week, with its emphasis on multilateral solutions, will set the tone for a defining year for the Paralympic Movement."

The first GSW Paris was held as an in-person event in the French capital in February of this year.

The 2021 edition - scheduled to run from February 1 to 5 - is set to be in a hybrid format, mixing a digital programme and physical events in Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Dakar, Milan and Los Angeles.

All six cities are set to host an Olympic event in the coming years. 

More than 10,000 sports leaders, athletes and activists are expected to participate across GSW, with the programme set to feature talks, debates, pitch contests, exclusive screenings, sports demonstrations and behind-the-scenes venue tours.

Highlights are set to include Le Tremplin Invest Finals, Europe’s biggest event for investors to connect to sports technology startups.

Young Sports Makers are due to return to GSW, while Les Trophees Sporsora, France’s prestigious sports business awards, will be integrated into the programme.

GSWMarketplace, an immersive and fully-online creation, will also allow firms to showcase their products and services at a time when many traditional conventions cannot take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It will be part of the new GSW digital platform, which includes access to intelligent networking tools and a Village channel offering partner workshops, activations and private professional masterclasses.

"Global Sports Week Paris has a crucial role to play after the extraordinary year we have experienced," said GSW President and co-founder Lucien Boyer. 

"We have seen huge appetite from organisations throughout the international sport ecosystem to come together - not only to shape a new agenda for this new era in sport and society, but also simply to reconnect; to discover new global connections and new business leads.

"I have no doubt sport will come roaring back in 2021 and beyond. 

"As France looks forward to hosting some of the biggest sports events in this decade, it is appropriate that Paris should be in a position to kick off this comeback year."

GSW Paris is to be staged annually as France prepares to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.