The move means that Seven46, a bid specialist firm focused on major events, will be based in Havas' London office and work on projects with the organisation across the network, including the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

It is a major coup for Havas as Seven46 founder Nick Varley (pictured top, on right), a former journalist who worked for The Guardian, played a key role in London's bid for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as one of the core team members responsible for its acclaimed final presentation.

Seven46 also worked on other successful bids, including the Rio 2016 World Cup, the International Rugby Board's (IRB) campaign for rugby sevens to join the Olympic Games programme and, most recently, London's effort to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships (pictured below, Sebastian Coe celebrating).


"We're delighted to join the Havas network," Varley told insidethegames here at the SportAccord Convention.

"We'll continue to offer clients all the benefits of a specialist agency but now with the additional backing and broad services of an extensive global network."

Havas boasts a number of major Olympic-related clients, including adidas, Atos, British Airways, Coca-Cola, EDF, Hyundai, Lloyds Banking Group and Procter & Gamble.

The company worked together with Seven46 last year on Annecy's unsuccessful bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. 

"This partnership will significantly strengthen the offering to our current client base – which includes more than 50 sports governing bodies, clubs and bid teams worldwide – and beyond," said Global President and chief executive of Havas, Lucien Boyer.

"Nick Varley is a leader in the development of compelling and meaningful campaigns in sport and his Seven46 team is an outstanding addition to our network."

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