| 1. TOKYO OLYMPICS MOVE MARATHON OUT OF CITY BECAUSE OF HEAT LEVELS: Organizers of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo have moved the marathon event out of the city over concerns of dangerous heat waves. The men’s and women’s events will be relocated to Sapporo, a city 500 miles outside of Tokyo that is cooler and less humid in the summer. Scientific American: “The IOC’s announcement stunned much of the Japanese media, but the committee was unapologetic, insisting that Tokyo’s increasingly stifling summer heat puts athletes in long-distance endurance events at risk. … Global warming is leading to Japan experiencing longer and hotter heat waves. The 2018 summer was particularly harsh, with all-time temperature records set in several cities. The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games says it will implement measures to ensure both fans and athletes are guarded against heat stroke." 2. HOW HOTELS ARE REVAMPING AFTERNOON TEA: Upscale hotels, including the St. Regis in New York and the Gore in London, are revamping their afternoon tea traditions to make them more contemporary for guests. The St. Regis now offers a spread inspired by Salvador Dalí and the Gore has introduced a spread inspired by classic rock ‘n’ roll bands. Bruce Richardson, a Kentucky-based tea expert, said the Berkeley hotel in London initially started the trend by launching a tea that changes seasonally based on runway fashion collections. The New York Times: “The Pembroke Room at the Lowell, a landmark 1920s hotel on New York City’s Upper East Side, has the rarefied, hushed air of a traditional tearoom. But this summer’s Garden Tea, which featured pink and purple cocktails and a giant raspberry Ladurée macaron, piqued the interest of a clientele that was about one-third millennial, estimates the general manager, Heiko Kuenstle. … Some hotels explicitly acknowledge the marketing potential. At the Sanya Edition, on Hainan Island in China, the decidedly meta Skybar Afternoon Tea references Edition’s first four locations; dishes include a lemon cheesecake (New York City) and a confection made with coconut, pineapple, and white chocolate (Miami Beach).” 3. LINKEDIN LAUNCHES FEATURE FOR PEOPLE TO PLAN NETWORKING EVENTS: LinkedIn has launched a feature called Events, which will allow people to announce and invite others to in-person networking events. The hub will launch on October 17 and appear as a menu item on LinkedIn’s website and app. TechCrunch: “Ajay Datta, the head of product for LinkedIn India (where the app was developed; more on that below), believes that there is a clear gap in the market for a feature like this, much like you could argue Facebook’s events feature has served a role in the out-of-work world to plan casual events. … You may recall a limited trial of the Events feature about a year ago in New York and San Francisco: the kinds of events that LinkedIn said were created with the pilot included meetups, training sessions, offsites, sales events, and happy hours, so expect to see these popping up in the live product, too.” 4. FEDERAL REGULATORS SAY CBD MARKETERS CAN’T MAKE FALSE HEALTH CLAIMS: CBD has steadily made its way into the event industry, but federal regulators are now being more stringent regarding agencies and brands that make false health claims about the cannabis extract. While CBD is federally legal, the F.D.A. has only approved it for use in treating certain types of epilepsy. Advertising Age: “Both the F.D.A. and the F.T.C. have issued warning letters to CBD companies in the past six months for making unsupported health claims. The F.D.A.’s warning letter to industry leader Curaleaf in July, which asked the company to stop making claims that its CBD vape pen, tinctures, lotions, and pain-relief patch can be used ‘for conditions that are not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment by individuals who are not medical practitioners,’ drew attention from CBD retailers.” 5. POLITICAL FIGURES AND PRESS ORGANIZATIONS CONDEMN GRAPHIC VIDEO SHOWN AT PRO-TRUMP EVENT: Press organizations and political figures condemned a fake video shown at a pro-Trump event at the Trump National Doral resort in Miami, which depicted Trump’s likeness brutally murdering journalists and political figures. The video, titled “Church of Fake News,” was originally created by a meme-maker in 2018; it was screened at the American Priority Festival and Conference. Washington Post: “Alex Phillips, organizer of the American Priority Festival and Conference, told the Times that the video was played at one point during the three-day event that began Thursday as part of a ‘meme exhibit.’ The violent parody was included in a meme compilation that also featured Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign logo, according to the Times. ‘It has come to our attention that an unauthorized video was shown in a side room at #AMPFest19,’ a statement posted to the conference’s website said. ‘This video was not approved, seen, or sanctioned by the #AMPFest19 organizers.’”
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