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Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) president Manfred Neun made the official announcement this morning.

"Velo-city will bring together hundreds of planners, transportation experts and cycling specialists from around the world to discuss the fast-growing role of cycling in urban transportation," said Robertson. "We are very excited that the European Cycling Federation has selected Vancouver for its global conference in 2012."

"Hosting a major international conference like Velo-city is a good boost for our local economy, and it's a great opportunity to showcase Vancouver's bike infrastructure to the world's leading transportation experts."

The city expects around 1,000 delegates and guests will attend the Velo-city Global 2012 conference, which is scheduled for sometime in June 2012.

This could be a conservative estimate, as the first biannual Velo-city Global conference, launched this June in Copenhagen, Denmark, attracted over 1,100 participants from 60 countries. Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation Janette Sadik-Khan and Gil Peñalosa, executive director of the Canadian non-profit organization 8-80 Cities, were among the plenary speakers who presented at the conference.

The series, which is organized by the ECF, brings together bicycle professionals, members of non-governmental organizations, urban planners and politicians from around the world to discuss ways to get more people on bikes.

Neun said Vancouver won the bid to host the next global conference because it showed a commitment to improving cycling in the city, it had the capacity to host a global conference and its citizens could directly benefit from hosting a conference of this caliber.

Neun, who rode around Vancouver for a couple of hours last Wednesday, said the ECF advisory board was encouraged by what it saw happening on Vancouver’s streets.

“We had the feeling that officials here see that cycling and cyclists can be good for the city: to have a more livable and greener city and improve the quality of life.”

Vancouver’s recent stint as the host of the 2010 winter Olympics also played a role in the final decision, Neun said. The conference attracts officials from around the globe, and host cities need to have accommodations and amenities, such as bike rentals and safe bike routes, available for attendees.

The potential for long-term impacts on Vancouver’s overall bikeability was also a determining factor, Neun said.

“The goal is not only the conference; the goal is the whole improvement.”

The legacy of the conference should be a return on investment for the citizens of Vancouver in terms of motivating political and social action and improving cycling infrastructure, Neun said.

“It’s a long-term perspective to make the city ready for an active public. … This is the return on investment of the conference: asset-building.”

Velo-city began in 1980 as a European bicycle planning conference in Bremen, Germany. It is well-known as an idea-sharing arena for planners and officials interested in improving cycling policies in their cities and as a launch pad for bicycle initiatives.