London Mayor Boris Johnson made the announcement in a keynote speech at the 2012 Business Summit in London’s ExCel today.

The SportAccord Convention will see over 1,500 of the world's top sporting officials and business people from more than 60 countries come to the capital for the six-day event.

The convention is a unique annual event attended by the top officials from the Olympic and non-Olympic International Federations of sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board, rights holders of major sports events, media, sponsors and other commercial businesses in the global sports industry.

The six-day gathering from April 3-8 will be the first time the convention is hosted in the UK and will be held in the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London.

Next year's event is being held in Dubai.

It was held in Denver earlier this year.

The convention will initially contribute over £3 million to the London economy, it is estimated.

But it is expected to be worth many more millions through contracts for new businesses and more major events coming to the capital and the UK beyond 2012.

Hosting SportAccord is a key milestone in delivering the capital’s long-term aims to position London and the UK as the world's leading city and country in the business of sport, Johnson said.

With the 2012 London Games around the corner, the convention is a unique opportunity for the capital and the UK to showcase British expertise and increase its market share in the $111 billion (£67 billion) global sports business industry.

Johnson, said: "This is a truly fantastic opportunity for the capital.

"Delivering a legacy for London after the Games is crucially important and SportAccord will now play a significant role in helping us achieve this.

"Sport is at the heart of this great city and I am looking forward to welcoming all sports leaders, IOC members and Olympic bidding cities to London in 2011 to give them a taste of what’s in store for 2012 and after."

Hein Verbruggen, the former IOC member who is now the chairman of SportAccord Convention, said: "Our constituents comprise the top leadership in all areas of international sport and have a vested interest in any city that is hosting an Olympic Games and other top-level sporting events.

"With London preparing to welcome the world for the Games in 2012, there is no better time for the SportAccord Convention to come here and witness the final preparations taking place in your city.

"We look forward to working with our colleagues here over the coming year and a half, and to together creating an event which will show the world what a wonderful host city London will be - for the SportAccord Convention, the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and future major sports events in the city."

The bid to bring this prestigious sport’s convention was coordinated by the Events for London team at Visit London and has been heavily supported and funded by a number of the UK’s sporting and business bodies, including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), whose key role is to build Britain’s capabilities to compete in the global economy.

UK Sport has also proactively supported the bid as well as the Greater London Authority (GLA), London 2012, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the London Development Agency (LDA), VisitBritain, and Events for London.

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said: "The SportAccord Convention is an excellent opportunity for UK businesses to showcase their expertise gained from working on London 2012 to key players in the international event supplier sector.

"With preparations for the London Games reaching fever pitch in 2011, SportAccord will be a vital forum for British companies looking to capitalise on the business benefits of 2012 and take their experience overseas."