IOC President encourages 2022 Applicant Cities to get creative

©IOC/Richard Juilliart

06/12/2013

Delegates from the six cities vying to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games will return home equipped with valuable insight into the bidding process following a three-day Applicant City Seminar hosted by the International Olympic Committee that concluded today in Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland.

Led by Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli and Head of Bid City Relations Jacqueline Barrett, the seminar focused on a range of important themes and requirements, in particular legacy and sustainability, which the representatives from Almaty (Kazakhstan), Beijing (China), Krakow (Poland), Lviv (Ukraine), Oslo (Norway) and Stockholm (Sweden)* were encouraged to adapt to fit their local needs to best serve their cities, regions and nations.

Thinking outside the boxSpeaking at the seminar, IOC President Thomas Bach called on the delegates to be creative with their bid projects and engage as soon as possible with their respective publics to explain the benefits hosting the Games could bring and to build support. “The IOC has a great deal of excellent information and know-how to pass on to Applicant Cities but they should also be confident enough in their projects not to restrict themselves solely to the blueprints of the past”, he said.

“Only by taking their own initiatives, based on how they see the Olympic Games benefitting their unique circumstances and the local population, will they be able to get the most out of their projects. We are here to listen as well as provide them with guidance.”

Forming part of the bid city education programme, the Seminar walked the delegates through the details of the bid process, providing them with a comprehensive introduction to the complexity, scope and scale of hosting an Olympic Games.

Drawing from a wealth of material from the IOC and previous host cities, discussions ranged from transport to finance, with a day devoted to individual workshops on sports, the athlete experience, Olympic villages, the Paralympic Games, accommodation, the Olympic Games concept, media operations, technology and marketing.

The seminar was conducted by experts from the IOC administration and specialists from former host cities, including Neale Coleman and Bill Morris from London 2012 and John McLaughlin from Vancouver 2010.

In addition to briefings and workshops on the fundamentals of staging the Games, heavy emphasis was placed on the fact that the organisation of the Games is very much a team effort, with all levels of government, commercial partners, public services, community groups, local populations and sports authorities involved in the successful organisation of such a complex event. Clear dialogue and engagement among all relevant parties is therefore crucial to building a cohesive and smooth-running bid campaign and, if awarded the event, a memorable Olympic Winter Games in 2022.

Click here for information on the Candidature Acceptance Procedure.

* The cities will be listed in alphabetical order until such time as the official drawing of lots is carried out by the IOC EB in December 2013. The order of drawing of lots will then be used until the election of the 2022 host city.