Friday 27 February 2015

IOC Executive Board meeting kicks off with report on Sochi 2014 operational profit

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.

IOC Executive Board meeting kicks off with report on Sochi 2014 operational profit
©IOC/Ian Jones
26/02/2015
The Organising Committee for the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 generated an operational surplus of RUB 3.25 billion (approximately USD 50 million) from the staging of the Games, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) heard today during its meeting in Rio de Janeiro.
The IOC had already decided to transfer its 20 per cent share of this total (RUB 650 million/USD10 million) to the Russian Olympic Committee for use in the development of sport, the Olympic Channel and an Olympic Museum in Russia.

In total, the IOC contributed USD 833 million to support the Sochi Games, an increase of USD 83 million over previous estimates. The EB underscored the fact that the IOC will contribute USD 1.5 billion to the success of next summer’s Olympic Games Rio 2016.

The EB agreed that there remains a misconception around the cost of hosting the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games, and the difference between the operational budget and the infrastructure budget. All recent editions of the Games have either made an operational profit or broken even. The Olympic Games are privately funded, with a large contribution from the IOC.

The other part of the budget is the investment that the host city authorities decide to make in addition to the operational budget. How this is funded and the figure needed very much depends on what already exists in the city and the legacy vision of the city and country. The more infrastructure that is already in place, for example, the less a city has to spend to build new stadiums and other facilities.

Proposed advertising changesThe EB agreed to two proposals regarding changes to Rule 40 and Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, both of which will be presented to the next IOC Session this July in Kuala Lumpur for final approval.

In regard to the application of Rule 40, the IOC would, following Session approval, allow generic (non-Olympic) advertising during the period of the Games. The change to Rule 50 would increase the maximum size of a manufacturer’s identification while respecting the clean field of play to prevent conspicuous advertising.

Protecting the clean athletesThe EB also heard from the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency, IOC Vice-President Sir Craig Reedie, who said good progress was being made in regard to the IOC’s call for governments worldwide to match its 10 million USD contribution to fund research into anti-doping as part of wider efforts to protect clean athletes.

He added that a joint task force of experts from WADA and the IOC that is currently in Rio has concluded that the local anti-doping laboratory is on schedule to be reinstated ahead of next Summer’s Olympic Games. The task force will report its findings to the WADA Executive Committee in May, when a decision on the lab will be taken.

The WADA President was also pleased to report that substantial improvements have been made in the last 18 months in Jamaica with regard to perceived breaches of anti-doping conduct in the country. Thanks to local government support, assurances and proper funding, Reedie said, operations in Jamaica are now transparent with a recognised testing pool. WADA is optimistic that anti-doping efforts in Jamaica will continue in this positive direction.

Olympic Games Rio 2016IOC President Thomas Bach updated the EB on his meeting, together with Chair of the Rio 2016 Coordination Commission and IOC Vice-President Nawal El Moutawakel, with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia on 24 February.

President Rousseff pledged her full support for the Rio Games from “every level and ministry of her government as well as from State and City authorities.” The many legacy plans for the Games were also discussed, including the integration of hundreds of small businesses into the staging of the Games.

The EB decided not to hold its next meeting at the SportAccord Convention this April in Sochi. However, President Bach will attend the opening ceremony.

Today’s meeting ended with a minute of silence, led by the IOC President, for Mario Vázquez Raña, the long-time IOC Member and President of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) who passed away earlier this month at age 82.

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