Designers around the world compete for the Medal Design Competition

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26/05/2015

From Canada to Colombia, Argentina to Indonesia, creative designers from around the world have submitted their entries for the International Olympic Committee’s highly coveted Medal Design Competition prize for the forthcoming Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games. 

To date, entries have been received from over 40 countries, with the youngest candidate aged just 10 years old to the oldest at 52. 
The competition closes in one week’s time on 1 June and with the high standard of entries it is set to be one of the most hotly contested Medal Design Competitions to date since the inaugural Singapore 2010 YOG.
A judging panel including Olympians and Young Ambassadors and Young Reporters from various editions of the Youth Olympic Games will select the winning design and two-runners-up, and results will be announced at the end of June.  The winning design will then feature on the face of the gold, silver and bronze medals awarded in Lillehammer from 12-21 February 2016. 
The winning designer will win a trip to Lillehammer 2016 which includes tickets to the opening ceremony, as well as a full collection of medals featuring their design.
For more information visit www.medaldesigncompetition.com

IOC President in Rome meets Italian President, Rome 2024 bid leaders, and receives top sports award

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©CONI (2)

22/05/2015

IOC President Thomas Bach was in Rome to receive the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI)’s highest award for contribution to sport. 

He started the day at the Palazzo Quirinale for a meeting with the Italian President.
The leaders discussed the benefits of sport for society. President Sergio Mattarella said: “the world has many problems. Sport is the antidote to those problems because it enters the hearts and minds of people.”
The two leaders also discussed Rome's bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.
President Bach said that Italy was “very well placed”. “With your great attachment to Olympic ideals, with your athletes and your love of sport you will have a strong bid”, he said, adding: “But you will face strong competition.”

Also at the meeting with the Italian President were CONI President Giovanni Malagò and IOC Members Franco Carraro and Mario Pescante.
As part of the Invitation Phase initiated in the framework of the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms, the President also met members of the Rome 2024 Olympic bid, including leader Luca Cordero Di Montezemolo and the Mayor of Rome, Ignazio Marino.
Later, at the award ceremony, the President was given the “Onesti Award”, named after the long term President of CONI for 34 years until 1978. In the citation, President Bach was praised for “immersing himself in his work with passion” and for “carrying out reforms whilst also respecting tradition.”
Receiving the award, President Bach said he was “glad to be in Italy where you fight for and defend the Olympic values.”
Also at the ceremony were the President of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), Francesco Ricci Bitti; the President of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), Carlo Croce; the President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), Bruno Grandi; and the Presidents of the International Skating Union (ISU), Ottavio Cinquanta, and of the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT), Ivo Ferriani.
Previous recipients of the award include Italian sporting icons Alberto Tomba, Sara Simeoni and Pietro Mennea, as well as previous IOC Presidents Juan Antonio Samaranch and Jacques Rogge.

TOP Partner GE supports the IOC ACP Programme

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©Getty Images (1), GE

22/05/2015

The 7th IOC Athlete Career Programme (ACP) Forum, which aims to share best practices on supporting athletes worldwide with their career transitions, will be held in Lima, Peru, from 26 to 28 May.

The Forum will bring together athletes, members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, NOCs and Adecco representatives, to exchange knowledge and experience on how best to support athletes with balancing dual careers and preparing post-sport careers.
One of the speakers will be former Team USA swimmer and Olympic gold medallist Dan Ketchum, who now works for Worldwide TOP Partner GE as an Operations Leader within the Aviation division. Ketchum will be speaking on a panel about athlete engagement with sponsors, as well as participating in an Athlete Learning Gateway live event focused on athletes in the workplace.

Ketchum said: “I am very excited to be taking part in the IOC ACP Forum. When I finished my career as an athlete, there was little assistance provided to make the transition into the workplace, so I believe the IOC’s Athlete Career Programme will be a great support for other athletes in the future. I want to be able to share the experience and the challenges I faced once my sporting career finished. The IOC is focused on putting athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement, and, as a former athlete, I believe that there is a lot that GE and I can offer.”
Ketchum competed at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and was part of the winning US team in the men`s 4x200m freestyle relay. Dan joined GE in 2005 as an intern, then a year later transitioned to GE’s Operations Management Leadership Programme.  He has had held several positions in fulfilment, customer service and manufacturing programmes, and currently manages a manufacturing facility for aircraft engines. Dan also spent two years as a high-school swimming coach.
As an advanced technology and services company, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. Since 2006, 17 Olympians have enjoyed careers with GE following their sports career. These athletes work in a wide range of roles across GE. The company is currently planning additional opportunities with the IOC, and the ACP Forum in Peru will be a focal point in the development of how the business can play a long-term role in supporting the IOC’s Athlete Career Programme.
Chris Katsuleres, Director of Olympic Marketing at GE, said: “As a business, we benefit from the attributes that made the Olympians successful in their athletic careers. Their unique backgrounds and traits, like motivation, focus, drive and determination, are a huge benefit in the work place. Working with the IOC ACP, we are very interested in looking at opportunities that we can provide to athletes in the future through enhanced leadership and management training. We have the world-renowned GE training facility at Crotonville in the USA, and we are interested at looking at how we can use this facility to help transfer athletes’ unique skills and assets into the labour market.”

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Net gains - the evolution of beach volleyball

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21/05/2015

Beach volleyball has come a long way since its formative years on the American beaches. Here, we chart the rise of the popular spectator sport.

A cumulative crowd of 425,000 fans gathered in London in 2012 to watch what was beach volleyball’s fifth appearance at an Olympic Games. The scenes in the British capital were a far cry from the sport’s modest beginnings at the early decades of the 20th century. 
©Getty Images
Volleyball – from which the beach variation later derived – can be traced back to 1895, when American William G Morgan created a less physical version of basketball. It took a further 20 years for beach volleyball to evolve, the beaches of Waikiki in Hawaii providing the perfect platform. The sport quickly spread across to Italy, Russia, India and the rest of Europe thanks to American Extradition Forces, and again when troops travelled to Europe in the 1940s.
The sport enjoyed its greatest acceleration in America during the Great Depression of the 1930s, not least because it was cheap to play and offered people a chance to escape their troubles and head to the beach.
The first two-man version of the sport was played in Santa Monica, California. The same US state also hosted the first two-man tournament in 1947.
©Getty Images
California became a real hotbed for beach volleyball, which quickly became as much a part of the local lifestyle as surfing. The Beatles were once photographed passing a ball around during a visit to California on tour while even Marilyn Monroe gave it a namecheck; put simply, it was cool.
In the 1960s, President Kennedy attended the first official volleyball event in Sorrento Beach, Los Angeles. California then hosted its first commercially sponsored tournament in 1974, which lead to further professional tournaments and even a sponsored tour in 1980, which eventually turned national.
The popularity of beach volleyball spread to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where the first international exhibition was hosted in 1986. A year later, the famous Copacabana coastline staged the first international FIVB-sanctioned tournament, which sparked a succession of further competitions all over the world.
©Getty Images
Beach volleyball enjoyed a defining moment in 1994 when it as officially recognised as an Olympic discipline by the IOC. Two years later, in Atlanta, 24 men’s teams and 18 women’s teams competed for Olympic medals on Atlanta Beach in front of sell-out crowds.
©Getty Images
Four years after the overwhelming success of its Olympic debut, beach volleyball became an even bigger hit on Bondi Beach during the Sydney Games. Athletes from USA and Brazil, the two countries that had done so much to develop the sport, dominated the competition, just as they did in Athens in 2004.
By 2008, in Beijing, the event was extended over 14 days of action (it had been six in Atlanta, 10 in Sydney and 12 in Athens). At London 2012, the beach volleyball tournament was played in the shadow of iconic venues such as Big Ben and the London Eye and the players fully lived up to the drama of the occasion. The Americans enjoyed continued success, with American duo Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor winning an incredible third straight Olympic gold in the women’s competition.
©Getty Images
With the focus now shifting to Rio in 2016, there is every reason to expect beach volleyball to enjoy its most spectacular Olympics yet.

President Bach announces widespread changes to IOC Commissions - one third of commission members now women, a 49% increase since he took office.

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31/05/2015

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, today announced widespread changes to the composition and function of the IOC commissions for 2015. The changes are a direct result of the reforms stemming from implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020.

The review of the scope and composition of the IOC commissions was one of the 40 recommendations approved by the 127th IOC Session last December in Monaco. The new make-up of the Commissions reflects the philosophy initiated by Olympic Agenda 2020, and will provide a strong support to the IOC Session, the IOC Executive Board and the IOC President in the implementation of the roadmap designed to shape the future of the Olympic Movement. The changes to the function and composition of the Commissions have been undertaken by the IOC President working closely with the IOC Executive Board.
President Bach has significantly increased the number of women nominated to a commission compared to two years ago when he was first elected, with a third (32 percent) of places now taken by women. That is a 49 percent increase since he took office. There are also increases in the numbers of members from Africa and Oceania, as well as an increase in the number of chair persons from the Africa and Asia now accounting for 34 percent.
Please click here for an explanation of the changes to the Commissions.
The commissions now also include more representatives from the different stakeholders of the Olympic Movement and, for the first time, representatives from international organisations such as the United Nations. This shows a clear continuity with the open and inclusive consultation process initiated in the early stages of the discussions on Olympic Agenda 2020.

“These changes are another major step in the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.  “They demonstrate the close dialogue with our stakeholders and society at large, with whom we started this process nearly two years ago. The increase of women’s participation and the broader geographical representation will encourage more inclusive decision making,” he said.
Among the changes, two entirely new commissions have been created: an Olympic Channel Commission, which will ensure that all relevant stakeholders and expertise are consulted throughout the growth and development of the Olympic Channel; and a Communications Commission, which will help to develop strategies to support the promotion of the Olympic values, and the IOC’s vision and mission to a global audience.
Another example of Olympic Agenda 2020 already being implemented is the adoption of recommendations 30 and 31. In line with these recommendations the session in Monaco adopted the new Olympic Charter. It requires the Chair and the members of the new IOC Ethics Commission be elected for the first time by the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, which will take place from 31 July to 3 August.
Further changes have been made with regard to the structure of the Commissions, the working method and the composition. Please click here for full information and composition of the commissions.

Death of Peter Tallberg, IOC member in Finland

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16/05/2015

It is with great sadness that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has learnt of the death of Peter Tallberg, IOC member in Finland, at the age of 77.

A five-time Olympic sailor, Peter Tallberg was the second-longest serving current IOC member, having been elected in 1976. Only Doyen Vitaly Smirnov, who was elected in 1971, has served longer.
IOC President Thomas Bach immediately reacted to the death of Peter Tallberg: 'As the founding chairman of the Athletes’ Commission, Peter was my first teacher at the IOC,’ he said. ‘He worked all his life for sport and for protecting the clean athletes. The athletes of the world and all those who love sport owe him a huge debt and he has left a lasting legacy for the Olympic Movement for which we can all be grateful. As a mark of respect and to remember such a great man the Olympic flag will be flown at half-mast for three days at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne’ Bach added.
During his 40-plus years working for the Olympic Movement, Mr Tallberg had a strong and far-reaching impact. He chaired the Athletes’ Commission from its inception in 1981 until 2002, when he became an Honorary member of the commission. He was also a member of the following commissions:
- Eligibility (1979-1980)
- Olympic Programme (summer) (1980-1994)
- Olympic Movement (1981-1999)
- Coordination for the Games of the XXV Olympiad in 1992 in Barcelona (1989-1992)
- Study for the Preparation of the Olympic Games of 1996 (1989-1990)
- Preparation for the XII Olympic Congress (1989-1994)
- Enquiry for the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in 2000 (1993)
- Coordination for the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in 2004 in Athens (1998-2004)
- “IOC 2000” (1999), Evaluation for the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 (2002-2003)
- Coordination for the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012 in London (2005-2012)
- Nominations since 2014
Mr Tallberg was the President of the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU, later International Sailing Federation - ISAF) (1986-1994); President of the Finnish Yachting Association (1977-1983), and President of the Scandinavian Yacht Racing Union (1978-1981).
He captained the Finnish Olympic Yachting team (1976), was Vice-President of the Finnish Squash Association (1974-1976), became a Council member and Secretary General of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF, later SportAccord) (1988-1998), and was a member of the Executive Board of the European Sport Conference (1994-1998).
Mr Tallberg worked tirelessly to place the athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement and to protect sport from all forms of corruption. He was a Council Member of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) (1999-2002) and member of the World Olympians Association (WOA) (2007-2014) as liaison for the IOC Athletes’ Commission.
Before transitioning into the administrative side of sport, Tallberg was a decorated sailor who competed in five editions of the Olympic Games. His best performance at the Games was a fourth-place finish in Star at Tokyo 1964. He finished 15th in the 5.5m in Rome 1960, 11th in Star at Mexico City 1968, 12th in Soling at Munich 1972, and 11th in Star at Moscow 1980.
Tallberg was Junior European centreboard yachting champion (1953); Finnish champion in Finn (1969), in Soling (1970 and 1972), in H (1974); Nordic Finn champion (1969); Swedish champion (1963 and 1965) and European Star champion (1967).
He also enjoyed practising other sports, including squash, table tennis, skiing and golf. As a skier, Tallberg was Finnish junior slalom champion in 1954. He finished 3rd in the Finnish senior squash championships in 1978.
The IOC expresses its deepest sympathies to Peter Tallberg’s family.

PyeongChang 2018 celebrates 1,000 days to go with new slogan

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©PyeongChang 2018 (2)

16/05/2015

The PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee (POCOG) has marked 1,000 days to go until the 2018 Olympic Winter Games by unveiling its Games slogan – “Passion. Connected.” – at a special event in Seoul.

POCOG hopes that these two simple words will help express the objectives and legacies of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.
“The new slogan embodies POCOG’s vision to expand winter sports participation to a truly global audience and encourages people to create and share their once-in-a-lifetime experiences at PyeongChang,” said POCOG President Yang-ho Cho. “By hosting the 2018 Games we want to make a lasting effect on the youth and inspire the generations to come.”
According to POCOG, “Passion” represents PyeongChang’s status as the stage for a global festival in 2018, where people will experience the excitement of the Olympic spirit, while enjoying the warm hospitality of Koreans and sharing inspiring stories.
“Connected”, meanwhile, signifies the openness of the host city, where every generation can participate in the Games – no matter where they are – thanks to Korea’s cutting-edge technology and cultural convergence.  It also represents a new beginning and the opening of ‘New Horizons’ for winter sports in Asia.
The new slogan was launched at a special event – dubbed ‘Happy PyeongChang, Promise for 1,000 days’ – that took place in Seoul’s Olympic Park.

More than 4,000 participants were expected to take part in the event, including POCOG President Yang-ho Cho, Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Jong-deok Kim, Governor of Gangwon Province Moon-soon Choi, representatives from the sports industry, officials from Host and Venue Cities, dignitaries from the national assembly and members of the public.

PyeongChang 2018 Honorary Ambassadors including Olympic figure skating gold medalist Yuna Kim, artistic director of the Korean National Ballet Sue-jin Kang and former speed skating Olympian Kyou-hyuk Lee, were also planning to come together to participate in a commemorative ceremony to highlight the PyeongChang’s passion and desire to stage a successful Olympic Winter Games over the celebratory weekend.
POCOG President Yang-ho Cho added: “Celebrating just 1,000 days-to-go to the Games today, we’ve seen the connected passion of our citizens and are sure that it will help us to successfully stage Korea’s first Winter Games. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all stakeholders and staff for their support so far, and look forward even more in the remaining 1,000 days.”
In addition to the event in Seoul, other Host and Venue cities also celebrated the 1,000 days-to-go milestone. Gangwon Province operated a special train from Seoul to Chuncheon, the province’s capital, which saw various winter sports stars share their stories with younger athletes and sports fans, while the cities of Chuncheon, PyeongChang, Gangneung and Jeongseon also hosted evening celebrations for local residents to share the festive spirit and enthusiasm for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

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UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy pledges greater access to sport for youth refugees

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©Petterik Wiggers (2), UNHCR

11/05/2015

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Honorary President and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Youth Refugees and Sport, Jacques Rogge, concluded a mission in Ethiopia visiting young South Sudanese refugees last week. Accompanied by IOC Member in Ethiopia Dagmawit Girmay Berhane, he vowed to help provide young refugees with more opportunities to play sport. 

Visiting the Kule and Tierkidi refugee camps in Gambella, where over 200,000 people have sought refuge since violence flared in their homeland two years ago, Rogge met many young refugees and their families. The former IOC President  also watched a number of boys and girls take part in various sporting activities, from athletics to football and volleyball games.

He said: “Sport is a great peace factor. I believe that when teams face each other in refugee camps, they learn to foster respect, reconciliation and friendship.”

The UN Special Envoy took this opportunity to stress the health benefits, and the educational, development and social value of sport and physical activity for youth refugees, asserting that measures will be taken to offer greater access to sport, as the IOC looks to invest in sports facilities and programmes in the region.

Read the full story here
Taking action for youth refugees  
This was the IOC Honorary President’s second field trip with UNHCR since being appointed a UN Special Envoy in 2014. Last October, Jacques Rogge visited the Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan, which celebrated its first anniversary earlier this month with a week of celebrations, and cultural and physical activities.



To mark this occasion, the camp officially inaugurated the multi-purpose sports ground funded by the IOC. In addition to providing the facility, the IOC, together with local partners, will also implement a full programme for children to play sports including football, volleyball, basketball, field hockey, and handball, in addition to taking part in the recreational programme already underway in the camp. 

Learn more about the IOC’s cooperation with the UN

Learn more about peace through sport

Doha Media Workshop on Women and Sport for Africa, Asia and Oceania

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©IOC/Raitis Purins

12/05/2015

More than one hundred delegates from Africa, Asia and Oceania will participate in a media workshop on women and sport in Doha on 15 and 16 May 2015. Jointly organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Qatar Olympic Committee, the workshop will bring together women and men who work in sport and media to look at making positive changes for women in sport.

The workshop aims to raise awareness and educate media professionals about the importance of the media in promoting gender equality. It will also provide opportunities for participants to share their experiences and learn from each other.

The speakers will include leaders from the Continental Associations and National Olympic Committees,Olympians, as well as representatives from the media and the business worlds. Among those who will take the floor are the Chair of the IOC Women and Sport Commission, Lydia Nsekera, the Chairperson of the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee and winner of the 2013 IOC Women and Sport Award World Trophy, Ahlam Salem Mubarak Al Mana, as well as the President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), Intendant General Lassana Palenfo, and the OCA President, Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al-Sabah, both IOC Members.

Key themes to be discussed during the two-day event include: Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality in 2015 and beyond – The key potential of media as a platform to accelerate changes; What is the crucial role men can play in advancing gender equality?; Addressing the imbalance - challenges posed by the media and their impact on gender equality; Promoting leadership of women through the media; Media coverage of women’s events & the “rules” of media coverage; and Why aren’t more women working in sports media?

For further information on the Workshop, visit the Qatar Olympic Committee website at: www.olympic.qa

Learn more about the IOC Women and Sport Commission

Rio 2016 opens application process for Ceremonies

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©IOC

13/05/2015

The Rio 2016 Organising Committee has opened applications for volunteers to take part in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Watched by an audience of billions around the world, the ceremonies will be one of the highlights of the Games and will include memorable moments such as the athletes’ parade, lighting of the Olympic cauldron and handover of the Olympic flag to the next host city – Tokyo 2020. 

All the ceremonies will take place in Rio’s iconic Maracanã stadium, and the productions will be run by a selection of renowned Brazilian artists, including Fernando Meirelles, who directed the Oscar-nominated film, City of God. 

“The Olympic Movement relies on the talents of volunteers as the backbone of these ceremonies which aim to represent the people and culture of the host nation,” said Rio 2016 Director of Ceremonies Leonardo Caetano. “Volunteers will not only be able to watch the performance, but also be a part of it. There’s no better place to watch the show than from centre stage.” 

With 5,000 volunteers alone set to take part in the Opening Ceremony, there are a huge number of roles available. Applications are open to anyone who is aged 16 or over by 1 April 2016, and all nationalities are welcome, although a basic understanding of Portuguese is required. 

Rio 2016 organisers have stressed that volunteers do not require any previous experience or special talents, just lots of energy and enthusiasm.

“We’re going to recruit people of all ages and backgrounds, with or without artistic experience,” said Rodrigo Raposo, volunteer coordinator for the company Cerimônias Cariocas 2016. “We’re looking for dancers, acrobats, skateboarders, roller-skaters, jugglers and graffiti artists. But most importantly, we are looking for enthusiasm, energy and a willingness to participate.”  

Auditions will begin in November 2015 with rehearsals for successful applicants starting in April 2016.  

Find out more about the volunteer applications at www.rio2016.com

IOC President visits Vanuatu - sees sporting “inspiration” in the wake of devastation left by Cyclone Pam

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04/05/2015

IOC President Thomas Bach arrived in Vanuatu Sunday, just six weeks after the island nation was hit by the devastating storm. The trip, which was planned before the winds battered the country, was an opportunity to discuss with the local sporting movement how the IOC funding will be spent to rejuvenate the sporting facilities.

The IOC is coordinating a plan, with the support of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), to rebuild sports facilities and the headquarters of the NOC in Vanuatu.

The USD 500,000 fund will also be used to help Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands, also affected by the disaster.

President Bach visited a hockey and multisport centre badly damaged by the storm, which welcomes more than 1,000 young people a day, training young athletes as well as organising leagues and competitions.

The sports centre has facilities for hockey, basketball, football, futsal, table tennis, boxing, volleyball, netball and cricket.

He also saw the devastation at a sports hall used for basketball, tennis and badminton, where huge panels had been ripped off by the high winds.

“We hope that our contribution will give hope to the whole population. When a nation’s athletes thrive it has a positive effect on the whole community, and when young people get a chance to play sport it can bring a whole community together,” he said.

Later, the President and Director General of the IOC played tennis with local children at a training centre in the capital, Port Vila.

The President also visited Vanuatu rowing club, set up with help from Olympic Solidarity, the Australian and New Zealand rowing federations and the International Rowing Federation (FISA), which provides top level training for young promising athletes.

At a reception at the centre, the IOC President told the audience: “Vanuatu is starting to rebuild, and we are here to take part in this process by helping to rebuild the nation’s sporting infrastructure. We want to support the athletes in this region so that they can return to their sporting life as soon as possible, and prepare for their next sporting challenges.”

Read the full speech here

The Prime Minister Joe Natuman thanked the IOC for its help. “Despite the devastation, sport remains vital to Vanuatu. We will try to support sport in whatever way we can and to respect the independence of sport.”

The IOC President also held a meeting with the President of Vanuatu, Father Baldwin Lonsdale, in which ONOC President and IOC Member Robin Mitchell was awarded the Order of Vanuatu for his services to sport in the country.

In a meeting with the Prime Minister, the two discussed the IOC's help in rebuilding sporting infrastructure in Vanuatu and the role of sport in society, as well as the importance of including sport in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Later, President Bach was welcomed to the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee (VASANOC) by the NOC President, Antoine Boudier, and opened a small museum dedicated to sport and athletes from Vanuatu. At the opening he said: “We came to Vanuatu to encourage you, we are leaving inspired by you. We are inspired by the optimism and by your true Olympic spirit by never giving up. We are happy to contribute to rebuilding your country and, through sport, give hope to people and particularly youth in Vanuatu.”

 

Traditional welcome for IOC President in Auckland, New Zealand, at the new National Olympic Committee HQ

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06/05/2015

IOC President Thomas Bach was welcomed to New Zealand with a traditional powhiri (welcome ceremony) at the new NOC headquarters in Auckland on Tuesday.

“Like the Olympic Movement, the welcome ceremony signifies peace, friendship and equality, and it shows how New Zealanders embrace the same values we do of tolerance and understanding through sport”, he said.

IOC Members Barry Maister (hockey) and Barbara Kendall (windsurfing) were on-hand to greet the President on his first visit to New Zealand. President Bach went on to formally open Olympic House, the home of the New Zealand Olympic Committee. Later, at a press conference, the President encouraged New Zealand to think about hosting the Olympic Games: “You cannot restrict the right to host the Olympics to just 20 countries”, he said. “The Olympic Games are universal and we should open doors and windows. If New Zealand is ready to look into it, we are ready.”

He said that the changes brought about by Olympic Agenda 2020 encouraged countries to think about how the Olympic Games could fit into the social, economic, environmental and sporting needs of a country.

As well as meeting athletes and members of the National Olympic Committee and national sports federations, President Bach also met Minister for Sport and Health the Hon. Dr Jonathan Coleman.

President Bach also had an opportunity to gain insight into New Zealand’s strong sporting system. On Wednesday, he visited athletes at the Rowing New Zealand High Performance Centre in Cambridge, and after a visit to the local school he went on to the Avantidrome home of New Zealand Cycling, where he met a number of New Zealand Olympic medallists and hopefuls for next year's Games in Rio de Janeiro.

At the Avantidrome, the President also had an off-the-cuff talk with a group of 20 New Zealand athletes. They discussed the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, changes to the sports programme and the reforms being implemented under Olympic Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement.

Promotion of women in sport: Action in Europe

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©IOC/Filip Klimaszewski

11/05/2015

Organised under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a three-day  international “Leadership and Talent Development” Women and Sport Seminar has brought together some 70 leading female figures representing a variety of sports, organisations, careers and experiences from over 30 countries to the capital of Poland, Warsaw.

The delegates were welcomed by Polish National Olympic Committee (NOC) President Andrzej Kraśnicki and the Minister for Sport and Tourism, Andrzej Biernat, as well as the IOC Member in Poland, Irena Szewinska, who is behind this seminar. The training sessions and discussions, held from 27 to 29 April, were also attended by Chair of the IOC Women and Sport Commission and IOC Member Lydia Nsekera.

Towards gender equality in decision-making 
As for many previous seminars, the main theme focused on the place and role of women in contemporary sport. As indicated by its slogan, “I want to…; I can…; I will…”, the Warsaw seminar aimed to strengthen the participants’ knowledge and competences in management. It sought to empower them and help them access positions of responsibility in decision-making and administrative organs of NOCs and other national sports organisations. This is exactly in the spirit of Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement.

The IOC reaffirmed its commitment to working with International Federations (IFs) and NOCs as well as various regional, national and international platforms, such as the UN and UN Women. It aims to increase the possibilities for girls and women in sport at all levels and to achieve the goal of female athletes representing 50 per cent of the athletes taking part in the Olympic Games, as well as to promote the participation and presence of women in sport generally.

Call to action   
Delegates taking part in the seminar were informed about the current situation of women and sport in the European Union through presentations from the Chair of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Gender Equality in Sport Commission, Daina Gudzineviciute, and member of the EOC Athletes’ Commission Tatiana Lebedeva. Helen Brownlee, Chair of the ONOC Women and Sport Commission, shared some of the best practices developed by Oceania NOCs for promoting women’s sport in the region.

During her speech, Lydia Nsekera reiterated the need for action: “On the field of play, we have almost reached our objective of parity. Off the field of play, it’s another story, another match that we have not yet won”, she said, before calling on the delegates to take responsibility and act so that more women can access positions of responsibility, either by standing as candidates themselves or supporting other women’s candidatures.

Learn more about the promotion of women in sport

IOC Executive Board meeting and 2022 Candidate City Briefing for IOC Members from 7 to 10 June 2015 – Information for the media

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

11/05/2015

IOC Executive Board meeting The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) will meet at the IOC headquarters in Vidy, Lausanne, on 7 and 8 June 2015. 

The EB will discuss the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020, and is scheduled to receive reports from various IOC commissions, as well as updates on the activities of the IOC administration and preparations for the forthcoming Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games. 

2022 Candidate City Briefing for IOC MembersThe 2022 Candidate City Briefing for IOC Members will take place at The Olympic Museum, on 9 June 2015.
The purpose of this presentation is to give the opportunity to the 2022 Cities to present their 2022 bidding project to all the IOC voting members, and to give the IOC members the possibility to put questions to the Cities on their bids prior to the election, which is set to take place during the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur on 31 July. For the first time, and following the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendation, the 2022 Evaluation Commission will also address the IOC members and the Presidents and Secretaries General of the Winter International Federations and take their questions.

Please note that the briefings made by the Candidate Cities to the IOC members on 9 June at The Olympic Museum will be closed to the media. However, photos and video footage of each delegation inside the room before they start their respective presentations will be made available (see details below). 

On 10 June, each City will have a separate room in the Lausanne Palace Hotel, where it can display models, show bid videos, answer questions, etc. In the morning, IOC members will visit each City’s presentation room from 8.30 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. The rooms will then be open to the media from 2 p.m.

Media accreditation:
The same accreditation will enable you to cover the IOC Executive Board meeting at the IOC Headquarters and the 2022 Candidate City Briefing for IOC Members at The Olympic Museum, as well as access the 2022 Candidate Cities’ presentation rooms at the Lausanne Palace Hotel. Please note that accreditations will be processed on the IOC website, and the deadline for registration is Monday 1 June 2015.

If you have already registered for previous meetings, please access your profile using your e-mail address and tick the box for the June 2015 EB and 2022 Briefing for IOC Members.
For journalists who have not yet registered, please follow the instructions provided.  

Click here to access the media accreditation system.

Should you have any issues when registering, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Accreditation cards will be distributed upon your arrival at the IOC headquarters during the Executive Board meeting on 7 and 8 June. You can also collect them on 9 June at The Olympic Museum in the press working room (2nd floor).

Schedule of events:Please click here for the complete schedule of events. 

Venues:IOC Headquarters
Château de Vidy, 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland  

The Olympic Museum
Quai d'Ouchy 1, 1006 Lausanne, Switzerland 

The Lausanne Palace Hotel
Rue du Grand-Chêne 7, 1003 Lausanne, Switzerland

Media facilities:
Media working rooms equipped with free wireless internet access will be available in all three venues, and the opening hours are:

IOC Headquarters    7 June from 2  to 9 p.m.
                                8 June from 8.30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Olympic Museum    9 June from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Lausanne Palace    9 June from 5  to 9 p.m.
                              10 June from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Media catering will be provided at all three venues on 8, 9 and 10 June, to cover lunches and coffee breaks.

Accommodation:Media representatives are requested to make their own arrangements.

Broadcast coverage of the 2022 Candidate City Briefing for IOC Members: The 2022 Candidate City Briefing for IOC Members on 9 June at the Olympic Museum will be closed to the media. There will be no CATV feed.

An ENG crew will pool raw video footage of the delegations entering the room and taking the podium before they start their respective presentations (approx. 30 seconds), and this will be made available in the media workroom at no charge (please see below for more information).

This photo opportunity will also be available to a very small pool of photographers, which will include international agencies, plus a national pool for each Candidate City.

There will be a mixed zone available for interviews as each delegation leaves the room after their presentation.

There will be production and transmission facilities at the Olympic Museum to assist broadcasters covering the event. The following facilities will be made available:

• SD/HD stand-up positions for live programme inserts
• SD/HD tape playout (multi-format)
• SD/HD connectivity to the Eurovision Global Network
• Footage of the entrance of the delegations in the presentation room will be pooled and made available to broadcasters free of charge.
• Dubbing will be provided onto DVCAM, P2 or file on to broadcasters’ own hard disk or USB stick.
• The feed-point will be operational on 9 June, and will be located at The Olympic Museum. To reserve a live stand-up or playout, please contact:

Eurovision - Nathalie Minard
Email: bookings@eurovision.net 
Tel:     +41 22 717 28 40

Press conference: teleconference call
Media representatives who will not be in Lausanne will have the possibility of listening to the President’s press conference live on 8 June by teleconference.

The number and access code will be as follows:

+41 (0)91 612 43 30 (Europe)
+44 (0)207 108 6233 (UK)
+1 (1)631 982 4566 (USA)
+81 (0)350 50 12 78 (Tokyo)

For a full list of phone numbers in your country, please click here.
PIN code (access code): 5860347#

Please contact the IOC Communications Department one day in advance to confirm the time of the press briefing and the press conference.

Oceania National Olympic Committees hear how Olympic Agenda 2020 can help the region

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

©IOC/Ian Jones

02/05/2015

IOC President tells General Assembly of the vital role of sport in health and  education in Oceania - meets President and Prime Minister of Fiji.

IOC President Thomas Bach addressed the General Assembly of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) today. He told them of the vital role sport can play in their countries in education, health, peace and development.

“Sport can contribute in many ways with regard to health, education, cohesion, social development, peace-building and nation-building, both internationally and nationally,” he said. He called again for the role of sport to be mentioned in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are to be approved in September. “We are working from our side to have sport included in the political declaration introducing these SDGs, and I would ask each of you to ask your governments to support this move,” he added.

Later, the IOC President met the Prime Minister of Fiji, who told him that sport was a key part of health and education policies in the country and vital to their implementation. He outlined his special programme to upgrade and build new sports facilities in Fiji. The Prime Minister also offered his support for the inclusion of sport in the UN SDGs.

President Bach talked about the importance of reaching young people through sport in the region. "Sport can also build bridges between communities, which is very important in some of the countries of Oceania," he said. The Prime Minister, who is also the President of the Fiji Rugby Union, added that he was hopeful the country would win a medal at next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

During his two days in Fiji, the IOC President held meetings with representatives of all the 17 NOCs that make up ONOC. They discussed the preparation of the region’s athletes for the Olympic Games in Rio next year, the qualification criteria and the scholarship programmes being supported by Olympic Solidarity.  At the opening ceremony of the meeting, on Friday he praised the Oceania NOCs for their dedication to sport and the Olympic values. 

At the ceremony, four members of the Oceania Olympic family were presented with the Olympic Order:

• Roseline Blake, who has been involved in sport at all levels for nearly 40 years and was the first woman to be elected as Secretary General of the Cook Islands NOC;
• Lord Tevita Tupou,  a former Executive Board member of ONOC, a member of the Pacific Games Council and the Oceania Football Confederation (Disciplinary Committee);
• Joe Bomal Carlo, who was Chef de Mission at the Olympic Summer Games from Barcelona 1992 to London 2012, CEO of the Vanuatu National Sports Council and President of the Vanuatu NOC; and
• Helen Brownlee, a Board member of the International Canoe Federation, the first female President of the Australian Canoe Federation and the first woman elected to the Executive Board of the Australian Olympic Committee, of which she is currently Vice-President.

Earlier in the day, the IOC President met the President of the Republic of Fiji. They discussed the huge contribution that sport can make in society. President Bach also took part in a rugby training session in Suva. Fiji has high hopes of winning a medal at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year, when rugby sevens will be on the programme for the first time.