KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC President Bach receives keys to the IOC at the inauguration of the new Olympic Museum

©IOC/Ian Jones

10/12/2013

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach officially received the keys to the IOC from Honorary President Jacques Rogge today during a handover ceremony in the newly renovated Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

Attending the ceremony were IOC Executive Board members, representatives of the Canton of Vaud and the City of Lausanne and some 200 guests.
Accepting the keys, President Bach thanked Honorary President Rogge by saying:  “Many thanks for this symbolic act of handing over the key, which is now a traditional part of IOC history. We both know very well that this handover includes the challenge of taking on the huge demands and responsibility of this office.”
He added: “You have left the Olympic Movement a solid foundation and you have every reason to be proud of your great achievement, which has benefited sport worldwide. Here, this evening, we would like to express to you our gratitude, recognition and respect.”
The handover ceremony preceded the formal inauguration of The Olympic Museum, which will officially reopen its doors to the public on 21 December after 23 months of work.
President Bach officially cut the ribbon before touring the new exhibitions. Led by the Director of the Olympic Museum, Francis Gabet, the guests were treated to an entirely revamped Museum integrating the latest technological innovations and a new museographic-themed approach.

Visitors from around the world will also soon be able to dive into the history, legacy, dreams, challenges and values that have contributed to making the Olympic Movement what it is today. They will start their experience in the Olympic Park, which has been entirely redesigned, before entering an exhibition area that has almost doubled in size to 3,000m2 with permanent exhibitions now spanning three levels.
After the visit, President Bach shared his first impressions: “The Olympic world is at the same time traditional and ultramodern. This Museum manages to convey that combination in an exciting and innovative way, and thereby reach young and old alike. If there is one place outside the Olympic Games where the Olympic spirit can be felt to the same degree, it is this entirely redesigned Museum, here.”
President Bach concluded: “Genuine Olympic moments are recorded here. They are presented in a wonderfully fresh and stirring way, so that we can all feel the fascination of this great idea. This Museum is a very special kind of Olympic adventure park, which records and conveys the uniqueness of the Games.”



The public can visit The Museum free of charge from 21 December 2013 until 23 January 2014. The Olympic Museum in Lausanne was first inaugurated on 23 June 1993. It has welcomed more than three million visitors in just under 20 years of existence and has produced more than 200 temporary exhibitions, including some 50 exhibitions outside its walls. Its mission is to explain and share the Olympic idea beyond the celebration of the Games, and to promote and highlight Olympism’s contribution to the society of yesterday, today and tomorrow. To accomplish this, it uses the stories of all those – champions, participants, officials, creators, artists, architects and volunteers – who come together to stage, every two years, the greatest event of our time.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC President holds minute of silence for Nelson Mandela

©IOC/Ian Jones

10/12/2013

At the start of today’s joint International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board meeting with the Executive Council of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), IOC President Thomas Bach today called for a minute of silence to coincide with the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in South Africa this morning.

“While we have assembled here, the world is gathering in Johannesburg to honour Mr Mandela,” said President Bach. “President Mandela was a hero of humanity and a great friend of the Olympic Movement.”
Yesterday, President Bach called on all 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to honour Mr Mandela by flying their flags at half-mast on the day of his funeral, Sunday 15 December.
During the meeting, the President encouraged the NOCs to actively participate in the ongoing dialogue regarding the future of the Olympic Movement, known as the Olympic Agenda 2020.
The IOC EB will begin its first meeting chaired by President Bach later this morning.

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Rabindranath Tagore, 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATAThe true appellation of Apu.

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. 

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Olympic Movement mourns death of Nelson Mandela and salutes “hero of humanity”

©IOC/Giulio Locatelli; Getty Images

06/12/2013

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach today expressed the shared loss of the sporting world at the passing of Nelson Mandela.

“The Olympic Movement is mourning the loss of a great friend and a hero of humanity,” President Bach said. “However, his attitude towards sport can make us proud – proud at his understanding of the potential of sport to bring inclusion.”

President Bach, who met Mr Mandela personally, added that he was an inspiration. “When I met him, I remember asking him if he hated his enemies. He replied, 'No'. When he saw I doubted him he added: ‘If I would hate them I would not be a free man anymore.’ That sums up the man and his humanity.” 

At a meeting at the IOC this morning, IOC member in South Africa Sam Ramsamy, who was a leading member of the anti-apartheid movement, praised Mr Mandela for his “understanding of sport as a uniting factor.” He added: “This is a time to celebrate a great life, not to mourn.”

Mr Mandela, himself a huge sports fan, once said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.”

The IOC will observe a period of mourning of three-days at its head-quarters with the Olympic Flag at half-mast to mark his passing.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Defending Olympic women’s halfpipe champion Torah Bright looks for triple gold in Sochi

04/12/2013

Defending Olympic women’s halfpipe champion Torah Bright has given herself quite a task at Sochi 2014, where she will be competing in the halfpipe, slopestyle and snowboard cross events. “It’s just snowboard,” says the Australian, taking the challenge in her stride.

“It’s all just snowboarding but there are very subtle differences,” says Torah Bright of the three events in which she will be competing at Sochi 2014. “Halfpipe helps slopestyle, slopestyle helps halfpipe, and boardercross is a combination of both and freeriding. You don’t pop off a jump. You suck it up. You want to get to the ground as fast as possible. It’s not just you and the halfpipe or you and the slopestyle course: it’s you and five others. There’s a whole new element there for me and a split-second reaction can be the difference between getting taken out or getting through. I get asked, why the three sports? And I say: ‘Why not? It’s all just snowboarding’. If I can find the fun in anything I do, I get the most out of myself. And that’s what happening with doing these three different disciplines. I’m challenging myself every single day that I’m on the mountain in ways that I haven’t been challenged in years, especially in the mental aspect.”



A flagbearer and a champion
After carrying the Australian flag at the Opening Ceremony at Vancouver 2010, Bright went out on Cypress Mountain and won the halfpipe gold in memorable style. Qualifying for the final in first place, she then crashed out on her opening run, but more than made up for it on her second, producing a superb switch backside 720 and scoring 45 points to top the podium ahead of the USA’s Olympic champions Kelly Clark (2002) and Hannah Tetter (2006). Reflecting on what was her country’s fourth Olympic Winter Games gold, she said: “It felt really good on that one day that counted to put down the run I wanted and for it to be the best on the day. It was huge.”

A Bright hope
Bright, who took the slopestyle bronze at the 2013 FIS Snowboarding World Championships in Stoneham (CAN), says that it was her brother and coach, Benny, who first suggested she try competing in all three disciplines “I said to him: ‘Oh my gosh, no. Way too hard’. But this year something sparked in me and I said I wanted to do it. I love snowboarding more than I ever have right now because of this challenge. There’s something really satisfying about being your best and trying to better yourself every day, about daring yourself to try something new and just being open to the universe and learning.”

The 26-year-old is the only athlete to attempt this remarkable treble at Sochi, but her experience and her refreshingly relaxed approach should serve her well: “Whether I win or not does not define who I am as a human or a snowboarder. It’s a contest. It’s just snowboarding.”

Follow Torah Bright on the Athlete's Hub

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Defending Olympic women’s halfpipe champion Torah Bright looks for triple gold in Sochi

04/12/2013

Defending Olympic women’s halfpipe champion Torah Bright has given herself quite a task at Sochi 2014, where she will be competing in the halfpipe, slopestyle and snowboard cross events. “It’s just snowboard,” says the Australian, taking the challenge in her stride.

“It’s all just snowboarding but there are very subtle differences,” says Torah Bright of the three events in which she will be competing at Sochi 2014. “Halfpipe helps slopestyle, slopestyle helps halfpipe, and boardercross is a combination of both and freeriding. You don’t pop off a jump. You suck it up. You want to get to the ground as fast as possible. It’s not just you and the halfpipe or you and the slopestyle course: it’s you and five others. There’s a whole new element there for me and a split-second reaction can be the difference between getting taken out or getting through. I get asked, why the three sports? And I say: ‘Why not? It’s all just snowboarding’. If I can find the fun in anything I do, I get the most out of myself. And that’s what happening with doing these three different disciplines. I’m challenging myself every single day that I’m on the mountain in ways that I haven’t been challenged in years, especially in the mental aspect.”



A flagbearer and a champion
After carrying the Australian flag at the Opening Ceremony at Vancouver 2010, Bright went out on Cypress Mountain and won the halfpipe gold in memorable style. Qualifying for the final in first place, she then crashed out on her opening run, but more than made up for it on her second, producing a superb switch backside 720 and scoring 45 points to top the podium ahead of the USA’s Olympic champions Kelly Clark (2002) and Hannah Tetter (2006). Reflecting on what was her country’s fourth Olympic Winter Games gold, she said: “It felt really good on that one day that counted to put down the run I wanted and for it to be the best on the day. It was huge.”

A Bright hope
Bright, who took the slopestyle bronze at the 2013 FIS Snowboarding World Championships in Stoneham (CAN), says that it was her brother and coach, Benny, who first suggested she try competing in all three disciplines “I said to him: ‘Oh my gosh, no. Way too hard’. But this year something sparked in me and I said I wanted to do it. I love snowboarding more than I ever have right now because of this challenge. There’s something really satisfying about being your best and trying to better yourself every day, about daring yourself to try something new and just being open to the universe and learning.”

The 26-year-old is the only athlete to attempt this remarkable treble at Sochi, but her experience and her refreshingly relaxed approach should serve her well: “Whether I win or not does not define who I am as a human or a snowboarder. It’s a contest. It’s just snowboarding.”

Follow Torah Bright on the Athlete's Hub