KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC President Bach meets International Committee of the Red Cross President Maurer

15/05/2014

IOC President Thomas Bach today welcomed International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne for a one-hour meeting to explore areas in which the two organisations can cooperate in the future.

The two leaders are looking to reinvigorate the Memorandum of Understanding the organisations signed in June 2003. The MoU called for collaboration on projects placing sport as a tool for values-based education and development, in particular in areas affected by natural disaster, disease, and armed conflict.
The IOC and ICRC also work together to promote shared humanitarian values such as gender equality, volunteerism, tolerance and peace.
The ICRC’s delegation also included Patricia Danzi, Head of Operations for Latina America and the Caribbean. President Bach was accompanied by IOC International Cooperation and Development Director Lindsay Glassco.
Following the meeting, Mr Maurer paid a visit to the recently renovated Olympic Museum.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Diary of a Young Ambassador, Alaa Muntasir

14/05/2014

Since the Young Ambassadors seminar took place in March in Nanjing ahead of this summer’s Youth Olympic Games, Alaa Muntasir, the IOC’s Young Ambassador for Sudan, has been busy spreading the spirit of the Games in her community and learning about the ways in which we can build a better world through sport.

An avid horse-rider and student of Information Technology, Alaa sent us this diary piece from her latest adventure:

"A few weeks ago, four youth volunteers including myself were chosen by our National Olympic Committee to represent Sudan in the Generations For Peace Workshop held in Jordan from 26th to 30th April.

Generations For Peace is the peace-through-sport organization recognized by the IOC, and it empowers, mentors and supports young people to lead and cascade sustainable change in communities experiencing different forms of conflict.


Through intensive sessions, 30 participants from eight Asian and African countries all experienced how sport-based games can be used to develop peace-building skills and help initiate behavioral change. We all practiced how to build acceptance and trust, develop respect, foster cooperation, ensure inclusion and take responsibility, by means of sport and the tools that were provided to all of us.

As a Young Ambassador for the Youth Olympic Games, I learned about other participants’ countries and cultures, common challenges we all share, and possible solutions that lie within each one of us. I cannot wait to meet my athletes going to Nanjing 2014 this summer and share what I have learnt: we will be aiming at instilling change, on and off the sport field, in our lives and the lives of those around us. I know the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect will guide us on that journey."
Alaa is one of 104 Young Ambassadors selected by their respective National Olympic Committees to lead the athletes through their YOG journey, help them get the most out of the compete, learn and share programme and to encourage them to make new friends, experience new cultures and live by the Olympic values.

With just months to go until the Games, the YAs, aged between 18-25-years-old, are busy spreading the YOG spirit all over the world by hosting camps and workshops with young athletes in their communities and working closing with their NOCs and National Federations.

Click here to see the full list of the Young Ambassadors

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC helps Ukrainian athletes

©Getty Images

14/05/2014

Statement from International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach:

The IOC is following the political, economic and social developments in Ukraine with the greatest attention and growing concern. Also the situation of Ukrainian athletes, including those who have so successfully represented their country in the recent Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, which has dramatically deteriorated.
For all these reasons I repeat my appeal of Sochi to all political leaders involved to enter into a summit dialogue in the Olympic spirit of mutual respect and peace.
To help the Ukrainian athletes – wherever they come from in Ukraine and whatever their background – and to mitigate their difficult situation, the IOC has established an emergency fund of USD 300,000. This fund is to be used for the benefit of the Ukrainian athletes, through the NOC of Ukraine, for training and competition purposes.

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For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.
VideosYouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia

PhotosFor an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.
To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.
Social mediaFor up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

 

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC awards Olympic Games broadcast rights to NBCUniversal through to 2032

©IOC/Arnaud Meylan

07/05/2014

Agreement ensures the long-term financial security of the Olympic Movement

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today awarded NBCUniversal (NBCU) the broadcast rights in the USA for the Olympic Games through to 2032.
NBCU has acquired the broadcast rights across all media platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile. The agreement from 2021 to 2032 is valued at USD 7.65 billion, plus an additional USD 100 million signing bonus to be used for the promotion of Olympism and the Olympic values between 2015 and 2020.
The agreement is a major contribution to the long-term financial stability of the entire Olympic Movement. The IOC distributes more than 90 per cent of the revenue it generates to support the International Sports Federations; the 204 National Olympic Committees and their Olympic teams; and the Organising Committees of each Olympic Games.
IOC President Thomas Bach, who led the negotiations, said: “This agreement is excellent news for the entire Olympic Movement as it helps to ensure its financial security in the long term, in particular future host cities of the Olympic Games, the athletes of the 204 National Olympic Committees and the International Sports Federations. The IOC has worked in close partnership with NBC for many decades, and we are thrilled we will continue to work with them through to 2032. NBC’s expertise in sports broadcasting, as well as their passion for the Olympic values, will mean we shall be able continue to offer first-class broadcast coverage of the Olympic Games to the widest possible American audience for many years to come.”
Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast Corporation said: “The Olympics are the world’s greatest cultural and athletic event, and presenting them to the American audience is an honour and privilege for our entire company.  Our long-term commitment to and investment in the Olympic Movement are a reflection of our belief in the future of broadcast television, as well as our confidence that our partners at the IOC will continue to deliver great Games and that the Olympics will remain the world’s premier sports event. All of us at Comcast NBCUniversal are extremely proud that we have been entrusted to be the U.S. home for nine more Olympics, and we look forward to using all of our resources to continue our tradition of ground-breaking Olympic coverage.”
Steve Burke, CEO, NBCUniversal, said: “This is one of the most important days in the history of NBCUniversal. The Olympics are part of the fabric of our company, and we couldn’t be more excited that today’s announcement guarantees that this massively popular and profitable programming will continue to air every two years on the broadcast, cable, digital and mobile platforms of NBCUniversal for the next two decades. No event brings families together like the Olympics, and no-one in media is more accomplished or better equipped to tell the athletes’ stories than NBC Sports. I want to thank the IOC for their faith in us, as well as Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus and NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel, whose leadership was invaluable in bringing this deal to fruition.”

NBCU, which in 2011 had acquired the right to broadcast the Olympic Games until 2020 (including the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016, the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (2018) in PyeongChang, and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad (2020) in Tokyo), will now broadcast every Olympic Games through to 2032, the host cities of which are yet to be elected. In addition, NBCU also has acquired the broadcast rights for every edition of the Youth Olympic Games through to 2032.
By 2032, NBCU will have covered a total of 23 editions of the Olympic Games, since its first Games broadcast in Tokyo in 1964. This unprecedented long-term agreement demonstrates the confidence the IOC has in NBCU’s expertise and the excellent broadcast coverage it has delivered over many years.

Click here to download a high-resolution image.

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NBCU acquired the right to be the IOC’s broadcast partner through to 2020 in June 2011: http://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-awards-us-broadcast-rights-for-2014-2016-2018-and-2020-olympic-games-to-nbcuniversal/130827.
For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.
NBC Universal Sports Group:
Greg Hughes, Senior Vice President, Communications Greg.Hughes@nbcuni.com +1 203-356-2780

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC President Bach welcomes Singapore President in Lausanne

©IOC/Christophe Moratal

09/05/2014

Today in Lausanne, IOC President Thomas Bach met with the President of the Republic of Singapore, Tony Tan Keng Yam. The two leaders also toured the recently renovated Olympic Museum. 

During the meeting, the IOC President, who was accompanied by IOC member in Singapore Ser Miang Ng, thanked Singapore for all it had done for the Olympic Movement, particularly in staging the first edition of the Youth Olympic Games. 
The President of Singapore commented that: “the Olympic Games were always such a great inspiration to youth around the world.” And he praised the Olympic Movement for “its remarkable values.”
The pair also discussed the work currently being undertaken by the IOC to develop the “Olympic Agenda 2020” roadmap that will shape the future of the Olympic Movement. 
Also accompanying President Bach was IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC President Thomas Bach meets President of the Swiss Confederation, Didier Burkhalter

©IOC/Christophe Moratal

09/05/2014

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, today welcomed the President of the Swiss Confederation, Didier Burkhalter, for a one-hour meeting at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne before inviting him to visit the newly renovated Olympic Museum. 

The two leaders discussed a number of items of common interest, including the long ties between the Olympic Movement and Switzerland that have led many sports organisations to set up home in the country, and the continued presence of the IOC in Switzerland.  
The leaders discussed the future of the Olympic Movement, and President Bach outlined the progress made on “Olympic Agenda 2020”, a strategic plan for the future which will be finalised by the end of the year. They also assessed the highly successful Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, with the Swiss President having just returned from meeting President Putin in Moscow, where he led the OSCE delegation. 
“The ties between Switzerland and the IOC are based on great cooperation in the past. We feel at home here in Switzerland, and we certainly hope that it will be possible for this to  continue, and this is a sentiment echoed by many of our partners from International Federations and other sports organisations who followed the IOC’s lead and set up their headquarters in Switzerland.”  
Discussions also touched upon the celebrations surrounding the 100th anniversary of the IOC being headquartered in Lausanne which will be marked next year. Then-IOC President Pierre de Coubertin moved the IOC headquarters to Lausanne in 1915 in the midst of the First World War. In recognition of the long history that unites the IOC and Lausanne, the city received the title of Olympic Capital in 1993. 
President’s Burkhalter’s delegation was composed of the head of the Directorate of Public International Law and Legal Advisor of the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Valentin Zellweger; the Director of Switzerland's Federal Office for Sport, Matthias Remund; the Head of the President’s office, Damien Cottier; the Communications Chief, Jean-Marc Crevoisier; and the Head of Présence Suisse, Nicolas Bideau. 
President Bach was accompanied by IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper.

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For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.
VideosYouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia
PhotosFor an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.
To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.
Social mediaFor up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

PyeongChang enters Winter Games spotlight

©PyeongChang 2018

01/05/2014

Four years before the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games get underway, the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee (POCOG) continues to make steady progress in its preparations, as it enters the full glare of the Winter Games spotlight.

That was the message delivered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Coordination Commission for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, which today concluded its third inspection visit to the 2018 host city (29 April – 1 May).
 “We have had three excellent days of meetings and I’d like to congratulate President Kim of POCOG and his team for the quality of their work”, said IOC Coordination Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg. “We were able to see that a large amount has been accomplished by POCOG and its partners since our last visit in June 2013. The participation of the International Federations, the Korean Olympic and Paralympic Committees, and the Korean national winter sports federations was also very beneficial and allowed POCOG to engage in in-depth discussions on all topics related to the venues and sport. The 2018 Games are on the right track but it is clear that much work remains. We are confident that POCOG and Korea will deliver great Games for the athletes in 2018.”
The meetings in PyeongChang were attended by all levels of government including Vice- Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Jong Kim and the Governor of Gangwon Province, Moon-soon Choi. The high-level presence of the authorities was appreciated by the Commission and demonstrated the continued support of the Korean authorities for the PyeongChang 2018 Games.  
On Wednesday, the Coordination Commission toured the Mountain and Coastal Clusters, visiting a number of the venues, including both Olympic Villages; the sliding centre; International Broadcast Centre; Main Press Centre; the venues for speed skating, figure skating, short track, ice hockey, and curling; as well as two media villages. 
The Commission identified a number of key areas that require POCOG’s focus over the next six months. These include marketing, venue construction, test events and Games services. In the area of marketing, the IOC noted with satisfaction that POCOG is in the process of finalising its first domestic partnership contract. The Commission was informed that construction companies were being appointed for venues and that some construction was underway. It underlined the need for timelines to be carefully defined and adhered to, so as to avoid any impacts on test events. Test event preparations beyond venues were also highlighted, as the hiring and training of staff and volunteers should also begin in the near future. Finally, with timelines tight for the completion of accommodation contracting, the development of the Mountain Olympic Village and the transport management plan, the Coordination Commission encouraged POCOG to ensure that the appropriate focus and resources were dedicated to these important areas. 
POCOG President and CEO Jin-sun Kim commented, “The 3rd Coordination Commission meeting was the first one after Sochi, and it was especially meaningful because we had the high-level representatives of the international winter sports federations with us this time. We reconfirmed the fact that ‘Now is PyeongChang’ and that the eyes of the world are now on PyeongChang. We had very practical and detailed discussions. With what came out of these discussions, we will ensure seamless preparation of ‘Best Games’ in order to make the PyeongChang 2018 Games something special, something different and something unique. This year is a big turning point for us. We must establish a solid framework. As I always stress, we have no time to practise and no time for trial and error. We will streamline our Master Schedule and set our priorities straight so that everything runs smoothly according to the timeline.” 
The Commission also noted a number of areas where progress had been made since its last visit. The new highway and high-speed train connections from Seoul to the Olympic region are progressing well. These initiatives will leave a great legacy for Korea, its athletes and the citizens of Seoul and Gangwon Province. 
The appointment of three Vice-Presidents by POCOG and an associated reorganisation were received positively, as this will better enable the organisation to handle the increasing demands of organising the Games over the next four years. 
Finally, the awareness of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games has been strengthened by the success of PyeongChang House in Sochi, and the very innovative Closing Ceremony segment, which presented the 2018 Games to a worldwide audience of millions. The Commission encouraged the local organisers to continue to engage and promote their Games at this high level over the next four years both at home and abroad. 
Other topics discussed during the Coordination Commission meetings included athlete services, sport, National Olympic Committee services, International Federation services, people management, finance, venues and infrastructure, accommodation, transport, test events, engagement, marketing, media services and the Paralympic Games. 
The fourth Coordination Commission visit to PyeongChang will take place at the end of November 2014, while in June, PyeongChang will play host to the official IOC Debriefing of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games with the participation of all the principal Games stakeholders.

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For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our website at www.olympic.org.
VideosYouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia
PhotosFor an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.
To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.
Social mediaFor up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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