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IOC brings hope to Haiti with opening of new sport centre

©IOC/Hector Retamal

15/07/2014

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, today officially opened a Sport for Hope Centre in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in the presence of Republic of Haiti President Michel Martelly and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Straight after the terrible earthquake that hit the country four years ago, the Olympic Movement, through the National Olympic Committee of Haiti, committed itself to providing aid to rebuild Haiti’s sporting infrastructure as part of the nation’s reconstruction process. The Sport for Hope Centre features modern sporting facilities and will offer a wide range of educational programmes, health services and community activities aimed at rebuilding local communities, promoting social values and giving Haiti’s citizens a better future.
The Centre, built at a cost of USD 18 million, was a joint initiative between the IOC and its key stakeholders and the Haitian Government. It comes just weeks after the signing of a historic agreement between the IOC and UN aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two organisations in projects designed to contribute to a better and more peaceful world through sport.
President Bach said: “The Sport for Hope Centre is open to all Haitians – from the young to the old, and from professional athletes to beginners. It offers open access to a variety of sports thanks to the generosity and commitment of a number of our stakeholders; but just as importantly, it offers access to cultural, educational and social development programmes and the Olympic values.” 
He continued: “During the course of our Olympic Agenda 2020 discussions on Olympism in Action, including our Youth Strategy, heavy emphasis has been placed on the important role sport can play in terms of education and social issues. The opening today of the Sport for Hope Centre here in Haiti is an example of how we can work successfully with other organisations to contribute to building a better world.” 
The multipurpose complex is located on land donated by the Government of Haiti. It features two large indoor practice halls, an indoor competition hall with a spectator capacity of 2,500, and a number of outdoor courts and pitches. In all, 14 Olympic sports will be practised at the Centre: football, rugby, athletics, volleyball, basketball, handball, tennis, judo, taekwondo, boxing, karate, badminton, table tennis and weightlifting. 
The complex also has three classrooms, offices, a fitness centre, a medical centre, changing rooms, a gazebo. A building for accommodation was constructed thanks to the financial support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). 
The medical centre is being set up in cooperation with the Red Cross Movement on land set aside for the Sport for Hope Centre. It will offer an emergency medical unit and ambulance base and be operated by the American Red Cross and the Red Cross of Haiti. 
The Sport for Hope Centre will provide elite athletes in Haiti and the entire region with state-of-the-art training conditions, and the country’s national sports federations with office space and facilities to improve the level of elite sport in the country. The principal beneficiaries, however, will be the young people, families and schools in the surrounding communities.  
The opening of the Centre would not have been possible without the generous support of the Government of Haiti, the International Federations and the wider Olympic Movement, which provided expertise, sports equipment and gear, and the playing surfaces. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Mondo, for example, financed the athletics track; the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) financed three multi-purpose volleyball courts and donated volleyball and beach volleyball equipment; the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) donated sportswear and the equipment for the gym, and has offered athletics equipment at cost price; the International Federations that govern the sports of rugby, basketball, table tennis, judo, and boxing provided all the necessary equipment for their sports; and in addition to its financial contribution, the IOC also provided tables, chairs and 50 computers to outfit the classrooms and conference rooms.  Worldwide TOP Partner GE supported the initiative by contributing lighting and electrical infrastructure solutions at the Centre. 
Other members of the Olympic Movement have also voiced their interest in lending their support to the Centre in the future.

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, helping athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. 

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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. 

Broadcast quality footagePlease use the following link  to download broadcast-quality footage to help you with your coverage of this event: http://vimeopro.com/afpservices/ioc/ password: IOC-Haiti
 This video news release includes:
- An interview with IOC President Thomas Bach in English and French
- Footage of the Sport for Hope Centre and sporting activities
Photos
For a selection of photos from this event, please go to www.afpforum.com, or log on to ftp-images.olympic.org (username: Sochi2014, password: PaPageno2) or contact images@olympic.org.
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'Olympic Games first priority from Monday,' says Brazilian President Rousseff

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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE PRESS RELEASE Friday 11 July 2014 www.olympic.org

'Olympic Games first priority from Monday,' says Brazilian President Rousseff

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach today received strong support from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff for the successful delivery of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

After the meeting, President Bach praised the organisation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. "Brazil and Brazilians can be proud," he told reporters, adding that the Olympic Games in Rio would benefit from the "passion and efficiency" of the Brazilian people.
During their meeting at the Palácio do Planalto in Brasilia, President Bach and President Rousseff discussed the importance of the Olympic Games and the positive social, economic and sporting legacy the Games will deliver.
“I was pleased to hear the confidence President Rousseff has in the Games and what they will deliver, and it was good to hear that the Games and their legacy will be a top priority,” he added.
“The IOC will contribute USD 1.5 billion to the Games, which will leave a huge sporting, economic and social legacy.”
The two leaders also discussed the sporting legacy that Rio 2016 is set to leave for elite and grassroots athletes alike thanks to the new venues being built and initiatives such as the creation of the Olympic Training Centre (OTC) in Barra, the first of its kind in South America. The centre will be available for young and talented athletes from across the continent and be a home for the development of coaching, athlete education and sports science. In addition, an education programme using sport to convey the Olympic values to schoolchildren is expected to reach millions of young people across the country and is being introduced in more than 500 schools.
Rio 2016 will also launch its volunteer programme next month, aiming to recruit 70,000 Brazilians from across the country.
Other non-sporting legacies that the people of Rio can expect to benefit from for years following the Games include a new metro line and improved rail and bus networks.
Bach, an Olympic champion from the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, started his visit to Brazil on Thursday by addressing Brazilian athletes preparing to compete in Rio 2016 at the headquarters of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) in Rio. He also visited the Olympic Village – which is already nearly 40 per cent complete.
Following his meeting in Brasilia with President Rousseff, the IOC President returned to Rio to meet with Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes and Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro Luiz Fernando Pezão.
The President was joined by IOC Coordination Commission Chair Nawal El Moutawakel, President of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and IOC honorary member Carlos Nuzman, and Rio 2016 CEO Sidney Levy. IOC member in Brazil Bernard Rajzman also joined the visit.

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, helping athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. 

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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.
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HRH Prince Nawaf Faisal Fahd Abdulaziz stands down as IOC member

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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE PRESS RELEASE Friday 11 July 2014 www.olympic.org

HRH Prince Nawaf Faisal Fahd Abdulaziz has resigned from his position as President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (NOC).

As his membership of the IOC was linked to his function as President of the NOC, it therefore ceased at the same time.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach thanked His Royal Highness for his contribution to the Olympic Movement.

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, helping athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. 

###

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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IOC Executive Board meeting wraps up with positive update on Rio 2016 progress

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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE PRESS RELEASE Wednesday 09 July 2014 www.olympic.org

IOC Executive Board meeting wraps up with positive update on Rio 2016 progress
The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) concluded three days of meetings today with a positive update on the progress in preparations for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 and discussions on Olympic Agenda 2020.
The Executive Board heard reports on the preparations for the Rio 2016 Games from Chair of the Coordination Commission Nawal El Moutawakel and from the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, led by its President Carlos Arthur Nuzman.
Information was delivered on the progress being made on venue construction, with Rio 2016 pointing out that grass is now being laid on the golf course, construction of the Olympic Village is advancing quickly, the Barra Olympic Park is taking shape, and the first stone has been laid in Deodoro. This underlined the progress that had been made since the last IOC Executive Board meeting in Belek, Turkey.
The EB was also informed about the state of progress of some of the key transport initiatives being built ahead of the Games, with two Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines now operational and a third BRT and the new metro line 4 both on schedule. These improvements are already making the lives of Cariocas better and will leave a long-term legacy to the city. The Rio 2016 education programme was highlighted, with 500 Rio schools involved and up to two million children expected to benefit nationwide by 2016. The initiative, which promotes the Olympic values through sport, will deliver an important part of the Olympic Movement’s legacy to the host country. The EB was also informed about the first Rio 2016 test event that will be held this August and how this will be a chance for Rio and its citizens to get a first taste of Olympic sport ahead of 2016.
“We have witnessed over the last few months great dynamism in Rio, in particular from the mayor and governor, who are working closely with the Organising Committee and are clearly taking responsibility,” said IOC President Thomas Bach at the end of Wednesday’s meeting. “A big step forward has been made with regard to the organisation of the Games. There is still no time to lose – not a day to lose – but there has been significant progress. Now is a time to look forward, to work together and to deliver great Games for Rio, Brazil and for the world, and not to engage in discussion of the past.”
The EB earlier received updates on the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 
Olympic Agenda 2020 
The EB received a report on the 14 Working Groups tasked with framing some of the key recommendations for Olympic Agenda 2020, a strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement. The Working Groups met late last month to discuss in detail the thousands of contributions made by the Olympic Movement, the world of sport and individual members of the public.  
This report will now be presented at the Olympic Summit meeting on 19 July with the Presidents of key Olympic Movement stakeholders before being streamlined into recommendations at an Olympic Agenda 2020-specific EB retreat in October. The refined recommendations for Olympic Agenda 2020 will finally be presented for discussion by the entire IOC membership and final approval at an Extraordinary IOC Session in Monaco on 8 and 9 December 2014.

Other outcomes
As part of President Bach’s initiative to drive transparency in the IOC and Olympic Movement, the IOC Finance Department informed the EB that it had prepared an IOC Financial Summary that details the IOC’s revenue sources and shows where more than 90 per cent of the IOC’s revenues are distributed among the Olympic Movement and back into sport. The summary can be read here.  
The EB selected Lima (Peru) as host city of the 7th IOC Athlete Career Programme Forum, which is scheduled to be held in early 2015. Launched in 2005 in partnership with Adecco, the IOC Athlete Career Programme helps Olympic and other elite athletes successfully manage the difficult transition from sport to a new career through professional development and job placement support. Since its establishment, the programme has provided career development and job placement services to more than 10,000 Olympic athletes from over 100 countries. The goal of the ACP forums is to share best practices, provide networking opportunities and improve the implementation of the programme globally. 
In another decision, the EB approved the nomination of three candidates – all women, none of whom is an IOC member – as the IOC representatives on the Board of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). They are: Yvonne Mokgoro of South Africa (former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and Chairperson of the South African Law Reform Commission); Wilhelmina Maria Elisabeth Thomassen of the Netherlands (International Expert of the Council of Europe on issues of judicial organisations and Consultant on human rights and the rule of law); and Xue Hanquin of China (a judge at the International Court of Justice). IOC member Dick Pound was also reappointed as a CAS member. 

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, helping athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

###

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.
Videos
YouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia
Photos
For 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 media
For up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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IOC provides hope and opportunity to youth in South Sudan

08/07/2014

In keeping with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s continued support of the athletes and fledgling sports movement of South Sudan, the IOC Executive Board today agreed to provide an additional place at the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014 for one South Sudanese athlete in athletics. This decision was taken with the full support of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). 

A promising young runner has been nominated by the South Sudanese sporting authorities and, like all athletes attending the YOG, will have their transport, accommodation and other expenses covered by the IOC. As South Sudan does not yet have a National Olympic Committee, the athlete will participate in the YOG as an Independent Olympic Athlete under the Olympic flag. The Nanjing YOG will run from 16 to 28 August.
The decision follows the historic agreement signed by IOC President Thomas Bach and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in March aimed at strengthening collaboration between the two organisations at the highest level on a range of projects around the world, with the goal of building peace and bringing about social change.
The agreement is already having a positive effect in South Sudan. During a meeting at the end of May between the IOC President, the Sudanese NOC and representatives of the South Sudan sporting movement, which the IOC is currently helping to set up its own NOC, the South Sudanese said they were able to contact local UN representatives on the ground in South Sudan to work on sport and development projects. 
In parallel, the IOC has started to work with the South Sudanese sporting authorities, the NOC of Sudan, International Federations and training centres in the region to identify and assist athletes from South Sudan with the potential to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.

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Oslo, Almaty and Beijing become Candidate Cities for the Olympic Winter Games 2022

07/07/2014

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unanimously agreed today that Oslo (Norway), Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China)* would progress from the Applicant City Phase to the Candidate City Phase in the bid to host the Olympic Winter Games 2022.

The EB based its decision on a technical analysis of the Applicant Cities’ applications submitted earlier this year. The analysis and subsequent report were made by an IOC-appointed working group of Olympic Games experts who assessed each Applicant City’s potential for successfully staging the Olympic Winter Games 2022. The technical assessment was based on a number of criteria, covering a variety of areas such as venues, transport, accommodation and security. Click here for the full report. 
Each city was encouraged to produce a bid best suited to their own unique circumstances, with plans that reflect their own specific vision for how the Games can benefit their cities and regions and ensure positive, sustainable legacies for their populations. Oslo, Almaty and Beijing have done that:
- Oslo is focusing its bid on youth and building on the great legacy of the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer 1994. It hopes to inspire the population to embrace a healthier and more active lifestyle.
- Almaty’s legacy plans centre on providing the conditions to enable the city to become a sports, tourism and convention hub in Central Asia.
- Beijing is seeking to provide an extended legacy for venues built for the Olympic Games 2008. It wants to create a winter sports centre for China and use the Winter Games to act as a catalyst for the further development of the tourism and winter sports industry.
“The Executive Board was impressed by the legacy plans of each of the three cities, and will continue to support any future candidate or host city in developing them further,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “This support will be practical, involving the detailed transfer of knowledge as well as financial. In this respect it was good to see that each of the bidding cities understood the difference between the Olympic Games budget and the long-term infrastructure and investment budget, which will benefit their communities for decades to come,” he added.
“The Executive Board is confident that the future hosts of the Olympic Winter Games can break even with the Olympic Games budget – as Vancouver has just announced for the Olympic Winter Games 2010. Or, as in the case of Sochi, make a considerable profit, which they project to be in the range of 200 million dollars,” said President Bach. “This is possible not least because of the extensive financial assistance given by the IOC. In the case of Sochi, this amounted to USD 750 million and it is likely that figure will be even higher for the host of the Olympic Winter Games 2022,” he added.
The Candidate Cities have until January 2015 to submit their Candidature Files – in-depth blueprints of the cities’ Olympic projects. The IOC President will then appoint an Evaluation Commission made up of IOC members (who are volunteers) and experts to visit each Candidate City and prepare a technical risk assessment to assist IOC members in electing the host city. This report will be made available to all IOC members ahead of a two-day briefing that provides the members with the opportunity to question the cities directly about their Olympic projects.
In line with the IOC’s commitment to transparency, the documents pertaining to the 2022 bid process are available to the public on www.olympic.org.
As the Olympic Games are a unique project, whose size, scope and complexity mean that they are typically the biggest event that cities looking to host the Games will ever undertake, the IOC assists them in a number of ways, including financially and through an extensive transfer of knowledge programme.
The IOC puts at the disposal of the bid cities a significant amount of information and expertise through its Olympic Games Knowledge Management (OGKM) platform, which takes the form of documentation, experts, workshops and personal observation of previous Games. All Applicant Cities for the Olympic Winter Games 2022 participated in the Sochi 2014 observer programme and the IOC Debriefing of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi 2014, which allowed the cities to learn the best practices of previous hosts and to adapt those lessons to their own unique context. 
Once elected, the IOC continues to support the local organising committees through OGKM, as well as with the regular visits of its Coordination Commissions and experts, who help to guide the organisers, as they develop their Games project. All IOC-related costs (for accommodation, transport, etc.) are covered entirely by the IOC, as is the case during the Games themselves.
The IOC makes a significant financial contribution to the organisation of each edition of the Games, where the budgets of Organising Committees for the Olympic Games are generally privately financed. For example, the IOC and its Worldwide Olympic Partners are expected to contribute around USD 590 million in total to the budget for the organisation of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi 2014. To reduce the financial burden on the local organisers further, the IOC also assumes the responsibility and cost of the principal Olympic broadcast signal through its fully owned subsidiary Olympic Broadcasting Services SA (OBS). In Sochi this is expected to exceed USD 150 million – making a total IOC financial contribution to the Games of about USD 750 million.

Key Dates:
Phase 2:

• Submission of the Candidature File and Guarantees – 7 January 2015
• IOC Evaluation Commission visits – February to March 2015
• Evaluation Commission report / Candidate City Briefing for IOC Members – May to June 2015 (TBC)
• Election of the 2022 host city by the IOC Session – Kuala Lumpur – 31 July 2015

* The cities are listed according to a drawing of lots carried out by the IOC EB in December 2013.
Note to editors:
The two bid phases (Applicant and Candidate) were introduced by the IOC in 2000 to ensure that cities insufficiently prepared or considered not to have the potential to successfully organise the Olympic Games in the year in question, did not proceed to the second phase of bidding, thus ensuring significant cost savings to both the bid cities and the IOC.
As part of its mission to continually monitor and improve the bid process, and following recommendations arising out of debrief meetings with previous bid cities, the IOC recently brought forward some technical matters and questions regarding existing conditions that would not change between the two phases from the Candidate City questionnaire to the Applicant City questionnaire. Phase 2 has thus become a logical continuation of Phase 1, rather than a new start.

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, helping athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

###

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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IOC Debriefing sees NOCs transfer knowledge on athlete experience

02/07/2014

Responsible for ensuring a seamless athlete experience for their delegations at the Games, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) work in close cooperation with the Organising Committees. Their contribution during the IOC Debriefing of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games is then key emphasises IOC Executive Board member and Secretary General of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), Gunilla Lindberg.

Overseeing all the logistics related to the athletes from uniforms, equipment, transport to accommodation at the Olympic Games is no mean feat. “It’s a really challenging job,” states Gunilla Lindberg, who has also served as Secretary General of the Swedish NOC since 1989. “The role of the NOCs is to work on preparations for the athlete experience for many years prior to the Olympic Games to ensure that when the athletes arrive, they have the optimum conditions.”
For the ANOC Secretary General, the debriefing is not about finding negative points, but more an occasion to learn “for the future, to improve preparations”. “We have some proposals for the future, which also include the IOC and the International Sports Federations, on various topics such as qualification systems and accreditation.”
Lindberg underlines, however, that the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games “worked very well”, and following the positive feedback from the Olympians this winter and their great sporting achievements, they have been described by IOC President Thomas Bach as “the athletes’ Games.”
“I think each host country should deliver Games according to their culture, and you should never copy,” concludes Lindberg who, as Chair of the PyeongChang 2018 Coordination Commission, is in a prime position to value the NOCs’ contributions to the next Olympic Winter Games. “You should take the experiences and the good advice, but you should also make the Games your own.”
Under the key messages of inspire, manage, engage, empower and deliver, the IOC Debriefing of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games successfully concluded this week in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea.
In total, over 360 representatives of future host cities heard invaluable advice about Games management best practices, as well as the real-life Sochi experiences of 65 top leaders of February’s highly successful edition of the Olympic Winter Games.
Learn more about the IOC Debriefing of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games