Olympic Highlights 04/03/2024
IOC
PRESIDENT
In a statement, IOC President Thomas Bach thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his words on the spirit of the Olympic Games and their ability to unite the world in peace.
Speaking publicly during a tour of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village on 29 February, President Macron said: “I believe that sport should enable unity and reconciliation. The choice that has been made is one that we will collectively accept. We support Ukraine, and we have sanctioned Russia. Neutral athletes, under conditions of respectful conduct, must be able to pursue their work and their sport.”
President Bach said: “President Macron’s comments demonstrate once again the seamless cooperation between the IOC and the French authorities at the highest level, and I would like to express my deep gratitude for his strong engagement towards the success of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, working with the IOC in a relationship of mutual trust.”
This week at Olympic House, President Thomas Bach welcomed the President of the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Guk Kim II. During a meeting, they discussed several topics of mutual interest, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the geopolitical situation.
The IOC President also welcomed the President of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia Franjo Bobinac. The preparations of the Slovenian athletes for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the geopolitical situation were among the main topics discussed.
President Bach addressed the members of the Board of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) – the President of which is IOC Member David Haggerty – who met at Olympic House. The upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the digital revolution were discussed. The IOC President had also a meeting with ITF President David Haggerty and ITF Chief Executive Officer Kelly Fairweather.
The President also welcomed the participants of the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) Train-the Trainers Workshop held at Olympic House and financed by Olympic Solidarity. The participants are nominated by their NOC and are Olympic education experts. During the training they learn how to disseminate OVEP it in their respective countries.
Meetings were also held with IOC Executive Board member Robin Mitchell and with IOC Members Anita L. DeFrantz, Marisol Casado, Li Lingwei, Jean-Christophe Rolland and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. Various current Olympic topics, including the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the international geopolitical situation, were discussed.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
The IOC has been granted the status of observer organisation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This will enable the IOC to engage more effectively with global efforts to address climate change, underscoring its commitment to reducing emissions and to leveraging the role of sport as an “important enabler” for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Full news release here.
Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) is marking 14 years of innovation as the Olympic host broadcaster. A new era of Olympic Games coverage started 14 years ago, when OBS first served as the sole host broadcaster at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010. Prior to these Games, the host broadcasting duties and costs were the responsibility of the local Organising Committee, and the entire host broadcast organisation had to be created from scratch for each Games. Learn more here about the evolution of OBS’s broadcast coverage of the Games.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF)
To mark the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the ISSF has planned a series of episodes leading up to the event to explain how the 15 competitions that will see shooting medals awarded take place. In addition to this, past and current champions speak about their experiences and emotions during the Olympic Games. This 20-part ISSF production, hosted by Jamie Strangroom and Matina Lucic, will see a new episode released every Sunday. All episodes will be available on YouTube and Facebook. Find more info and the link to episode 1 here.
International Tennis Federation (ITF)
The ITF has announced the return of its Advantage All Reward and Recognition Programme for 2024. The programme is dedicated to advancing gender equality within tennis globally by encouraging nations to adopt initiatives that champion inclusivity. Open to all 213 ITF member National Associations, the programme focuses on leadership, coaching and officiating to achieve gender parity both on and off the court. Full info here.
World Athletics
The World Athletics Council has selected Beijing, China, to host the 2027 World Athletics Championships. The decision was made at the World Athletics Council Meeting, held in Glasgow, Great Britain, ahead of the World Athletics Indoor Championships (1-3 March). China will also host next year’s World Athletics Indoor Championships, in Nanjing. Full info here, including other decisions made by the Council.
World Sailing
World Sailing has published its Olympic Vision strategy, which is aimed at strengthening the sport’s contribution to the Olympic Movement. By 2032, the sport aims to become more representative of the diversity within the global sailing community, more accessible to young people, and more appealing to a wider audience, while continuing to reduce the impact sailing has on the environment. Full details here.
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
Dominican Republic NOC
An Olympic “bubble” will be set up at the NOC headquarters for the Dominican delegation going to the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The announcement was made by the Minister for Sport, Francisco Camacho, who said that, working in cooperation with the NOC, everything would be done to help the Dominican athletes achieve success in Paris. The NOC President, Garibaldy Bautista, recalled that the promotional campaign “Rumbo a Paris 2024” (“On the Road to Paris 2024”) has been designed to shine a spotlight on the athletes who will be competing in the French capital this summer. Promotional material will be released on the 26th of each month. The campaign is being run by the NOC, together with the French Embassy in the Dominican Republic and the Ministry of Sport. IOC Member Luis Mejía Oviedo was present at the announcement. More details here.
Lithuanian NOC (LNOC)
For the past five years, the LNOC has been organising sports administration training courses for coaches and managers, and an advanced management course, with the support of Olympic Solidarity. These courses are led by Agnė Vanagienė, LNOC Deputy Director for Olympic Sport, who is the only IOC-certified facilitator in Lithuania and has been running the courses for five years. Only 20 participants are selected for each course, which ensures the quality of the training and gives the participants the opportunity to open up and reveal their talent, demonstrate their strengths, socialise and get to know others. More info here.
Oman Olympic Committee (OOC)
The OOC, represented by the Oman Women’s Sports and Gender Equality Committee, is organising the “GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] Women’s Sports Hackathon” event on 2 and 3 March in Muscat. As part of the programme, four workshops will be organised on promoting community sports for women and sustainability, the role of technology in promoting GCC women’s sports, sustainable sports investment opportunities, and sustainable sports initiatives and programmes. More details here.
Olympic Committee of Serbia
The Olympic Committee of Serbia celebrated its 114th anniversary at Hotel Moskva in Belgrade, where it was founded on 23 February 1910. As per tradition, the NOC President, Božidar Maljković, and the Minister for Sport, Zoran Gajić, laid a laurel wreath on the memorial plaque in front of the hotel, with two members of the Serbian team for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (basketball player and bronze medallist from Rio 2016 Saša Čađo and swimmer Andrej Barna) in attendance. Among the guests were IOC Executive Board member Nenad Lalović, who is also a member of the NOC and President of United World Wrestling, the Minister for Education, Slavica Đukić Dejanović, many Olympians and representatives from the government, diplomatic missions, sponsors, partners and the media. More info here.
Venezuelan NOC
The NOC has announced that its Board recently approved the 2023 management report and balance sheet and the 2024 budget. During the Board meeting, NOC President María Soto provided a recap of the NOC’s national and international activities in 2023.
ORGANISING COMMITTEES FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES
PARIS 2024
On 29 February, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet inaugurated the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village, alongside former athletes including triple Olympic champion in athletics Marie-José Pérec and Olympic boxing champion Brahim Asloum. The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village is located in Seine-Saint-Denis, a short distance from the Olympic Stadium, the Stade de France. It comprises 82 buildings housing 3,000 apartments. The first athletes will arrive from 12 July. In total, around 15,000 athletes from around the world will be staying in the Village. Full details here.
A record number of broadcasters from around the world are set to cover the Paralympic Games Paris 2024. With just six months to go, Paris 2024 and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) have confirmed that Media Rights-Holders in more than 160 countries and territories have committed to broadcasting the Paralympic Games Paris 2024, which will take place from 28 August to 8 September. Full news release here.
RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
On 29 February, WADA concluded its 2024 Global Education Conference in Cannes (France) with a clear call to action for anti-doping stakeholders internationally: stronger steps must be taken to further protect minors in sport. This fourth edition of the conference, which kicked off on 27 February, wrapped up with WADA stating its intentions to make anti-doping education mandatory for minors through revisions to the International Standard for Education (ISE) for Signatories to the World Anti-Doping Code, while also encouraging policy or legislative changes by the governments of the world. The conference was hosted by the French Anti-Doping Agency (Agence française de lutte contre le dopage) and welcomed more than 400 participants from around the globe. Full news release here. In addition, as part of the conference, WADA hosted on 27 February a Social Science Research (SSR) Symposium at Côte d’Azur University in Nice. The theme of the symposium was “Cultivating Our Collective Creativity… Through Research”, and it was attended by more than 50 participants from the anti-doping SSR community, representing some 30 countries. Full details here.
International Sports Cinema and Television Federation (FICTS)
Thirty-three future managers of the “Master in Sport Management and Sports Events - MASPES" of the University of Milano Bicocca visited the Olympic Museum in Lausanne for a study day. FICTS President Franco Ascani is also President of the Advisory Board of the Master’s course. Addressing the participants on the topic of “Federations and their Governance”, Francesco Ricci Bitti, President of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and FICTS Honorary Member, illustrated the changes involving the Olympic Movement. Maria Bogner from the Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) presented the organisation and the IOC’s activities. Also on the agenda were interactive meetings and a visit to the OSC to discover the library collections and historical archives. Info at www.sportmoviestv.net