International Olympic Committee : News

IOC President honours HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Mother of United Arab Emirates Nation

12/5/2012 1:31:00 PM

IOC President Dr Jacques Rogge said that the Trophy was awarded to Her Highness for outstanding merit in the development of sport, notably her dedication to the advancement of women in sport.

Her Highness serves as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy and has inspired the launch of an annual international award for female athletes in her name as part of a series of initiatives to promote and develop the cause of women in sport.

Olympians discuss entourage and dual career

11/27/2012 11:00:00 AM

Giving and remaining the best

Frank Fredericks, Peter Van Den Hoogenband and Mike Boit shared their first-hand experience, opining on what it takes to be successful in sport and in post-athletic life. Former swimming star Van Den Hoogenband, better known as the “Flying Dutchman”, has always been led by the following principles during, as well as after, his sporting career: What am I good at? How do I get better? How do I become the best? How do I remain the best? Indeed, this strategy has worked well for him - Van Den Hoogeband is a three-time Olympic champion and is now working as Tournament Director for the European Youth Olympic Festival to be held in Utrecht (Netherlands) in 2013.

Spreading the word about the ACP

Other athletes who may need external advice on how to manage their education alongside their sporting career can benefit from the IOC’s Athlete Career Programme (ACP). Frank Fredericks, Olympic silver medallist and former Chairman of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, explained that the IOC ACP was launched in 2005 to help elite athletes successfully manage training, competition and the challenges and opportunities of day-to-day life. It focuses on three fields: education, life skills and employment. Since its inception, the IOC ACP has reached more than 10,000 athletes in over 100 countries.

Champion on and off the field

One thing is for certain: skills obtained during an athletic career are of benefit outside the sporting arena as well. “I attribute all the positive life experiences that I have highlighted to the journey which began at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where I won the bronze medal in the 800 metres and came fourth in the 1500 metres”, said Mike Boit during the conference. He added: “It is also the upbringing I received from my parents, who inculcated in me the sense of responsibility, caring and commitment.”

Engaging the family

The athlete’s family is, of course, a key part of his or her entourage. Olympic pole vault champion Sergey Bubka and the world road race record holder over 5 kilometres and 10 miles, Lornah Kipalagat, spoke about the important role of the family in preparing the athlete for optimum performances on and off the playing field. Sergey Bubka, a father as well as an Olympian, is heading up the IOC’s Entourage Commission, which deals with matters concerning the relationship between athletes, coaches, managers, sponsors and all other stakeholders that support athletes.

Read more about the athletes’ entourage and guidelines of conduct here

Visit the IOC’s Athletes’ space here

Learn more about the Athlete Career Programme (ACP) here

Learn more about the IOC Entourage Commission here

Learn more about the IOC Athletes’ Commission here

IOC World Conference kicks off in Amsterdam

11/26/2012 9:27:00 AM

IOC President Jacques Rogge said on this occasion: “This 8th World Conference on Sport, Culture and Education is a great chance to share ideas on how to tap the full potential of the power of sport to be a force for good. We will explore new ways to engage young people in a rapidly changing world. We will reassert the educational and cultural power of sport.”

Read the full speech of the IOC President here.

Young people engaged in the Conference

The two-day discussions concern the policies, practice and potential of sport and Olympism as they relate to culture and education. The Conference includes a number of young people who will share their ideas on several occasions with the other participants.

Danny Boyle receives IOC award

At the Conference opening, Danny Boyle, Artistic Director for the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, was announced as the winner of the prestigious IOC OlympiArt Award, a decoration given to an artist from the host country of the Games of the Olympiad and aimed at strengthening the link between the arts and the Games. Lord Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, was in Amsterdam to receive the award on Boyle’s behalf.

Prizes for Sport and Art contest winners

The opening ceremony was also a fitting occasion to award the winners of the IOC Sport and Art contest. This year’s fourth edition included more than 60 artists who shared their vision of “Sport and the Olympic Values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect” through their graphic works and sculptures, demonstrating the creative and artistic strength that sport can inspire. The winning works, including one from 18 year-old Luisa Balaban from Romania, were already exhibited in London’s Guildhall Art Gallery during the Olympic Games this summer:

The winners in the graphic works category are:

	Artist	Title	Medium, Technique	Country
1.	Volha PIASHKO	IN CERCA DELL’ ARMONIA	Mixed media, collage (paper, oil, enamel)	Italy
2.	Luisa BALABAN	EXCELLENCE RISING	Paper, ink, watercolour, pastel	Romania
3.	Isabel DE CUNHA	LIMA HOPE	Acrylic on canvas	Portugal

The winners in the sculpture category are:

	Artist	Title	Medium, Technique	Country
1.	Martin O. LINSON	OMNIPOTENT TRIUMPH	Bronze	USA
2.	Levan VARDOSANIDZE	OLYMPIC HYMN	Bronze, brass, marble, wood	Georgia
3.	Fernando SERRANO MUÑOZ	THE CYCLING WOMAN	Sapeli wood carving, treated with wax, rusty iron support	Spain

Follow the Conference (which is also livestreamed) here: http://www.iocworldconferencenl2012.org/

Learn more about the Conference: www.olympic.org/amsterdam2012

Learn more about the IOC Commission for Culture and Olympic Education: http://www.olympic.org/culture-and-olympic-education-commission

Kuwait Olympic Committee risks new suspension

11/23/2012 12:57:00 PM

After the NOC had been suspended for more than two years, the suspension was lifted on 14 July 2012 based on guarantees from the highest authorities in the country to pass new sports legislation that would put an end to governmental interference in the Olympic Movement in Kuwait. The deadline to implement the promises was set for 22 November, but the IOC regrets to note that the commitments have not been fulfilled. The suspension of the National Olympic Committee would serve as a protective measure by the IOC to preserve the autonomy of the NOC and the Olympic Movement in Kuwait.

The relevant authorities of the State of Kuwait bear all responsibility for this regrettable situation, which is dramatically affecting the country’s sporting family.

Jacques Rogge: "Early legacy planning key to producing long-term benefits"

11/21/2012 8:00:00 AM

The final Olympic Games of my 12-year term as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were received with great fanfare this summer in London. Evidence of their success continues to reach me almost daily in the form of the question: “Were they the best Games in history?”

As much as it would please me to simply answer in the affirmative, I know such a response would be premature. My reply is always the same: “Let history be the judge.”

I say this not to take anything away from the thousands of people responsible for delivering London 2012, which was clearly an across-the-board success, but to draw attention to the considerable importance the IOC places on legacy – what an Olympic host city leaves behind long after the 16 days of sporting competition are over.

The Olympic Games are the largest sporting event in the world and for most host cities they are the biggest and most complex project they will ever undertake. Their organisation affects the whole of the city and its population and often includes urban, economic, social and environmental development that requires the broad and cohesive involvement of city leaders, regional and national authorities, Games organisers, local communities, commercial partners and all the members of the Olympic Movement.

The IOC actively encourages each city that bids for an Olympic Games to consider from the outset how they could utilize the event to bring positive, long-lasting benefits to its area and citizens. This sort of planning typically begins a decade before the start of a Games.

By the time Chairman of the London 2012 bid committee Sebastian Coe spoke at the host city election in Singapore in 2005, for example, the London organisers already had a firm and highly detailed vision for what they wanted to deliver in 2012 and beyond.

It included the regeneration of a massive industrial wasteland in East London, providing the local community with world-class sporting venues to train and compete in, new parks and residential areas, better transport connections and infrastructure, employment and business opportunities, sustainable construction, an increase in volunteerism, and the creation of the next generation of sporting champions by inspiring young people everywhere to become more involved in physical activity.

The organisation of the London 2012 Games themselves cost around 2 billion pounds, much of which was covered by the IOC and private funds. But the local authorities earmarked a further 9.3 billion pounds to leverage the Games as a catalyst for rapid city development and improvement, both tangible and intangible, that would otherwise have taken decades to achieve.

London 2012 has already delivered on many of its promises and by continuing to pursue others we are optimistic that the citizens of London will benefit from the Games long into the future.

The foundations for London’s achievements in this area were firmly built on the knowledge and expertise of past Olympic Games organisers. Massive urban regeneration projects undertaken by Barcelona 1992 and Sydney 2000, environmental and sustainability standards set by Lillehammer 1994 and Vancouver 2010, and programmes to encourage volunteerism and youth participation by Beijing 2008 are just a few of the success stories from past organisers that London used as a springboard for its own Games.

As the link between past, present, and future host cities, the IOC assists Games organisers through a comprehensive transfer of knowledge programme. Organisers of upcoming Games in Russia (Sochi 2014), Brazil (Rio 2016), and South Korea (PyeongChang 2018) are already benefitting from the programme, which includes an important debriefing that the IOC organises to give future host cities a comprehensive look at what worked well at previous Olympic Games and what could be improved.

This year it was London’s turn to pass the torch at the London 2012 Debriefing in Rio de Janeiro from 17-21 November. The Debriefing focused on all aspects of Games operations, from the moment a bid city wins the right to host a Games to long after the Games conclude. These meetings were also attended by representatives of the 2020 candidate cities Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid, as well as other stakeholders responsible for staging the Games.

The London organisers had a great deal to pass on to their successors, who were given crucial insight into, among other things, producing and remaining focused on a long-term vision for their Games, the importance of collaboration between all parties during the planning and preparation phases, and ways to integrate the public into the event.

The Debriefing is by no means meant to provide a cookie-cutter template for future hosts. Rather, it is intended to provide valuable lessons that host cities can adopt and adapt to fit their own unique circumstances. We encourage upcoming Games organisers to innovate and expand on what they learn and ultimately improve upon the best practices of their predecessors.

London managed to do exactly that in preparing for and delivering the Games of the XXX Olympiad. It may still be too soon to call them the greatest Games ever, but ask the same question again in 20 years and you might just get a “yes.”

Doping documentary wins best sports programme prize

11/21/2012 5:23:00 PM

A must-see documentary for anyone interested in sports, society, business and the human mind, the documentary explores the subject of doping controls, examines the war against doping and speaks to those involved on all sides: scientists, lawyers, special agents, athletes, sponsors, winners and losers.

The story is told by the world’s foremost expert in anti-doping, Prof. Arne Ljungqvist, an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee and Chairman of the IOC Medical Commission. Followed by the programme’s makers over a three-year period, Ljungqvist reveals the extent of the battle against doping as he tracks sports cheats around the world in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The programme delves into some of the most infamous cases of doping over the past 40 years, including Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, the Balco scandal in the US, women’s swimming at the 2000 Olympic Games and a blood doping scandal in 2006, revealing hitherto unknown details of sport’s battle against the drug cheats.

Ljungqvist provides the programme not just with an historical view but also an up-to-date picture of the war on doping, how detection technology is improving all the time and what the future holds.

The IOC honorary member and former Olympic high jumper says his is not merely a quest to track down cheats: “[It’s] to help kids and coming athletes to avoid the chemical shortcut to misery.”

Producer Bjorn Bertoft of Matiné Film & Television, the independent production company behind “The War On Doping, added:

“[The documentary] is a historical overview of an ongoing phenomenon. In our hearts we feel that doping in sports is cheating, but we are not chasing scandals or individual athletes in order to track them down for punishments. We understood at an early stage that this film cannot give final answers, so we hope that by telling a story end by raising questions, we can contribute to a situation where better judgments will be made anyway.”

For more information, visit the documentary’s website: www.thewarondoping.com

Olympic marketing partners: Opportunity knocks for future Games organisers

11/20/2012 2:13:00 PM

That’s a key message the IOC’s Managing Director of Television and Marketing Services, Timo Lumme, would like future organisers of the Olympic Games to take away from the IOC Debriefing of the London 2012 Games in Rio.

“You have to recognise that the partner group offers an unequalled and unique opportunity to do a multitude of things. They provide far more than just financing for the Games: they provide a fantastic amount of experience and know-how, including platforms to leverage and promote the Games,” Lumme said.

A comprehensive debriefing specifically for Olympic marketing partners was held in Rio just prior to the official debrief from 17-21 November to give those in attendance the time to look at all aspects of the partner relationship with organising committees, including services, hospitality, partner and venue operations, and others.

“The word partnership is important,” Lumme added. “The partners are clients but they are also facilitators and activators of the Games vision. So the notion of debriefing and educating, if you like, is to make future organisers understand the strategic importance of having both a revenue programme and leveraging marketing partners to fulfil their overall Games vision in many, many different ways.”

The IOC marketing team began transferring the knowledge they and their stakeholders gleaned from London 2012 shortly after the Olympic cauldron was extinguished on 12 August. The official debriefing this week, Lumme said, allows his team to pass along these messages in a broader way to more people.

“And one of those messages is: The more you integrate them, the more you can benefit from the various things that they can bring. They have a wealth of experience and they are willing to put resources behind that. Paramount to staging a successful Games is figuring out how to maximise the partner relationship.”

Amsterdam to host debate on sport, culture and education

11/20/2012 4:39:00 PM

From 25 to 27 November 2012, representatives of the sporting community, the United Nations system, civil society organisations, special interest groups, academia, governments, non-governmental organisations, the corporate sector and the media will discuss the policies, practice and potential of sport and Olympism as they relate to culture and education.

The opening ceremony, which will include the announcement of the winners of the OlympiArt Award and the IOC Sport and Art Contest, will be attended by IOC President Jacques Rogge, Lambis V. Nikolaou (Chairman of the IOC Commission for Culture and Olympic Education), Lord Sebastian Coe (Chairman and President of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012), Getachew Engida (Deputy Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), Eberhard Van der Laan (Mayor of Amsterdam) and a number of Olympians.

The one-and-a-half-day conference programme will feature Olympians and young people, on several occasions, discussing topics such as the empowerment of young people, how to engage the families of top athletes in their strive for excellence and what it takes to be successful in sport and in post-athletic life.

The conference is being organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and in collaboration with the National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands (NOC*NSF) and the city of Amsterdam.

Learn more about the conference here

Learn more about the programme here

If you still want to register, click here: www.olympic.org/amsterdam2012

IOC ACP Forum resumes successfully in Lake Placid

11/19/2012 9:57:00 AM

Jointly hosted by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), the Forum brought together more than 90 participants from over 35 countries representing National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and Adecco, in addition to the IOC Athlete Career Programme (ACP) Steering Committee. Members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission who are involved in the delivery of the IOC ACP Outreach Programme were also present. The goal was to share best practices, networks and the workload to improve the implementation of the programme across the globe.

Launched in 2005, the IOC ACP aims to help elite athletes to successfully manage training, competition and the challenges and opportunities of day-to-day life. It focuses on three fields: Education, Life Skills and Employment. Since its inception, the IOC ACP has reached more than 10,000 athletes in over 100 countries.

The two-day programme produced a series of recommendations that will guide the work of the IOC ACP Steering Committee and the programme worldwide for the next two years.

Learn more about the ACP

See how Olympic fencer Keeth Smart benefitted from ACP

Save the Date: 3rd International Forum on Sport for Peace and Development

11/16/2012 11:38:00 AM

Jointly organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP), with the support of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), the biennial event aims to assess the successes and challenges of using sport as a tool for human development and peace promotion and looks at how to pave the way for future concerted action in these fields.

Creating a Common Vision

Whilst there is no doubt about the positive role sport can play in society, it remains work in progress to make sporting initiatives more powerful, sustainable and integrated into nations’ development agendas. Under the theme of “Creating a Common Vision”, high-level stakeholders from governments, the sporting community, the UN system, the academic and business worlds, civil society groups and the media will debate the impact of sport on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as how to move forward with the mainstreaming of sport in development policies and strategies. The participants will also look at other issues which increasingly affect sport and its organisation, such as the protection of youth, gender equality and integrity of sport.

Mario Pescante, Permanent Observer for the IOC to the UN and Chairman of the IOC International Relations Commission, said: “The past forums have featured excellent keynote speakers and provided high-level discussions which resulted in concrete recommendations for follow-up action embraced by all participants. I expect nothing less for New York. Once again it will be about translating the huge potential in the meeting room into concrete action on the ground, especially in relation to the developing countries. There is always more to be done.”

Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on Sport for Development and Peace, said: “The collaboration between the United Nations and Olympic family has never been better. The 2013 Forum in New York can contribute to further developing our collaboration, in particular in defining concrete intervention, and to engaging other important stakeholders such as governments, civil society, academia and the business sector. It is important that the meeting will focus on concrete outcomes for the benefit of those most in need, as action speaks louder than words”.

Follow us on www.olympic.org/IOC-UNForum2013 for updates on the Forum and the upcoming registration launch.

Click here to read the full report and the resolution of the last Forum, held in Geneva in 2011

Learn more about the IOC’s activities in the field of Development through Sport
Learn more about the IOC’s activities in the field of Peace through Sport
Learn more about the IOC’s International Relations Commission
Learn more about the International Olympic Truce Foundation (IOTF)
Learn more about the UNOSDP
Learn more about USOC