This is the seventh event of its kind run by the IOC and is a key element in the IOC’s Transfer of Knowledge Programme. The Debriefing will see the staff of the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) sharing their knowledge and experiences with representatives from Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018 and the three Candidate Cities for 2020.
The Debriefing will look at all of the principal areas of organising the Games and will give the various participants an opportunity to exchange ideas with each other after having had time to digest the results of the London Games. This event was preceded by a technology-specific debriefing and will be followed by an event looking at the Paralympic Games.
Speaking ahead of the opening, the IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director, Gilbert Felli, said, “One of the main roles that the IOC plays in helping to organise the Games is providing the Organising Committees and their partners with access to the latest knowledge and experiences from the Olympics. We do this throughout the year with our Olympic Games Knowledge Management (OGKM) Programme but the Official Games Debriefing, along with the observer and secondee programmes at Games time, are invaluable to the host cities. They allow them to get the latest experience and lessons from the people who have just done the job, and this immediate knowledge transfer is consistently praised by the cities as being very beneficial to their planning.”
The London 2012 event is expected to see about 500 participants from across the various Games organisers and Candidate Cities take part in a combination of plenary, breakout and one-to-one sessions that will look at different topics like culture, media operations, ceremonies, the Olympic Torch Relay, sport, National Olympic Committee and International Federation services, workforce, venues, and commercial programmes. The experience of key client groups, such as the athletes and spectators, will permeate many of the different groups but will also be looked at in their own right as part of the discussion around the services offered to different Games participants.
The IOC’s Knowledge Management Programme (OGKM) was created during the preparations for the Sydney 2000 Games and since then, has evolved into an integrated platform of services and documentation, which assists organisers in their Games preparations, lets them evaluate their progress and success, and helps to define the future of the Games. Amongst the activities offered by OGKM are a Games-time observer programme, technical manuals, workshops, an extranet, secondee programme, Games evaluation programme, and of course, the Games debriefing.