Initially stemming from an idea by French athlete and sports official Count Jean de Beaumont in the early 1960s, Olympic Solidarity is proving to be an even more essential programme today, assisting National Olympic Committees (NOCs) around the world as they face the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, while also directly supporting athletes so that they can continue their training, including the Refugee Athlete Scholarship-Holders who will make up the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020 next year.

Ahead of the International Day of Peace, celebrated around the world this Monday, 21 September, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, has emphasised the power of sport. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Executive Board (EB) today received updates from the Coordination Commission Chairs for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, respectively.

As everyone knows, the Olympic Games opening ceremonies begin with the joyous parade of athletes marching behind their flag-bearers. We see them again in an emotional reunion at the closing ceremonies. But did you know how it all began, and why all the participants come together as one at the end of the Games? Let’s go back in time 110 years.

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In 1915, there was nothing to suggest that Lausanne would become the epicentre of the sporting world. Today, the five interlocking rings welcome travellers as they arrive at the railway station – and this is by no means the only expression of the Olympic spirit in the city. While Lausanne, nestled on the northern shores of Lake Geneva, is now known internationally as the Olympic Capital, it owes this status to the resolve of a certain French baron who had fallen in love with the area, and to the terrible context of the First World War.