IOC Executive Board meeting

Lausanne, July 9, 2014: Rio 2016, 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 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. —- IOC