OLYMPIC GAMES, Olympic Solidarity’s aim is to organise assistance for all the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), particularly those with the greatest needs, so that they can develop their own structures to favour the expansion of sport in their country.
Three ways to support the NOCs
To help NOCs to fulfil these objectives, Olympic Solidarity offers an efficient consulting service to assist them in gaining access to financial, technical and administrative assistance through:
- World programmes, which cover and reinforce all areas of sports development;
- Continental programmes, designed to meet some of the specific needs of each continent,
- Olympic Games subsidies, which complement the range of programmes and offer financial support to NOCs before, during and after the Games.
The key concept is based on an autonomy between the world and continental programmes, but with complementary objectives and complete coordination in their management and implementation.
An already long history
In order to support a number of NOCs located in countries which had only recently become independent, the IOC decided at the beginning of the 1960s to organise its own methodical, comprehensive assistance programme to help the NOCs and, through them, the development of sport and the Olympic ideals. In 1962, Count Jean de Beaumont created the Committee for International Olympic Aid which merged with a similar body set up by the Permanent General Assembly of the NOCs, to form in 1971, the Committee for Olympic Solidarity.
1981: creation of the Commission
In 1979, at the constituent Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Puerto Rico, the IOC was asked to allocate 20% of the television rights earmarked for the NOCs to ANOC. In 1981, at the Olympic Congress in Baden-Baden, the IOC President at the time, Juan Antonio Samaranch, and the ANOC President, Mario Vázquez Raña, set up the Olympic Solidarity Commission, with an up-to-date strategy to respond to the interests and meet the needs of the NOCs.
Learn more: Olympic Solidarity – Creation and DevelopmentIncrease in revenue
Starting at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles in 1984, the increasing income generated by television rights allowed the launch of key programmes to assist the NOCs. Since 1985, the Olympic Solidarity Commission has developed its activities on a quadrennial-plan basis.
Greater autonomy for everyone
The decentralisation process of the funds towards the Continental Associations was initiated in 2001, with the objective that Continental Associations should be able to decide on the use of financial resources according to their particular needs, priorities and interests, as well as those of their NOCs. For the 2005-2008 quadrennial plan and onwards, the Olympic Solidarity Commission has widened the decentralisation process to the Continental Associations and increased the financial assistance to the NOCs.
A global partnership
The global network of partners involved in setting up, implementing and monitoring Olympic Solidarity programmes, as well as providing technical expertise, makes up an essential action channel. Thanks to the contribution and support of the Continental Associations, ANOC, NOCs, IOC commissions and International Federations, as well as the high-level training centres, universities and experts in various fields, Olympic Solidarity is able to continue its mission of assisting the NOCs in the best possible conditions.
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