Organising Olympic Games is a complex and challenging venture. To get it right, the Organising Committees (OCOGs) have to take into account that the staging of the Games goes beyond the athletes, venues and competitions. Each OCOG has to have a clear vision for the Games and what legacy it wants to leave. A 360° sustainability check includes issues concerning the environment; the integration of social minorities; the use of venues after the Games; respect for athletes from other cultures and religions; its role as a socially respected employer; a clean supply chain; and the full integration of educational and cultural elements in the programme.

Vancouver 2010 is a good example. In this video, key people from the Vancouver Organising Committee (VANOC) explain how important it is to them to demonstrate good governance, illustrated by concrete examples in the field of the environmental protection as part of a sustainability strategy. At the end of the day, it is the credibility of the Olympic Games that is at stake. For this reason, there will be an in-depth debate on these topics at the Olympic Congress in Copenhagen, which takes place from 3-5 October 2009. Good governance is key for the Olympic Movement as it is ultimately judged on this.

 

“Vancouver is ready for 2010”, said the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Coordination Commission for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games through its Chairman, René Fasel. For its ninth and final visit (25 – 26 August) to the next Olympic and Paralympic Host City, the Commission was joined by representatives of the Olympic Winter International Federations, who were able to bring their expertise to bear in the discussions with the Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) relating to the sporting elements of the Games, as well as by observers from the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee.

Speaking at the close of the meetings, Fasel said, “The organizers of the Games in Vancouver and Whistler are ready for 2010. We’ve heard from VANOC and its partners about all the steps that they are undertaking to ensure that the athletes and other Games visitors have a fantastic Olympic and Paralympic experience. We are extremely happy with what we have seen and heard, and are confident that they will deliver.” He continued, “The Commission members and I have seen this project grow from plans on paper into almost a reality, and we would like to commend the work of the team led by Jack Poole and John Furlong. The venues are spectacular and the plans for next February are very good. The great venues, the outstanding natural setting and hugely knowledgeable and enthusiastic fans will guarantee that these Olympic and Paralympic Games will be an unparalleled success.”

During its meeting, the Commission heard reports from VANOC on areas such as the Olympic Torch Relay, spectator services, sport, marketing, media operations, National Olympic Committee services, technology and the Paralympic Games. The visit also provided the opportunity for some Commission members to tour venues including the Vancouver Olympic Village, UBC Thunderbird Arena, Richmond Oval, Hillcrest Curling Centre and the Main Press and Broadcasting Centres.

 

Vancouver and Whistler will host the XXI Olympic Winter Games from 12 to 28 February 2010 and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from 12 to 21 March 2010. The seven Winter Olympic sports that will be on show in Vancouver are Luge, Skiing, Skating, Ice Hockey, Biathlon, Bobsleigh and Curling.

“Vancouver is ready for 2010”, said the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Coordination Commission for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games through its Chairman, René Fasel. For its ninth and final visit (25 – 26 August) to the next Olympic and Paralympic Host City, the Commission was joined by representatives of the Olympic Winter International Federations, who were able to bring their expertise to bear in the discussions with the Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) relating to the sporting elements of the Games, as well as by observers from the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee.

Speaking at the close of the meetings, Fasel said, “The organizers of the Games in Vancouver and Whistler are ready for 2010. We’ve heard from VANOC and its partners about all the steps that they are undertaking to ensure that the athletes and other Games visitors have a fantastic Olympic and Paralympic experience. We are extremely happy with what we have seen and heard, and are confident that they will deliver.” He continued, “The Commission members and I have seen this project grow from plans on paper into almost a reality, and we would like to commend the work of the team led by Jack Poole and John Furlong. The venues are spectacular and the plans for next February are very good. The great venues, the outstanding natural setting and hugely knowledgeable and enthusiastic fans will guarantee that these Olympic and Paralympic Games will be an unparalleled success.”

During its meeting, the Commission heard reports from VANOC on areas such as the Olympic Torch Relay, spectator services, sport, marketing, media operations, National Olympic Committee services, technology and the Paralympic Games. The visit also provided the opportunity for some Commission members to tour venues including the Vancouver Olympic Village, UBC Thunderbird Arena, Richmond Oval, Hillcrest Curling Centre and the Main Press and Broadcasting Centres.

 

Vancouver and Whistler will host the XXI Olympic Winter Games from 12 to 28 February 2010 and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from 12 to 21 March 2010. The seven Winter Olympic sports that will be on show in Vancouver are Luge, Skiing, Skating, Ice Hockey, Biathlon, Bobsleigh and Curling.

The IOC’s Coordination Commission will pay its ninth and last visit to the next Olympic host city of Vancouver this week. The Commission, led by its Chairman René Fasel, will spend two days – 25 to 26 August – hearing from the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee (VANOC) about its progress, as it looks to stage spectacular Olympic Winter Games. This visit will also see the participation of representatives of the Olympic Winter International Federations, who will be able to bring their wealth of experience to the table, as they look at the final details around the sports on the 2010 programme.

With a little under six months to the Games, the IOC’s Coordination Commission will be working with VANOC to make sure that the Games stakeholders, such as the athletes, National Olympic Committees, International Federations, rights-holding broadcasters, media and spectators are going to be happy with the services that VANOC plans to deliver for them at Games time. As it is the final meeting of the Commission, they will also be looking at where the project is globally and examining in detail a number of areas such as transport, access to venues and ticketing, which will be key to ensuring a great Games-time experience for athletes and spectators.

 

With VANOC’s competition venues now completed and the two Olympic Villages in Vancouver and Whistler well on their way to being handed over to VANOC for use at Games time, some members of the Commission will also tour a selection of Vancouver’s Olympic venues. This will allow the members to see the Olympic venues finalised after following their progress over the past six years during their construction.

 

Vancouver and Whistler will host the XXI Olympic Winter Games from 12 to 28 February 2010 and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from 12 to 21 March 2010. The seven Winter Olympic sports that will be on show in Vancouver are Luge, Skiing, Skating, Ice Hockey, Biathlon, Bobsleigh and Curling.

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today approved several new events for the 2012 London Olympic Games. All of the new events had been requested by the relevant International Federations as part of the IOC’s systematic review of the sports programme. The changes reflect the IOC’s desire to continually refresh the Olympic programme and its commitment to increase participation by women.

 

The changes approved by the Executive Board include the following:

The EB agreed to the introduction of three women’s events. The current 11 men’s boxing events will be replaced by 10 men’s and three women’s events, representing an additional two boxing events on the programme. The total number of boxers remains unchanged. The decision was a recognition that women’s boxing has made substantial progress in universality and technical quality of the athletes since the EB last considered the discipline in 2005.

 

The EB agreed to the request made by the International Canoe Federation (ICF) for the replacement of men’s C2 500m with women’s K1 200m. The EB also agreed to replace the remaining three men’s 500m sprint events with 200m sprint events.

 

The EB agreed to the implementation of a new combined run-shoot format.

 

The removal of placement matches in the handball tournament was agreed.

 

Wrestling, Swimming, Cycling

The three Federations (FILA, FINA, and UCI respectively) submitted requests for new events. The EB informed them that this could happen, especially if the new events increase the participation of women at the Games and on condition that they replace events already on the programme. Additionally, current events can be replaced with new ones only if the total number of athletes is maintained. 

 

Furthermore, the EB agreed to consider the inclusion of a mixed doubles event pending guarantees from the International Tennis Federation that the top players in the singles rankings would be able to participate.

 

The EB will make a decision on the issue at its December meeting in Lausanne.

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The IOC received requests from 17 International Sports Federations for modifications of events, quotas and competition formats for the Olympic Games in London in 2012 by the deadline of October 2008.

 

The IOC Olympic Programme Commission analysed all of the requests based on established criteria, and submitted its findings to the Executive Board. The key positive factors included whether the changes would increase universality, gender equity and youth appeal, and in general add value to the Games. Other considerations included the cost of infrastructure, and the impact on the overall quota and the number of events.

All modifications of events, quotas or competition format for the Olympic Games in London 2012 are provisional, and will be reviewed for the programme of the 2016 Olympic Games after the Games in London.

 

The sports on the programme for any edition of the Games are decided no later than at the IOC Session electing the host city for that edition of the Games.

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When available, images will be published to flickr.com, click here.

 

The press conference with President Jacques Rogge will be available shortly on www.olympic.org

 

For more information please contact the IOC Communications Department, Tel: +41 21 621 60 00, email: pressoffice@olympic.org