A respite before the big manoeuvres. Barring an improbable scenario, 2023 promises to be a quiet year for the Olympic movement. Not a single edition of the Games is on the agenda. Above all, not a single election in the pipeline.
What followed was much more exciting, with the Youth Winter Games in Gangwon in 2024, then the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, plus an election for the host city of the Winter Games in 2030.
The following year, the IOC will have to find a successor to Thomas Bach, who is due to hand over the keys to his office after a double 12-year term.
In 2026, the Olympic rings will be installed in Milan-Cortina for the Winter Games, before finally discovering Africa for the Youth Games in Dakar, Senegal.
After a year 2022 dominated by the Beijing Winter Games and the “dilemma” of sanctions against Russia, the next 12 months look like the calm before the storm. A year of transition. A year of campaigning, too, for the 2030 Winter Games and even, perhaps, for the IOC presidency.
What can we expect? FrancsJeux has highlighted four key moments in 2023, a year in which the Olympic movement can take a break, before picking up speed again.
22-25 June – First Olympic eSport Week in Singapore
As Thomas Bach noted in a New Year’s message last week, the first Olympic eSport Week is set to be “the next major step in our efforts to further engage the younger generation. A vast programme and an ambitious challenge. The IOC opened the door to eSports in 2021, with its Olympic Virtual Series. But the event only concerned simulation sports. Will it go further next June in Singapore? According to the experts, it will have to be bolder to seduce the new generation and convince the world of gamers to turn their eyes to the Olympic world.
26 July – 1 year to go until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The year 2023 is not lacking highlights for the Paris 2024 OCOG. The first quarter will see the start of ticketing on 15 February – the current phase, which was launched on 1 December, only concerns the random draw for the sale of packs – followed by the launch of volunteer recruitment in March, with the opening of the bidding platform. According to Tony Estanguet, the next few weeks should also see a handful of new names join the marketing programme. A premium partner, in particular, has been announced by the OCOG President. But the most eagerly awaited moment will be the celebration of the symbolic date of D – 1 year before the opening of the Olympic Games, Wednesday 26 July 2023. With one year to go, the number of quotas distributed will have increased. To date, 120 places have already been secured for the Olympic events, in 11 sports, including gymnastics, triathlon, shooting, handball and equestrian sports.
12-15 August – World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia
The second edition of the World Beach Games, four years after the first one initially planned in San Diego but finally organised in Doha, should attract the entire Olympic movement to the island of Bali, since the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) has chosen to hold its annual general assembly on the heels of the event. Clever. A perfect opportunity for Indonesia to advance a few new pawns in its bid for the 2036 Summer Games.
14 and 15 October – 140th IOC Session in Mumbai (India)
This session should have been marked by the designation of the host city of the 2030 Winter Games. But the IOC Executive Board decided last month to postpone the awarding of the event by one year. The 140th Session therefore promises to be less exciting. But the IOC members should not find the time too long. They will be asked to validate the final programme of the Los Angeles 2028 Games, and therefore to decide on the fate of boxing, weightlifting and the modern pentathlon, which have been provisionally withdrawn from the programme.
