Thomas Bach promised change. The IOC President can rub his hands: the change in question is coming soon. And it should matter. The German leader gathered around him, Saturday July 19 in Lausanne, the cream of the "decision makers" of the Olympic movement, a close guard of fifteen people (1) called to discuss the future of the Games. The meeting had been dubbed the “Olympic Summit,” no less. Its participants lined up as one man behind their president, unreservedly approving the broad outlines of Agenda 2020, this vast plan for reforms of the Olympic movement.
In detail, the Lausanne “Summit”, the first of its kind, produced three major resolutions:
- A new procedure for applications for the Games. The successive withdrawals of Munich, Stockholm and Krakow in the race for the 2022 Winter Games did not leave the IOC without reaction. Thomas Bach and his peers will propose to the IOC General Assembly, which is to meet in an extraordinary manner in December in Monaco, to make the application process more flexible. Nothing very concrete has yet been revealed, but participants at the Lausanne “Summit” agreed to encourage candidate cities to focus on the legacy of the Games, as well as the economic and social environment of their file. Clearly, applicants are recommended to refine their post-Games vision, by highlighting in their application the way in which the Olympic event could transform a region and the daily lives of its inhabitants.
- A new approach to the Games program. There is no question for the IOC of increasing the size of the Games. The number of athletes will not change. On the other hand, Thomas Bach seems determined to rejuvenate the competition program. To achieve this, the IOC wants to move from a program built around sports to a formula more oriented towards events. The nuance is not obvious, but the idea seems to be to think in terms of disciplines, in order to let in a few new faces (squash, karate, baseball/softball, etc.), without having to cut out more traditional ones. There is no longer any question of repeating the error of temporary exclusion from the fight. The IOC reserves the possibility of cutting into the fat of certain sports with a large number of disciplines (swimming? gymnastics? athletics?), to give more modern events a chance.
- Creation of an Olympic channel. The old sea serpent rises to the surface. But, this time, the project to create an Olympic television channel, owned by the IOC, seems solid and credible. The participants at the Lausanne “Summit” approved it. It is up to the Olympic organization to now define the framework, content and operation.
Another summit of the same type has been announced for September 2014. Its conclusions, like those of the July 19 meeting, will be presented for discussion to the various IOC commissions. The executive commission will then take up the Agenda 2020 file at its meeting in October. The IOC General Assembly, meeting on December 8 and 9, 2014 in Monaco, will then be asked to vote for or against this imposing set of reforms.
(1) The Olympic “Summit” in Lausanne brought together, on Saturday July 19, the following personalities: Thomas Bach, President of the IOC, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, President of the ANOC, Claudia Bokel, President of the Commission athletes, John Coates, IOC Vice-President, Bruno Grandi, President of the International Gymnastics Federation, Patrick Hickey, member of the Executive Board, Gian-Franco Kasper, President of the Association of International Winter Sports Federations , Pen Kiu, President of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Larry Probst III, President of the American Olympic Committee, Julio César Maglione, President of the International Swimming Federation, Craig Reedie, Vice-President of the IOC, Francesco Ricci Bitti, President of the Association of the international summer sports federations, Marius Vizer, president of SportAccord, Ching-Kuo Wu, member of the executive board, Alexander Zhukov, president of the Russian Olympic committee, Zaiqing Yu, vice-president of the IOC.
