The IOC likes to repeat it in all tones and in all languages: most of its immense wealth (7,6 billion in revenue for the period 2017/2020-21) is donated to the Olympic movement. No less than 90%.
A veritable fountain of greenbacks, the flow of which never seems to slow down. Still according to official figures, the body would flood sports organizations and athletes with the equivalent of 4,2 million dollars per day. Happy Olympic movement.
At the top of the list of beneficiaries of this financial windfall: athletes. The IOC supports them in their journey, their daily life and their preparation in the manner of a patron. Thursday May 4, the Olympic body provided proof of this during a round table with some media, dedicated to supporting athletes in the disciplines of the Summer and Winter Games. She laid out her numbers. They impose it.
For the current Olympiad (2021-2024), the Olympic Solidarity budget has been increased to $590 million, an increase of 25% compared to the previous year. It benefits, directly or indirectly, around 25.000 athletes around the world, from the first rungs of the pyramid to elite athletes.
For the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, 1.836 athletes from 186 countries benefited from a scholarship paid by the IOC via Olympic Solidarity. No fewer than 827 of them, representing 178 nations, took part in the event. They won 113 medals, including 30 gold.
So much for the money. Direct help. The bank account. The rest is in keeping. With its Athletes' Commission as its armed wing, the IOC has built, in the manner of a builder, a system of aid and support where the athlete is treated as a precious asset.
Since the start of the Olympiad, its training program has been followed by 46.606 athletes. In total, 82.184 modules were successfully completed. First age group concerned: 18-34 year olds (71%).
Less visible, and more unexpected: help from the IOC in verifying accounts on social networks. The body explains that it has recorded more than 2.000 requests from athletes. The vast majority (1) were sent to Meta, the American giant that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Kaveh Mehrabi, the director of the athletes department at the IOC, explained this to FrancsJeux : " Some athletes waited several months, sometimes up to two years, for their accounts to be verified. By going through us, they save precious time and are sure to succeed"
Very trendy: the IOC is accompanied in its effort to support athletes by some of its global partners, the members of its TOP program. Sponsoring is a modern, virtuous and responsible version in addition to being quite simply financial.
Examples: Airbnb and Allianz. The American platform for renting accommodation between individuals, and the German insurance group, two of the latest entrants into the TOP program, have developed their own support system for athletes. And they make it known.
Airbnb had the unique idea in the sports movement of offering Olympic and Paralympic athletes the opportunity to supplement their income by mingling with the crowd of rental companies registered on the platform. There have been 1 of them, since the start of the current Olympiad, to try their luck. Result: more than a million dollars in revenue generated by the program. Bingo.
As a bonus, the American platform distributes travel vouchers worth $2.000, supposed to financially support athletes in their preparation for the Olympic Games. She granted 500 last year. For 2023, it has doubled the number.
Less concrete, the initiative of the Allianz group is also intended to be less immediate. It consists of a series of conferences on post-career, intended to provide athletes with all the keys to successfully retraining by entering the business world. To date, 180 athletes from 57 countries have participated in the program.
