It was with a smile that Thomas Bach appeared before the international press via video conference on Wednesday afternoon. The IOC President gave the media an hour of his time, even going over a few minutes, to extend this moment of exchange, one of his last in office. It was an opportunity to reflect on his twelve years in office and the challenges awaiting his successor before the election on March 20.
Growth, credibility and audience
Thomas Bach has decided not to run for re-election "a long time ago, for reasons of good governance", because "A new era requires new leaders"The outgoing president named the closing ceremony of the Paris Games as the highlight of his twelve years at the helm of the IOC. "We adopted the Olympic Agenda in 2014 and there we saw the Games we had imagined.", he savors. “Sober Games, with French creativity, culture and joie de vivre”, which brought together 206 NOCs. Enough to end his presidency in style, leaving his successor with a strengthened IOC.
“The numbers speak for themselves, he confides about the TOP program. You see new sponsors arrivingWe have discussed with them ways in which we can give them more recognition. We have secured 7,7 billion for this Olympics, we have guaranteed 7,4 billion for the next one and 6,5 billion for 2029-2032. Despite the difficult economic situation and uncertainties, we can expect growth. Few international organizations can talk about growth today. Most would be more than happy to remain stable.
Equally satisfied with the progress of the process of allocating hosts for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, an essential point for "the credibility of the IOC and the Olympic movement" according to Bach: "At every election, there were allegations of corruption and favoritism. Lobbyists were operating in hotels; it wasn't healthy. The result was that we no longer had any candidates: the reputation of the procedure was so bad that no one wanted to expose themselves. We revolutionized these procedures and we saw that there are no more allegations; everything is square. Many sports organizations follow the same dialogue procedure, and they also seem to find that it works. (…) There are lawsuits related to the awarding of several editions of the Games before the implementation of the Olympic Agenda. That says it all."
Thomas Bach also congratulates himself on having connected the Olympic movement to Gen Z, notably through urban sports (breaking, skateboarding, 3x3 basketball, etc.): “We have reconnected with young people. At the beginning of the century, before I was elected, in many major countries we had an average audience of 60 or 65. You could easily calculate when we would have disappeared. There was a clear need to change, to look at what interests the younger generation and take it into account. That's what we did, and I think we can be more than satisfied with the result. We have reconnected with Gen Z, both on and off the pitch.” Result: around five billion people followed the Paris Games, or 84% of the potential global audience of the event. A record.
Do not return to the “time of boycotts”
IOC members will vote in a week to choose David Lappartient, Sebastian Coe, Johan Eliasch, Kirsty Coventry, Prince Feisal, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., or Morinari Watanabe as the next president of the body. Faced with criticism regarding the lack of openness of the election, Thomas Bach retorted that this framework, defined by the Ethics Commission, aims to « protect integrity » of the procedure. « They are the same as when I was elected in 2013. What I see is that it seems to work in terms of integrity and that is the most important thing. It is not a public election.", recalls the German.
He gave several pieces of advice to his successor: "focus on the athletes", who must “stay at the heart of the Olympic movement”, and "maintain the unity of the movement". How? By respecting two principles, firstly solidarity. "We must be united and recognize that some have better conditions, others worse. Our role is to take these differences into consideration and try to give all the athletes in the world the best possible conditions." Second principle to guarantee unity: political neutrality. "This will be extremely important in the coming years, warns Bach. We see a new world order emerging, and we must be prepared for it. The world is multipolar. One bloc could try to pull the Olympic movement and the Games into its camp. If we allow that, we will return to the days of boycotts and contribute to divisions.
And to conclude with a general message: "We have 206 NOCs, dozens of international federations, tens of thousands of athletes, many stakeholders... There are many issues, and there always will be. We have made great progress in many areas, but there will always be unfinished business within the Olympic movement. There is a lot to do, so I wish my successor the best." He or she will need it.
