OP-Ed by Dick Pound on Rule 50
- IOC
"Free Speech for Olympic Athletes" by Richard W. Pound, IOC Member & IOC Doyen
When critics apply their denouncements with a palette knife or fling them on canvas like Jackson Pollock, intellectual rigour is often lost in the swirl and splash. Similarly, when the operational matrix is “ready – fire – aim”, insufficient attention gets paid to context. In the compulsion to shoot, accuracy is sacrificed.
Take the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Rule 50 for example. It provides that no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas. A subset of this rule applies to medal presentations and prohibits demonstrations on the podium. There is a perfectly simple explanation for such a rule, but in some quarters it has been harshly criticised as an unjustifiable incursion into the rights of free speech enjoyed by Olympic athletes.
Let’s set a few facts in order.
The Olympic Games are an international event, now involving some 206 National Olympic Committees (and, by extension, governments), approximately 40 international sports federations and, for Summer Games, about 11,000 athletes. There are a lot of moving parts, not to mention additional factors such as media, spectators and organisational officials.
There are many different and complex international tensions among the 206 countries whose athletes will participate.
The Olympic Games are, however, a special phenomenon during which, even if the world as a whole is not working well, there is an oasis at which the youth of the world can gather for peaceful competition, free from the tensions which their elders have created and with which they will be required to cope before and after the Games. Of course, the Games “bubble” will not last, but each time the Olympic Games are celebrated, a small step is taken – if the Games can work, even if only for 17 days, perhaps, some day, so might the world.
Can anyone in today’s world provide a better example of international peace and goodwill on such a scale? With a reach and emotional bonding measured in billions of people?
Now, back to Rule 50 and the misguided furore surrounding it.
First, this is not a new rule and, second, it is one wholly consistent with the underlying context of the Olympic Games, during which politics, religion, race and sexual orientation are set aside. The guidelines causing the furore were produced by athletes themselves, after extensive consultations. It is athletes who bear the risk of losing the moment they have trained for their whole lives by a protest on the podium.
Everyone has the right to political opinion and the freedom to express such opinions. The IOC fully agrees with that principle and has made it absolutely clear that athletes remain free to express their opinions in press conferences, in media interviews and on social media. But, in a free society, rights may come with certain limitations. Rule 50 restricts the occasions and places for the exercise of such rights. It does not impinge on the rights themselves. Many other governmental and sporting organisations have similar rules restricting demonstrations. Remember, too, that allowing protests on the podium means accepting all protests, not just those with which you may agree.
As is the case with countries, no organisation is perfect. Some, however, including the IOC, are committed to principles and aspirational goals. The IOC is committed to using sport to bring people together in peaceful circumstances, to using it as part of their overall development and to helping expose them to others from around the world. The Games can demonstrate to the world that all things are, indeed, possible, if there is a will to make them happen, tempered by goodwill and mutual respect.
Rule 50 is a reminder that, at the Olympic Games, restraint is an element of that mutual respect. It is entirely appropriate for the IOC, which created the Games, to establish rules that are consistent with the fundamental underlying principles. It is not hubris, as some critics have claimed, but rather a conviction that a better world is possible with a balance of rights and concomitant responsibilities.
It is our lot to be living in a highly differentiated world. It is our duty to bring about change, to create consensus on living together in a manner that respects, not condemns, diversity, and that accepts the right to be different, understanding that there is no perfect ideology or a one-size-fits-all paradigm. The human equation is too broad for such an ersatz solution.
The Olympic Games are, in themselves, no panacea for all of the challenges that face us. But the principles that give rise to the Games can illuminate a way forward that integrates fundamental humanistic values. Avoiding vengeance, especially misguided vengeance, is an admirable beginning.
Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter codifies that important principle. We all need to be reminded of what we have inherited and, without sacrificing any right to freedom of speech, embrace the special experience of the Olympic Games as a building block for a better future.
Richard W. Pound (photo IOC/Greg Martin) is an Olympic finalist in swimming for Team Canada at the Olympic Games Rome 1960 and a lawyer by profession. First President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) from 1999 to 2007, Pound is the IOC's longest-serving member, having joined the organisation in 1978.
Gangwon 2024: legacy of PyeongChang 2018 lives on in first Winter YOG awarded to Asia
- FOURTH EDITION
The fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games 2024 will be held in gangwon province in the cities of PyeongChang and Gangneung (Republic of Korea), home to the Olympic Winter Games 2018.
Today in Lausanne (photo IOC), Switzerland, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session voted to award the Winter YOG to Asia for the first time, building on the legacy of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
Gangwon 2024 draws upon the successful delivery of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and aims to continue their vision of bringing sport to a new generation of winter athletes. The hosting of the Winter YOG leverages the significant investment that the Republic of Korea has made into developing winter sport in the country and throughout Asia.
“Consistent with the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms, the proposed plans by Gangwon 2024 will ensure the Youth Olympic Games remain sustainable and affordable. The Gangwon 2024 proposition enhances the legacy of PyeongChang 2018,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “The interest shown by many regions around the world in hosting future Olympic and Youth Olympic Games demonstrates that our new approach, based on constant dialogue, flexibility, sustainability, legacy and creating a project together, is the right approach.”
“The Korean government is committed to providing the necessary support to ensure that the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games are a great success,” added Park Yang-woo, Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism and head of the Gangwon 2024 delegation. “We will continue the strong legacy of the recent Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang and work to achieve our vision of expanding new horizons in sport.”
The new Winter Youth Olympic Games host will benefit from many of the facilities used in PyeongChang 2018 as well as possible alternative venue options. Competitions would take place in PyeongChang (mountain sports) and Gangneung (ice sports), similar to the Games concept in 2018. The Winter YOG will provide young athletes with the opportunity to compete in some of the same venues where Olympians competed a few years earlier. The Youth Olympic Village would be located at student accommodation facilities at Gangneung-Wonju University.
The master plan will be finalised during a co-creation period, in which the IOC and Olympic stakeholders will collaborate with the elected host. The sports programme and a detailed budget aligned to the strategic objectives and local context will also be developed during this period.
The PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation was launched last year to ensure the legacy of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 would continue to benefit the region for decades to come. The foundation aims to continue the development of winter sport in Asia, spread the Olympic values to young people through various sports and education projects, and also manage several venues that were used at the Olympic Winter Games. This year, the Foundation will oversee Olympic values education camps for 20,000 students around the country and also host the annual Dream Programme, now in its 16th year, by providing winter sports training camps to young people from around the world.
From the very beginning of the dialogue, the IOC has indicated to the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee that it would be ready to accept the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a partner in the organisation of the 4th Winter Youth Olympic Games, if the circumstances allow.
The awarding of the 4th Winter YOG was the first under the IOC’s new approach to future host elections, part of Olympic Agenda 2020. More targeted and streamlined, it allows greater flexibility and dialogue, in which interest in future Olympic and Youth Olympic Games is overseen by two permanent Future Host Commissions (Summer and Winter). The Commissions advise the IOC Executive Board, which in turn makes recommendations to the IOC Session, including putting forward preferred hosts for election.
The curtain raises on Lausanne 2020, Alessia Tornaghi parades with Tricolore flag in front of Malagò
- WINTER YOG
The third edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games officially kicked off with the ceremony tonight at the Vaudoise Aréna.
The capital of the Olympic movement and home of the IOC will host, until 22nd January, the most important under-18 sporting event that will see around 1800 athletes from 79 countries throughout the world compete in 16 disciplines (the Italian athletes, however, will not compete in the skeleton).
Italy made its entrance in the athletes' parade, after Austria and ahead of Slovenia. More than half of the 67 Italian athletes were present on the ice (44 FISI members, 23 FISG members); 33 men and 34 women, who, in total (the rest of the group will arrive on 16th January), will take part in the Olympic event that starts tonight in Switzerland (crossing the French mountains of Les Tuffes). Then, at 8pm on the dot, the show kicked off with a moving display on ice and snow that combined Swiss tradition and innovation.
Present in the stands were the Olympic family and the heads of world sport, with the President of the IOC, Thomas Bach, sitting next to Simonetta Sommaruga, President of the Swiss Confederation who declared the Games open. With them were leaders of Italian sport, including the President of CONI and IOC member, Giovanni Malagò, and the Secretary General and Head of Olympic Preparation, Carlo Mornati, who witnessed the entrance of standard-bearer Alessia Tornaghi, the sixteen-year-old Milanese skater, twice senior Italian champion, who made her entrance at 8.09pm, together with Israel and Japan.
Lausanne is host to one of the two Olympic Villages (on the city's university campus) and three of the scheduled disciplines (Hockey, Figure Skating and Short Track Speed Skating). In the other village of St. Moritz, it was lugeist Alex Gufler who bore the flag at the other scheduled opening ceremony.
Tomorrow, on the snows of the Vaud Alps - in Les Diablerets and Villars - the first Olympic medals for the new entry Ski Mountaineering, which will make its debut in an Olympic event tomorrow with the men's and women's Individual Trial and Alpine Skiing, will already be awarded tomorrow with the men's and women's Super G.
The Lausanne 2020 Games are the first Winter Youth Olympic Games which guarantees an equal number of girls and boys competing for a medal (for the Summer Youth Games this had already happened in Buenos Aires 2018, while for the ‘big’ Games, this will happen for the first time in Tokyo 2020). For the first time, an edition of the Winter Games also includes mixed nationality 3×3 ice hockey, a women's doubles tobogganing competition, and the Nordic Women's Combined. These confirm the YOG as a true laboratory of ideas, driven by the energies of young people and at the service of sport.
Mediterranean Beach Games, Pesaro officially sworn-in for 2023
- THIRD EDITION
ICGM The International Committee of Mediterranean Games has formalised the induction of Pesaro in view of the third edition of the Mediterranean Beach Games, scheduled for 2023. The formalisation of the application, which will be followed by information on the procedure to be carried out for the designation of host cities, came to an end on 31st December.
CONI and the Municipality of Pesaro, which have worked in synergy on the MBG 2023 project, express their pride for the significant recognition, which certifies the depth and value of the candidacy and confirms the undoubted credibility of the sports system and the country at an international level. The ICGM’s confidence represents a solid basis for highlighting the city’s organisational qualities, relying on the expertise of the entire sports movement. Italy previously hosted the first edition of the event in Pescara.
Milano Cortina 2026, the Organising Committee that will deliver the Games has been created
- OLYMPIC GAMES
The first major milestone since the election of Milano Cortina as the host city for the Olympic Winter Games in 2026 has been reached. This afternoon in Milan, the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 was created at the headquarters of the Lombardy Region. This historic announcement comes just one day before the start of the Orientation Seminar for Milano Cortina 2026, which will see the first visit of the International Olympic Committee's Coordination Commission Chair Sari Essayah to the host city.
The "Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation" was established, in the presence of the notary Mario Notari, the Statute was approved and the charter of the foundation signed, as Founding Members, by the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, the Mayor of Cortina, Gianpietro Ghedina, the President of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, the President of the Italian National Olympic Committee, Giovanni Malagò, and the President of the Italian Paralympic Committee, Luca Pancalli. The Board of Directors of the foundation will be composed of 22 members, including 10 members from the world of sport, 10 members from the Territories, a representative of the Government and the President. (Photo Mezzelani GMT Sport)
Milano Cortina 2026, costituita la Fondazione che organizzerà i Giochi
The first International Seminar on Milan Cortina 2026 to start Tuesday
- OLYMPIC GAMES
The first international seminar on Milan Cortina 2026 will be held Tuesday the 10th and Wednesday the 11th in Milan. The event is organised by the International Olympic Committee in collaboration with CONI, the Special Olympics Committee and the territorial Bodies involved in the project. It will be two days of meetings, debates and presentations that will be structured through an articulated programme which will involve all the main protagonists of the winning project which brought the Olympic Games to Italy, with the appointment that took place on 24 June in Losanna.
Representing the IOC will be the Finnish chairman of the Coordination Commission, Sari Essayah, making her début in Italy in this new role. She will be accompanied by the IOC Director for the Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi. Italian multiple Olympic sport shooting champion Niccolò Campriani was also in the Losanna delegation. After retiring from sports, he became an official for the Sports Department in Losanna. Representing Milan Cortina 2026 will be CONI president, Giovanni Malagò, CIP president, Luca Pancalli, the mayors of Milan and Cortina, Giuseppe Sala and Gianpietro Ghedina, Presidents of the Lombardy and Veneto Regions, Attilio Fontana and Luca Zaia and Presidents of the Trento and Bolzano Provinces, Maurizio Fugatti and Arno Kompatscher.
The speakers will include Olympic champions such as Arianna Fontana, Gabriella Paruzzi, Armin Zoeggeler, Antonio Rossi and Diana Bianchedi, as well as special Olympics athletes such as Francesca Porcellato and athletes of the calibre of Giorgio Rocca. Taking their turns on the stage will also be CONI General Secretary Carlo Mornati, the president of Fondazione Cortina 2021, Alessandro Benetton, whereas the new CEO of Milan Cortina, Vincenzo Novari, will be making his début. Representing the Ministry of Sport will be Giovanni Panebianco, Ministry Chief of Staff.
There will be a welcome cocktail ahead of the two days on Monday evening, 9 December, organised by the IOC at Base, a modern location under the sign of sustainability, created inside the former Ansaldo, which represents one of the most important urban regeneration projects in Europe and which confirms Milan’s role as one of the great capitals of creative production. The evening will be accompanied by a concert by Ensemble Musica Instrumentalis, an all-strings ensemble created in Milan in 2017 with young musicians from all over Europe, directed by twenty-two-year-old orchestra director Giacomo Mutigli, while the menu for the guests will be entrusted to two renowned chefs, Davide Oldani of Milan and Graziano Prest of Cortina. It will be a magnificent, five-ring evening.
Federica Pellegrini among the thirty athletes to run for IOC Athletes’ Commission elections in Tokyo
Nominated by their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) together with their NOC Athletes’ Commissions, the 30 candidates contending for the four available positions within the IOC AC are from 30 NOCs and 19 summer sports.
The full list of candidates and their biographies can be downloaded here.
Commenting on the announcement, Kirsty Coventry, the current Chair of the IOC AC, said: “It is great to see such a fantastic response from the athlete community with the interest we have received from athletes around the world in this election. I am impressed by the diverse representation of sports and countries, and this demonstrates how much athletes care, and want to share their voice and play a central role in the Olympic Movement. It is exciting to have such a high calibre of candidates, and I wish them all the very best of luck,” Coventry added.
The athletes elected by their peers during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will replace the following members, whose term of office will expire at the end of these Games: IOC AC Chair Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe), Vice-Chair Danka Bartekova (Slovakia), Tony Estanguet (France) and James Tomkins (Australia). In addition, an appointed member of the Commission, Stefan Holm (Sweden), will also end his term next year.
All athletes competing at Tokyo 2020 will be able to vote for their representatives at the Athlete365 Space positioned at the entrance to the dining hall in the Olympic Village, and also at other sites such as the football cities and the sailing venue. The poll will be open from 14 July (the day the Olympic Village opens) to 4 August 2020.
The vote will be supervised and certified by an Election Committee, appointed by IOC President Thomas Bach, whose members are: Nicole Hoevertsz (Chair), as a representative of the IOC Legal Affairs Commission; Pâquerette Girard Zappelli, as the IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer; and Kikkan Randall, as a representative of the IOC Athletes’ Commission.
The IOC AC is composed of a maximum of 23 members (12 members directly elected by their peers and a maximum of 11 appointed), who serve a term of eight years. The vote is held at every Olympic Games, with four members elected at each Summer Games, and two at each Winter Games. Furthermore, the IOC President, in consultation with the IOC AC Chair, can appoint further Commission members, to ensure a good balance between regions, genders and sports. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Commission are elected by the Commission members, and must also be elected members of the AC.
Up to 15 members of the IOC AC are IOC members, providing athlete representatives with the same representation within the IOC membership as the International Federations and NOCs. Furthermore, the IOC AC Chair is a member of the IOC Executive Board, to ensure that athletes are part of the decision-making process within the Olympic Movement, which is one of the main responsibilities of the AC, together with supporting athletes’ development in their sporting and non-sporting careers, and serving as a link between the athletes and the IOC.
IOC appoints Coordination Commission for the Olympic Winter Games
- MILANO CORTINA 2026
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today unveiled the composition of the commission that will support the organisation of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
The CEO of the future Organising Committee for the XXV Winter Olympic Games has been appointed
- MILANO CORTINA 2026
The Steering Committee for Milano Cortina 2026, meeting today at the Ministry for Youth Policies and Sports, in the presence of Minister Vincenzo Spadafora, has unanimously decided to appoint Vincenzo Novari as CEO of the future Organising Committee for the XXV Winter Olympic Games 2026.
Milano Cortina 2026, press release
- OLYMPiC GAMES
The 2026 Milan Cortina Steering Committee (CIC) met today, completed with the entry of the government and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano which committed to ensuring their relative financial guarantees.
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