Communities around the globe get active to celebrate Olympic Day

Today – 23 June – is Olympic Day! Spurred on by the Olympic Movement, young and old in all corners of the world are being active and taking part in Olympic fun runs and walkathons, sports demonstrations, initiations and competitions, musical and crafts activities or chats with champions.

From the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to National Olympic Committees (NOCs), International and National Sports Federations, Organising Committees of Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, athletes, Young Ambassadors and local communities, millions of people across the globe are joining the movement in celebration of the birth of the modern Olympic Games and to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.

An evening with the theme of the centenary, as this year the IOC is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its presence in Lausanne. Since the anniversary date of 10 April, the city of Lausanne has been feting Olympism with a number of exhibitions and activities organised in its streets and alongside its symbolic monuments.

In his speech, President Bach said: “Every year, Olympic Day allows the whole world to unite behind the Olympic dream. The people of Lausanne also share this dream. It is no coincidence that this city became the Olympic Capital, with all the love it has for sport. The IOC has now had its home port in Lausanne for a whole century.”

An Italy for collectors: Panini presents the stickers of the Italian athletes at Rio 2016

The new collection of "Team Italy - Rio 2016" stickers of the Italian athletes who will participate in the next Olympic Games in Brazil was officially presented today by CONI and Panini, during the traditional ceremony in Rome for the handover of the Italian flag at the Quirinal Palace. The company from Modena presented the first copies of the collection to the president of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella (photo Mezzelani/Carbone GMT), to the president of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, the flag-bearer Federica Pellegrini and the dozens of athletes who are preparing to leave for Rio de Janeiro.

"The cooperation between CONI and Panini in order to create this extraordinary collection represents a coming together of excellence, a special union to celebrate the uniqueness of an event about to become part of history", said president Giovanni Malagò. "Photographing the stars of this fantastic adventure called Rio 2016 in order to illustrate, from a magical perspective, the next edition of the Olympic Games. Italy's Olympic Team album is one to show off with pride, a sign of continuity with the tradition that characterises an editorial group that - thanks to its stickers - entered the homes and hearts of Italians, before conquering the world by exporting a winning model based on originality and passion".

"We are thrilled to have partnered CONI in the creation of this collection, the first in the fifty-year history of our company dedicated to an Italian team taking part at an Olympic Games", said Aldo Sallustro, CEO of the Panini Group. "We wanted to express our support for the athletes of the Italian Olympic Team and give all the Italian fans a guide to closely track the performance of Italy's athletes in Brazil. For many years now, Panini has been creating collections for major international sporting events, such as collaborations with FIFA, UEFA and NBA, and this Olympic collection represents another addition to the range of products offered to collectors of all ages".

The "Team Italy - Rio 2016" is available from today, 22nd June, in all newsagents. It includes 315 large format stickers (including 40 special metal ones), as well as 45 stickers reproducing the official symbols of the disciplines and contains the schedule of the various events. The stickers are to be collected in a large 64-page album with a stylish cover created using a special processing technique. The album opens with an institutional section, with stickers of CONI president Giovanni Malagò, and flag-bearer Federica Pellegrini, in addition to Italy's Olympic team logo. Following on from that there are some fun facts and the Olympic events schedule.

The middle section is dedicated to stickers of the athletes and teams for each Olympic discipline. The stickers are genuine "identity cards" of each athlete and contain, in addition to the picture of the athlete, a lot of information (date and place of birth, weight and height, specialty, previous individual Olympic success, and much more). Each section also includes Italy's all-time medals in the various disciplines. The album continues with a historical section containing stickers of Italy's Olympic multi-medallists. The collection ends with the section dedicated to additions, which will be home to 35 extra stickers representing the latest athletes and teams heading to the Olympic games, which will be available free of charge from the month of August from Panini's Customer Service Department. See www.panini.it for further information.

The Agnelli Foundation supports Team Italy with prize money for medallists at Rio 2016

On the occasion of its 50th anniversary (1966-2016), the Agnelli Foundation - in collaboration with CONI and Gazzetta dello Sport - promotes an initiative to mark the forthcoming Olympic Games (5th-21st August) and Paralympics (7th-18th September) in Rio de Janeiro.

From all the Italian athletes who win at least one medal, of any type, at Rio 2016, three athletes (or teams) of Olympic disciplines and 3 athletes (or teams) of Paralympic disciplines will receive a monetary prize from the Agnelli Foundation in addition to the prize money paid by CONI (the "Agnelli Foundation Prize").

In view of the Agnelli Foundation Prizes received, during the school year 2016-2017, the winning athletes will commit to sharing their experiences on the theme of commitment and values ​​of sport with Italian schools, following a schedule that will be established by the Agnelli Foundation according to their availability, taking into account their respective sporting commitments. The prize winners of the Agnelli Foundation will be chosen by a jury made up of the readers of the sports information website Gazzetta.it: their votes will decide which victories excited and thrilled Italians the most.

"It is a wonderful idea that makes us understand the awareness of and affinity to our world", states the President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò (photo Mezzelani/Carbone-GMT) during the presentation of the initiative, which took place today at the Casa delle Armi, at the Foro Italico.

"We believe a lot in people recounting their experiences- says the president of Fca and Exor, John Elkann - this initiative is the result of our family's great interest in the world of sport but also education and athletes sharing their experiences is the best way to combine them"

At the end of the Olympic Games (21st August) and those of the Paralympics (18th September), readers of Gazzetta.it will have three days to cast their votes and choose the names of the three winning athletes (or teams). Based on the votes received, Gazzetta.it will forward the list of the top 3 Olympic athletes (or teams) and 3 Paralympic athletes (or teams) to the Agnelli Foundation, which will award the Agnelli Foundation Prizes, based on the number of votes obtained:

Olympic Games - Paralympic Games 1st prize € 150,000 € 150,000 2nd prize € 75,000 € 75,000 3rd prize € 50,000 € 50,000

The total amount of prizes granted by the Agnelli Foundation will be € 550,000.

Each athlete or team winner of at least one Olympic or Paralympic medal can win only one "Agnelli Foundation Prize", regardless of the number of medals won during the Olympic or Paralympic Games: the votes cast through the website Gazzetta.it will cover a specific event (and thus the corresponding medal won by the athlete or team in that event). If an individual athlete or team receives votes for other medals, in collating the rankings for the allocation of the Agnelli Foundation Prizes only the medal that obtained the most votes will be considered. Where the award is granted to a team, the amount will be shared equally between all team members, and exclude any athlete who might have already won an Agnelli Foundation Prize for a medal in an individual discipline.

On receiving the Agnelli Foundation Prize, on the basis of votes cast by the jury, each athlete or team is committed to arranging together with the Agnelli Foundation at least two meetings with pupils at Italian schools of any level and type: the meeting schedule will be established taking into account the commitments of the athletes and the availability of schools, chosen so as to ensure an even nationwide distribution. Athletes' travel expenses associated with visiting the schools will be borne by the Agnelli Foundation.

But the commitment of the Foundation does not stop here: a special fund, in fact, will facilitate the preparation of athletes of the Paralympics Winter Sports Italian Federation - FISIP who will participate in the Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang in 2018.

In order to keep up with the training for major sports events, employed disabled athletes normally take unpaid leave, leading to a consequent reduction in their salaries. To overcome this problem, and following on from the initiative regarding Olympic and Paralympic Summer medals in Rio 2016, the Agnelli Foundation has therefore decided to celebrate its fifty years of business by allocating part of its extra budget for solidarity activities approved for the occasion to some disabled athletes engaged in winter sports.

The Foundation has therefore asked FISIP to identify a number of athletes (and their guide, in the case of visually impaired athletes) who deserve to receive the "training-ship", enabling them to temporarily have time off work and be able to properly prepare for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

On the basis of data received - after evaluating various factors such as different sports, the competitive commitment, the region of origin and the kind of athletes - the Foundation decided to grant, according to criteria of national balance and homogeneity, a series of "training-ships" lasting one year (from October 2016 to September 2017), to the following athletes for the following amounts, for a total of 60,000 euro:

Alex Furlan, alpine skiing, 12,000 euro Isabella Timpu, alpine skiing, 6,000 euro Nicolò Orsini, alpine skiing (guide for a visually impaired athlete), 6,000 euro Francesco Fieramosca, Nordic skiing, 12,000 euro Alessandro Carvani, Nordic skiing, 12,000 euro Manuel Pozzerle, snowboarding, 6,000 euro Roberto Cavicchi, snowboarding, 6,000 euro

Italian pride at the Quirinal: Mattarella hands the Italian flag to Federica Pellegrini and Martina Caironi

The magic of a ritual that makes proud, caressing the soul and warming the heart. The march towards the Olympics, the 31st edition of the Summer Games, intertwined with a "tricoloured" emotion of green-white-red, which extends across the country, because it translates into that sense of belonging that makes sport Italy's special trait d'union, the greatness that unites above any diversity, the pride that unites and transcends any barrier. Smiles, hugs, flashes: Rio 2016 is there, one step away, reflected in the inspiration of a day that lives on the wave of feelings, warmed not only by the first rays of summer but also from that fearless desire to honour the Italian flag, "behind which an entire nation stands". The solemnity of the Quirinal was the backdrop to the most significant ceremony, one that animates the eve of the Games: in front of more than 100 athletes, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, handed the flag to Federica Pellegrini and Martina Caironi, the standard-bearers of the Olympic and Paralympic dreams, before his personal and touching words of encouragement for Team Italy ahead of Rio 2016.
The Italian delegation (photo Mezzelani Carbone GMT) was led by the President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, the Secretary General, Roberto Fabbricini, the Deputy Secretary and Head of Olympic Training, Carlo Mornati, and the President of the Italian Paralympic Committee, Luca Pancalli. The Government was represented by the Secretary to the Prime Minister, Luca Lotti. Many Federal Presidents, members of the National Committee and Council were present.

Malagò symbolised the satisfaction of the entire sporting world for this unique moment. "Thank you President Mattarella, on behalf of the world that it is my honour to represent. For us it is an important day, unlike any other. Today, the athletes feel just how close the country's highest institution is to them. Present are 50% of the Italian athletes already qualified and almost 50% are female. And that makes us proud, just like it is to be represented by a flag-bearer that has had such a wonderful career, and was Italy's youngest ever individual medallist, a record which still stands today. I would like to thank the Government and Secretary Lotti, who are here today. We won 28 medals in London. We are not going to make any promises about podium finishes, but I guarantee that the athletes will give their all to keep the name of Italy flying high".

Pancalli underlined the concept, expressing a particular request to the Head of State. "If I had to sum up in five words what I want to express to you, Mr. President, I would choose emotion, passion, pride, gratitude and hope. Each of them represents a part of the Paralympic family and are real talents, and the dream of every athlete is to perform on that stage. The pride in this extraordinary tradition, the handing of the flag, on this occasion to Federica and Martina is repeated once again and adds to the culture growth of the country. I am going to break the patterns of formalism, Mr. President let us win the first gold medal, with your presence at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. But we will understand, given the large number of commitments, if you are not able to attend, because I know that you will be with us in your heart".
Federica Pellegrini was visibly moved and stated how "the Olympics touches our hearts, our greatest dreams and our minds. We are heading to Rio with the desire to fight right to the end, we will suffer and we will cheer each other on, with the prospect of improving as women and as men. Thank you Italy for giving me the honour of being your standard-bearer". "There is a great wish that I would like to make - said London Paralympic gold medallist, Martina Caironi - that the CIP (Paralympic Italian Committee) can continue to grow, to touch and make the hearts beat, as mine is beating now, of all athletes and spectators, because what Paralympic sport has perhaps even more of is the ability to stir certain emotions deep inside".

Secretary, Luca Lotti, opened the album of personal memories to recap the significance of the event and the support of the Government for the Italian athletes. "Being here today is a source of pride because two women are the stars. The Games are a part of our life. I was 10 years old when Italy's men's water polo team won gold in Barcelona 92. I watched the match, I remember Sandro Campagna shouting the word "character" to his team-mates, after the controversial penalty awarded to the hosts who kept their advantage until 42 seconds left in the second period of overtime. And Italy pulled out its character. Like us. Ready - as a nation - to stand up in difficult times, to do the best to overcome difficulties. I will never forget that soaking wet flag. It is the symbol of athletes who are committed to winning, to representing the country. Just like athletes with disabilities. You are not alone. The flag that you take today has to make you feel that we are right by your side. Be an example of pride and dignity. When you feel in difficulty, think that there are 60 million Italians by your side. There's a whole country that supports you, you will know how to give an example of character and loyalty. On behalf of myself and the Government, good luck".

President Mattarella drew a close to institutional proceedings. "The Olympic values of loyalty, coming together and integration should be the foundations of each and every nation, above all they should teach Italy itself that with" different features and all its precious parts" it should form a cohesive team that is unanimously committed as one. Sport plays a fundamental role in bringing together and integrating people to get behind the entire country - he states -. Our country's complexity and diversity is represented in the various disciplines of the athletes, each very different from the other. It would be desirable, as used to happen, that every conflict in the world stopped during the Olympic Games. The international community is not as this point, but the message conveyed by the Olympics is geared in this direction. I hope you win many medals, but it will be your behaviour and your performances that is the true sense of honour and keeps the name of Italy flying high at the Games. I am certain that you will be able to do this and the flag that you will hand back at the end of the Games will be honoured by your behaviour and your performances".
And the subject of the Games has embraced the subject of the Olympic bid after a nostalgic memory of the legacy of 1960. "I would like to remember two extraordinary people: born and bred in Germany, and English by adoption, Ludwig Guttmann, who first identified the importance and the value of sport for the disabled, and our countryman, Antonio Maglio, a great character and thanks to whom he first Paralympics were held in Rome. The 1960 Rome Summer Olympics left another important mark on the international community: the first Paralympics. In 1960, thanks to Antonio Maglio, Rome left an important mark on the international community and on the world of sport with the first edition of the Paralympics. I hope that Rome 2024, if conditions allow for this to happen, might be able to pursue objectives of social importance because the Games have an impact on the area they are held and they are influenced in some way too".

Cagnotto, Conti and Clapcich take home the Onesti 2016 award. Malagò: greats of Italian sport

Cagnotto, Conti, Clapcich. This afternoon, at the Foro Italico, there was a generous slice of Italian success and a tasty appetiser of the atmosphere expected at Rio 2016. Casa delle Armi was the scene of the presentation of the Giulio Onesti Prize 2016 by the Onesti Foundation, which awarded joint first place to the World one metre springboard diving champion from Kazan, 2015, Tania Cagnotto, and sailors Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich, stars of the 49er FX class in 2015. The three Italians succeed the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, who, last year in Rome, personally collected the award named in memory of the historic president of the Italian Olympic Committee.

Once again the Olympic spirit was felt during this year's awards: there were, in fact, many members of the Italian team heading for the Brazilian Games. The honour was given to the President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, present at the Foro Italico together with General Secretary, Roberto Fabbricini, and Deputy Secretary, and in charge of Olympic preparations, Carlo Mornati and Franco Carraro from the Giulio Onesti Foundation-AONI. Representing the Minister of Education, University and Research, Stefania Giannini, was, the Director General for student, integration, participation and communication of the Ministry, Giovanna Boda.

"Everyone knows who Giulio Onesti was, states Malagò - and how much our movement is indebted to him. We owe CONI's very existence to him and this evening is a chance to give due recognition to three truly great female athletes who last year gave so much to our sport. " The hall saw an emotional Tania Cagnotto, set to take part in her fifth Olympics, as did her father Giorgio, take to the stage: "I am truly honoured to receive this award, stated the athlete from Bolzano, I’m glad to be here with so many athletes with whom I will share the Rio Olympics. Good luck to everyone, we will try to cheer each other on. We hope that these Olympics will be the best one, for now. "
Then it was the turn of the two sailors: "In Rio, promised of Clapcich, we will give it our all, I hope it is a good omen for all the athletes with whom we will share this experience." "It is a great honour to receive this award alongside a great athlete like Tania", explained Giulia Conti. It was also an opportunity to reward young students who stood out in the 5th edition of the Onesti competition, organised by the Giulio Onesti Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. The award in the sport category went to the hearing-impaired students of the Magarotto school of Turin, while Rome's "Cristo Re" Institute students were awarded in the musical film category. "This year's theme was 'The Olympics I would like' and we hope that this issue remains topical - concluded Carraro - the winners are schools from Turin and Rome, Turin experienced the 2006 Olympics that helped change the city greatly. On one side Rome represents a beautiful memory from 1960 and on the other a dream that sooner or later will come true. This is the hope... ".

The winners of the contest "Onesti in Sport" were awarded during the ceremony: the State Institute of Higher Secondary Education "Magarotto" from Turin and the Institute "Cristo Re" from Rome. In particular, the young hearing-impaired students of the "Magarotto" school were deemed victorious in the category dedicated to sport during the 5th edition of the competition organised by the Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Their video clip "Sports signs", the jury explained, "perfectly embodies integration one of the fundamentals of the Olympic spirit: interpreting Olympic sports with sign language and mime, they managed to enclose an important social message in 60 seconds, accompanied by the great technical effort required to create it. The "Magarotto" Institute of Turin is a vocational school dedicated to the deaf and hearing-impaired children, without distinction or differences, where diversity is an added quality. " Whereas the "Cristo Re" Institute triumphed in the musical film category. In "We are heroes", a song written, set to music and performed by the students, also the creators of the accompanying video clip, explained the judges, "the genuine emotion of doping-free sport, thanks to the mix of rap and pop genres is illustrated. Iconically, in the video the winner of a boxing match is stripped of his medal and his podium, physically made up of boxes and boxes of illegal substances.

Statement from the National Committee

This morning the 1048th meeting of the CONI National Comittee was held at the Foro Italico, where proceedings began to approve the report concerning the previous meeting on 24th May. In the speech, President Malagò complimented the Federations on their results, in particular, sport fishing, beach volleyball, athletics and cycling with the victory of Vincenzo Nibali at the Giro d'Italia. President Malagò also reiterated his full support for Federbasket for the initiatives on a European level.

The Committee then focused on the relations between CONI and FIN and voted unanimously (with the abstention of the President Barelli) for a motion and a request for an opinion from the Advisory Section of the Guarantee Board:

THE MOTION - Having evaluated the behaviour and actions of President Barelli, which were widely discussed during the previous National Committee and Council meetings, in particular regarding the key principles of the code of ethics of the Olympic Charter and Article 2 and 7 of the Sporting Code of Practice (Principle of Allegiance - Correctness and prohibition of damaging reputation), the National Committee considered involving the Guarantor of the Sporting Code of Practice (established by decision of the National Council no. 1270 of 15th July 2004 and most recently appointed by decision no. 1503 of 15th January 2014) and requested the Secretary General to provide the Guarantor with the documents regarding such behaviour.

THE REQUEST - The National Committee approved the request for an opinion from the Consultative Section of the Guarantee Board and authorised the Secretary General to formulate the questions based on what emerged during the previous Committee and Council meetings, with reference to the case expected from Article 25, paragraph 7 of the FIN Statute concerning disputes between President Barelli and CONI.

After reviewing a long list of other organisational and administrative issues, and having taken the relevant resolutions, the Committee called an end to proceedings at 1.45 pm.

2021 edition in Cortina. Malagò: “Springboard for Rome 2024”

Cortina made it. The FIS Council, gathered in Cancun (Mexico), voted in favour of entrusting the 2021 Alpine Ski World Championships to Italy. The assignment of the World Championships to Cortina d’Ampezzo was announced by the President of the International Ski Federation (FIS), Gianfranco Kasper.

After five candidatures, FIS assessed favourably the project devised by Cortina 2021 Foundation and by the Italian Winter Sport Federation (FISI), and officially handed over the organisation of the world event taking place in 2021 to FISI and to Cortina, with a unanimous vote (17 out 17, by show of hand).

The Cortina World Championships will follow the ones held in St. Moritz in 2017 and in Are (Sweden) in 2019, and will occur exactly one year before the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

All members of the delegation attending the Mexican congress expressed great satisfaction: Flavio Roda, FISI President, was amongst the voters as a member of the FIS Council, and was also, as customary, the first signatory of the hosting contract, the contract for the World Championships that FIS issues to the winning party. “It is a moment of great joy and a reward for all the work we have done in the past years and months. I thank the Italian Government wholeheartedly, starting from the Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, and the State Secretary for the Prime Minister's Office, Luca Lotti, who always supported us during the preparations for this congress, and I also thank CONI and its President, Giovanni Malagò. I wish to compliment the Cortina 2021 Foundation and its President, Riccardo Donadon, for the professionalism and dedication with which they have tackled the last months of the candidature. The support of the Veneto regional administration and of President Luca Zaia has also been crucial, as was the collaboration with the Municipality of Cortina d’Ampezzo and with the Province of Belluno”.

“Nevertheless, this is a victory for all sport associations and businesses in Cortina”, continued Roda, “which now have an important chance to launch Cortina towards the future. It is also a victory for Italian sport and beyond - we will have a great international event on the Italian mountains and it must be taken as a chance for a general revival of our country”.

“Cortina has achieved an extraordinary goal”, said CONI President Giovanni Malagò, “built with tenacity, capability and passion. The World Ski Championships represent a spotlight of rare efficacy to promote the outstanding qualities of our country and to certify the credibility and the prominent role held by Italian sport at an international level. This appointment rewards the excellent teamwork conducted by CONI, FISI, the Government and the Municipality, thanks to a productive synergy that represents the winning model to follow in order to fulfil another fantastic dream, namely Rome 2024. Cortina, the first Italian Olympic city in history, could be, once more, the theatre of a great event destined to act as a prelude to a new Olympic emotion, as when it passed the baton to the Capital for the 1960 Summer Games after having hosted the 1956 Winter ones”.

Riccardo Donadon was also extremely happy after having led the dream that Cortina had been cultivating for many years to a successful outcome. “Our vision has won”, said Donadon, “a real project that has sport and athletes at its core, but is also very engaged with young people and the local area. We have fruitfully collaborated with the Italian Federation and with FIS, managing to satisfy all the requests we received to produce a great World Championship. The 2021 edition will have to be a technological and sustainable World Championship, which should be used as a driving force for the Italian mountains, and to relaunch the Made in Italy tradition. It is a success that we share with the people of Cortina and with the entire Veneto region, and that leads us now to work with greater effort to manifest the dream we strongly desired would become reality”.

Nino Benvenuti and Fiona May in Louisville to represent Italian sports at Muhammad Ali's funeral

Funerals of Muhammad Alì: Benvenuti and May represent Italy and Rome

The Rome 1960 Olympic champion, Nino Benvenuti, accompanied by Fiona May, Head of Athletes Relations of the Committee for the Promotion of Rome 2024 and member of the CONI Executive Board, will represent Italy at the funerals of Muhammad Ali scheduled for Friday 10 June at Louisville, Kentucky. The decision was taken by Giovanni Malagò, President of CONI, who considered it a duty that Italian sport would be present in occasion of the last salute to the unforgotten American champion, gold medal at Rome 1960, who died last Friday.

The choice of Benvenuti and May is highly symbolic both for what they have represented in their career as athletes and for the important Olympic values that they continue to transmit to entire generations of sportspeople. Nino Benvenuti and Fiona May have stated they are honored and proud of this decision by Malagò.

This picture (ANSA) shows US boxing legend Muhammad Ali as he receives a replacement gold medal for the 1960 one he lost, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 03 August 1996

IOC Executive Board supports Tokyo 2020 package of new sports for IOC Session

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today supported the proposal to add the package of five new sports to the programme of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. If approved at the 129th IOC Session in Rio de Janeiro in August, the change would be the most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic programme in modern history.

The five sports — karate, skateboarding, sports climbing, surfing and baseball/softball — offer a key focus on youth, which is at the heart of the Games vision for Tokyo 2020. They represent a combination of well-established and emerging sports with significant popularity in Japan and beyond. They include team sports and individual sports; indoor sports and outdoor sports; and ‘urban’ sports with a strong appeal to youth.

The package of five sports will now be submitted to the IOC Session. These sports are considered on top of the athlete and event quota recommendations for Olympic sports outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020, and will not take places away from athletes in existing Olympic sports. Discussions on the event programme in the existing 28 Olympic sports for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are ongoing, and will be finalised by the IOC Executive Board in mid-2017.

The Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 proposed the new sports in response to the new flexibility provided by Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, to encourage innovation in the Olympic programme. Olympic Agenda 2020 gives host cities the option of suggesting new sports and events for inclusion in their edition of the Games.

The host city selections are not binding on future Games hosts.

The inclusion of the new sports would add 18 events and 474 athletes to the Olympic programme in Tokyo, without impacting existing sports. The package promotes gender equality, with each of the five sports having equal numbers of teams for men and women, while also focusing on innovative and exciting sports for Japan and the wider international community.  (Photo olympic.org)