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International Olympic Committee



The IOC contributes Olympic marketing revenue to the programmes of various recognised international sports organisations, including the International Paralympic Committee, the Paralympic Organising Committee, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

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Bidding to host the games

Countries bidding to host the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games compete aggressively to have their bid accepted by the IOC. The IOC members, representing most of the member countries, vote to decide where the Games will take place. Members from countries which have cities bidding to host the games are excluded from the voting process, up until the point where their city drops out of the contest. Sochi, Russia, was elected as the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics on July 4, 2007 during the 119th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Guatemala City, Guatemala.[4] The next host city for the 2016 Summer Games will be announced at the 121st Session (which will also be the XIIIth Olympic Congress) held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 2, 2009.

In recent years, the contest for the right to host the games has grown increasingly fierce. Allegations were levelled after the 1996 Olympics that Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) organizers bribed members of the IOC to obtain the Olympic Games. However, ACOG documents were destroyed prior to a formal inquiry and the allegations remain unproven. In his defense, ACOG Chairman Billy Payne said "Atlanta's bidding effort included excessive actions, even thought processes, that today seem inappropriate but, at the time, reflected the prevailing practices in the selection process and an extremely competitive environment." In 2002, Salt Lake City was involved in a bribery scandal but earlier stories, reported by British journalists Vyv Simson and Andrew Jennings,[5] date back decades. Corruption in the IOC has been documented by numerous investigations. After the Salt Lake City scandal in which a number of IOC members were expelled following an extensive investigation, efforts were made to clamp down on abuses of the bid city process. More stringent rules were introduced and an advisory board of recently retired former athletes was set up. Critics of the organisation believe more fundamental reform is required, for instance replacing the self-perpetuating system of delegate selection with a more democratic process.

Even legal attempts to sway the IOC to accept a city's bid can spark controversy, such as Beijing's successful bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Several human rights organizations spoke out against the deplorable human rights condition of China, in conflict with the Olympic Charter of the IOC.[6]

In an August 2007 interview on the Beijing 2008 website, IOC President Jacques Rogge said, the IOC "definitely would love to see the continents that have not yet organized the Games like Africa or Latin America do that in the future. I cannot tell you exactly when, but I will see it in my life... We believe in the near future we can determine the host country under this rotating system. As of now, we haven’t set a timetable for starting this system”.[7]

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Criticism of the 2002 Olympic Games host selection

Main article: 2002 Winter Olympic bid scandal

Scandal broke on December 10, 1998, when Swiss IOC member Marc Hodler, head of the coordination committee overseeing the organization of the 2002 games, announced that several members of the IOC had taken bribes. Soon four independent investigations were underway: by the IOC, the USOC, the SLOC, and the United States Department of Justice.

Before any of the investigations could even get under way both Welch and Johnson resigned their posts as the head of the SLOC. Many others soon followed. The Department of Justice filed charges against the two: fifteen charges of bribery and fraud. Johnson and Welch were eventually acquitted of all criminal charges in December 2003.

As a result of the investigation ten members of the IOC were expelled and another ten were sanctioned.[8] This was the first expulsion or sanction for corruption in the more than a century the IOC had existed. Although nothing strictly illegal had been done, it was felt that the acceptance of the gifts was morally dubious. Stricter rules were adopted for future bids and ceilings were put into place as to how much IOC members could accept from bid cities. Additionally new term and age limits were put into place for IOC membership, and fifteen former Olympic athletes were added to the committee.

In 2006, a report ordered by the Nagano region's governor said the Japanese city provided millions of dollars in an "illegitimate and excessive level of hospitality" to IOC members, including $4.4 million spent on entertainment alone.[9]

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Criticism of the 2008 Olympic Games host selection

Some international groups attempted to pressure the IOC to reject Beijing's bid in protest of the state of human rights in the People's Republic of China. One Chinese dissident who expressed similar sentiments was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for calling on the IOC to do just that at the same time that IOC inspectors were touring the city.[10] Amnesty International expressed concern in 2006 regarding the Olympic Games to be held in China in 2008, likewise expressing concerns over the human rights situation. The second principle in the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, Olympic Charter states that The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.[11] Amnesty International considers the policies and practices of the People's Republic as failing to meet that principle, and urged the IOC to press China to immediately enact human rights reform.[12]

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See also

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References

  1. ^ David C. Young. The Modern Olympics - A Struggle for Revival. The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-5374-5. 
  2. ^ Olympic Review and Revue Olympique. AAFLA. Retrieved on April 11, 2006.
  3. ^ Source: Olympic Charter, in force as from 1 September 2004.
  4. ^ 119th IOC Session in Guatemala City - Information for the Media (see Schedule pdf). International Olympic Committee (30 April 2007).
  5. ^ Simson & Jennings. The Lord of The Rings. Power, Money and Drugs in the Modern Olympics. Shuster & Shuster. ISBN 0-671-71122-9. 
  6. ^ http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_122.pdf "Olympic Charter, in force as from 7 July 2007", International Olympic Committee
  7. ^ GamesBids.com - Olympic Bid News and Information Website
  8. ^ Samaranch reflects on bid scandal with regret - 2002 Winter Olympics coverage
  9. ^ Mainichi Daily News ends its partnership with MSN, takes on new Web address
  10. ^ Beijing opens itself up to Olympic inspectors Chicago Sun-Times, February 25, 2001 by CHRISTOPHER BODEEN http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20010225/ai_n13899744
  11. ^ http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_122.pdf "Olympic Charter, in force as from 1 September 2004", International Olympic Committee
  12. ^ http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engASA170462006?open&of=eng-CHN "People’s Republic of China: The Olympics countdown – failing to keep human rights promises" Amnesty International, 21 September, 2006

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External links


Presidents of the IOC
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Demetrius Vikelas (1894–1896) | Pierre de Coubertin (1896–1925) | Godefroy de Blonay (acting 1916–1919) | Henri de Baillet-Latour (1925–1942) | Sigfrid Edström (1942–1952) | Avery Brundage (1952–1972) | Lord Killanin (1972–1980) | Juan Antonio Samaranch (1980–2001) | Jacques Rogge (2001–current)



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