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139th IOC Session

Watch the last day of the 139th IOC Session live here on Friday, May 20, from 12.00 CET onwards.
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Keeping people and the planet healthy

Creating healthier environments
World Health Day: Showcasing climate solutions
Climate solutions
With trains able to travel at up to 350 kilometres per hour, the new Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway – which was delivered in time for the Olympic Games Beijing 2022 - had carried more than 6.8 million passengers within a year of its launch before the Games.
Sustainable transport

About the IOC

IOC principles
A phoenix is suspended over the Olympic Cauldron at the Closing ceremony at London 2012
The IOC is at the very heart of world sport, supporting every Olympic Movement stakeholder, promoting Olympism worldwide, and overseeing the regular celebration of the Olympic Games. The IOC is also committed to promoting sport in society, strengthening the integrity of sport and supporting clean athletes and other sports organisations.
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The IOC as an organisation
Established in on 23 June 1894, the International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Olympic Capital, it is entirely privately funded and distributes 90 per cent of its revenues to the wider sporting movement, for the development of sport and athletes at all levels.
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Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony
Celebrate Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games are the world’s foremost multi-sports event. They are the largest sporting celebration in terms of the number of sports on the programme, the number of athletes present and the number of people from different nations gathered together at the same time, in the same place, in the spirit of friendly competition.
Gender equality
Gender equality is a top priority for the Olympic Movement. The two main aims are to make access to sport in general and the Olympic Games easier for female athletes, and to increase the number of women in sports administration and management.
Protection and Respect of Human Rights
At all times, the IOC recognises and upholds human rights, as enshrined in both the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics. The IOC is committed to improving the promotion and respect of human rights within the scope of its responsibility across its three spheres of activity – as an organisation, as the owner of the Olympic Games and as the leader of the Olympic Movement. The objective is to ensure that people’s rights are put at the core of our operations and are respected in line with international agreements and standards – within the remit of the IOC.
Olympic legacy
Olympic legacy includes the long-term benefits that the Olympic Games create for the host city, its people, and the Olympic Movement before, during and long after the Olympic Games. Find out more about our strategic approach to Olympic legacy.
Sustainability
The IOC takes a proactive approach to ensure that sustainability is embedded in all aspects of organising the Olympic Games. Leaving a sustainable and positive legacy for the host city and country is a primary, achievable objective for all organisers of the Olympic Games.
Olympic Solidarity
Olympic Solidarity redistributes the share of the broadcast rights from the Olympic Games through programmes offered to all 206 National Olympic Committees. All Olympic Solidarity’s programmes are aimed at developing and promoting sport worldwide, and encouraging athletes’ participation in the Olympic Games.
Culture and Heritage
IOC’s culture and heritage activities are run by the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage. The foundation manages all forms of IOC’s heritage. It fosters creation and dissemination of Olympic knowledge. It supports, curates and produces wide-reaching and innovative programmes within the Olympic Movement and beyond, embracing different forms of expression. 
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IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020
IOC Refugee Olympic Team
At the UN General Assembly in October 2015, confronted with the global refugee crisis that has seen an estimated 65.3 million people in the world displaced, IOC President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Team to take part in the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Ten months on from the announcement, 10 athletes were competing alongside 11,000 fellow athletes in Brazil, sending a message of hope and inclusion to millions of refugees around the world and inspiring the world with the strength of their human spirit.
The Olympic Partner Programme
The Olympic Partners (TOP) programme is the highest level of Olympic sponsorship, granting category-exclusive marketing rights to the Summer, Winter and Youth Olympic Games to a select group of global partners.