Beyond
the Games

Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.

The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

Olympic Truce

Olympic Truce Monument

The IOC has revived the ancient concept of the Olympic Truce that allowed participants to travel to and from the Olympic Games in total safety with a view to protecting the interests of athletes and sport in general. The IOC encourages all UN Member States to sign the Olympic Truce and find peaceful and diplomatic solutions to conflicts around the world.

Olympic Solidarity

Cycling Track at London 2012

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.

Women and Sport

Gender equality and inclusion

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.

Integrity

The IOC is committed to strengthening the integrity of sports organisations and protecting clean athletes. The fight against doping and any other forms of cheating in sport on the one hand, and the strengthening of ethics with improvements in transparency, good governance and accountability of sports organisations on the other, have been top priorities for the IOC.

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.

IOC Refugee Olympic Team

IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020

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 – the first of its kind – to take part in the Olympic Games Rio 2016.

Olympic Refuge Foundation

Created in 2017, the ORF marks the latest chapter in the IOC’s long-term commitment to helping refugees, by using sport to provide support throughout the world, 365 days a year. The ORF uses sport to improve well-being, develop social ties and create opportunities for displaced young people. So far, tens of thousands of young people have already benefitted from the 15 sports programmes set up in cooperation with partners in 10 countries. The goal of the ORF is that one million young people affected by displacement have access to safe sport by 2024.

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.

Olympic Day School Celebration 2015 - New Zealand

Education Through Sport

Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Movement, believed that sport contributed to the harmonious and well-balanced development of the body, personality and mind. As such, interaction between sport, education and culture is encouraged by the IOC. The aim is to promote Olympism and Olympic ideals throughout the world and reinforce cooperation with educational institutions and NOCs with projects especially targeting young people.

Olympic Day, Taekwondo, Nigeria, 2012

Sport and Active Society

The mission of the IOC is to not only ensure the celebration of the Olympic Games, but to also encourage the regular practice of sport by all people in society, regardless of sex, age, social background or economic status. This is done in many ways, year round and on all five continents. We want to increase access to sport for all and provide everyone, in particular young people, with the educational and health values of sport.

Olympic Day - Thailand

Olympic Day

Olympic Day was introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on 23 June 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris. Every year the IOC encourages everyone – regardless of age, gender or athletic ability – to get active on 23 June.

Sports for Hope Programme in Zambia 2010

Peace and development

The IOC was founded in 1894 on the belief that sport can contribute to peace and to the harmonious development of humankind. The Olympic Movement continues to work on a daily basis to use sport to promote peace and the Olympic principles around the world.

IOC Young Leaders Programme

The IOC Young Leaders programme, launched in 2016, empowers talents to leverage the power of sport to make a positive difference in their communities.

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