IOC EB hears updates on Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026 and Gangwon 2024

Paris 2024

The Organising Committee detailed a number of key milestones already celebrated since the start of 2023, the highlight being the success of the first phase of ticket sales, with 3.25 million sold so far – a record for any individual sporting event in France.

Following on from this, earlier this month Paris 2024 celebrated 500 days to go by opening registration for the draw for phase 2 of ticket sales – for single tickets, which will be sold for all sports sessions (except surfing), including finals and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

The EB heard that Paris 2024’s pictograms and “Look of the Games” had been revealed in February, followed shortly afterwards by the announcement of French designer Mathieu Lehanneur being chosen to create the Olympic and Paralympic torches and cauldrons.

More recently, registration for volunteers opened. Promotion of this initiative will continue for several weeks, including through Paris 2024’s continually growing engagement programmes – Club Paris 2024 and Terre de Jeux, with the aim of recruiting 45,000 volunteers.

On the topic of engagement, the Organising Committee explained plans for this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Week (Semaine Olympique et Paralympique [SOP]), that will take place from 3 to 8 April. As in previous years, this will focus on the 30 minutes of daily physical activity for young people initiative, with more than two million students and 7,000 schools across France expected to participate.

After summarising the busy start to the year, the Organising Committee then turned its attention to a crucial period approaching. This is highlighted by the start of testing and readiness activities, with numerous test events taking place along with several operational training exercises, designed to prepare the Paris 2024 team and its partners for Games time. These will begin this summer, during which the Organising Committee is also preparing to celebrate one year to go.

Building on this positivity, the Organising Committee reiterated its commitment to cost savings and optimisations. Significant progress has also been made towards achieving the revenue target of the domestic sponsorship programme, with 10 new partners and supporters announced since the beginning of the year. Citing the continued flexibility and creativity of all Games stakeholders, Paris 2024 is maintaining its ambition to deliver spectacular and sustainable Games next year.

This was reinforced by Interministerial Delegate for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024, Michel Cadot, who reported on the support of various levels of the French State that are contributing to the preparation of secure and successful Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Milano Cortina 2026

The Organising Committee opened its presentation to the IOC EB with an insight into the growing collaboration being driven by Milano Cortina 2026’s new governance structure. This includes the new Executive Board of Directors, plus the Government’s Interministerial Committee, the "Cabina di Regia", created to oversee the infrastructure development and organisational plan for the Games, which meets every 15 to 30 days.

A summary of February’s Board of Directors meeting was also provided. The Board, which includes representation from the sports world, the host territories and the Government,  approved the lifetime budget of the Organising Committee, which is the same as that assumed in the candidature file – around EUR 1.5 billion, and the new organisational structure.

The lifetime budget is in part being supported by Milano Cortina 2026’s growing commercial programme. The team explained that three new domestic partners have been confirmed in 2023 so far, with a concerted focus on securing more partners in the coming months.

It was noted that it has been a productive start to 2023 for the Organising Committee. In cooperation with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), Milano Cortina 2026 and Media Rights-Holders, the inaugural World Broadcaster Briefing took place in late February/early March. This came shortly after three-years-to-go celebrations were held across many of the host regions earlier in February.

The Organising Committee explained that, around the same time, during this year’s Sanremo Music Festival, the public were given the opportunity to provide feedback on two sets of design proposals for the Milano Cortina 2026 mascots, which were chosen following a country-wide initiative that received 1,600 design ideas from nearly 700 classes.

The key focus for Milano Cortina 2026 over the coming months will be on finalising its venue masterplan, with a specific priority on selecting the host venue for the long-track speed skating events.

From a sporting perspective, the first qualification system for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, concerning the ice hockey Men’s and Women’s Tournament, was approved by the IOC EB. It includes the same total number of teams (22) and athletes’ quota places (48 total athletes: 25 Men, 23 Women) as for Beijing 2022.

The qualification system principles for Milano Cortina 2026 were approved by the IOC EB on 8 September 2022 and can be found here.

Gangwon 2024

Hong Zhang, the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for these YOG, updated the IOC EB on the key milestones achieved in recent months, including the unveiling of the official mascot at the one-year-to-go milestone, the six new ambassadors and the appointment of two Olympic gold medallists as Co-Presidents - Sang-hwa Lee and Jong-oh Jin.

The legacy of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, with seven out of nine venues being used for Gangwon 2024, was also highlighted, while the medal design competition was celebrated, with a record-breaking 3,000 designs submitted.

The Chair concluded by explaining that Gangwon 2024 and the IOC will continue to work together to engage spectators and create excitement for the upcoming Winter YOG.