125th IOC Session kicks off in Buenos Aires
The 125th IOC Session got officially under way with an opening ceremony featuring stunning tango performances in Buenos Aires’ world-famous opera house, the Teatro Colón.
In the coming days, the assembly of the full IOC membership will make a number of landmark decisions, including the selection of the host city for the 2020 Olympic Games on 7 September, the decision on the composition of the 2020 Olympic programme on 8 September, and the election of the next IOC President on 10 September.
In his speech at the opening ceremony, IOC President Jacques Rogge, who will retire at the end of the Session after 12 years at the helm of the Olympic Movement, praised Argentina’s proud Olympic heritage and hailed Buenos Aires, which will host the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, as “a fitting place for discussions and decisions that will help chart the future of the Olympic Movement.”
Read the full speech by IOC President Rogge here.
The IOC members received a warm welcome to the city by Argentine Olympic Committee President and IOC member Dr Gerardo Werthein and Mayor of Buenos Aires Mauricio Macri.