Impact of Olympic Agenda 2020’s the New Norm presented to IOC Executive Board
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) convened today for the first day of a two-day meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, ahead of the Youth Olympic Games.
The EB received an update on the progress of Olympic Agenda 2020’s New Norm, the plan that offers cost-efficient, transparent and flexible delivery of the Olympic Games, from candidature through to legacy.
The New Norm was already partially applied for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, where its implementation reduced the number of accredited seats, eliminated the secondary International Broadcast Centre and allowed the use of an existing building for the Main Press Centre. These measures all contributed to the positive financial result of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG).
The New Norm has been largely applied to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, with 49 measures already in place, while another 41 will be fully or partially applied. There have already been considerable savings, including USD 2.2 billion following the review of the venue masterplan that started in 2014, and subsequently hundreds of millions of dollars in additional OCOG and non-OCOG budget savings, which will be communicated over the coming days. Coordination Commission Chair John Coates confirmed that these efforts would continue through to the Closing Ceremony.
An impact on the Organising Committees of the upcoming Games in 2022, 2024 and 2028 will also be seen.
Finally, for the Olympic Winter Games 2026, guiding Interested Cities through the New Norm measures has resulted in them proposing approximately 80 per cent of existing venues, compared to 60 per cent on average for the Candidate Cities in 2018 and 2022. This is also clear when looking at the budgets for the Interested Cities for 2026, which have already seen an average reduction of 15 per cent compared to the past Olympic Winter Games candidature processes.
International Federations
The EB noted the positive steps taken by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) to address the actions required by the IOC earlier this year, but also highlighted the importance of the further assurances for implementation in order to take biathlon into an era of greater transparency and good governance for resuming all direct financial payments from the IOC to the IBU.
The EB also noted the encouraging work that has been done by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to address the actions specified by the EB in December 2017 to strengthen the IWF anti-doping programme and change cultural attitudes towards doping in high-risk countries. The EB now expects a report back in December on governance and the review of the Federation’s anti-doping work by an independent working group.
Furthermore, the Executive Board has approved the presentation of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) to the IOC Session for full recognition, in accordance with Rule 3.3 of the Olympic Charter.
The presentation of the International Sumo Federation to the IOC Session for full recognition was also approved, as the Federation has worked hard to improve governance and strategic planning, and now meets all the criteria. The International Sumo Federation currently has provisional recognition by the IOC.
Finally, the EB expressed its ongoing extreme concern with the grave situation within the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and its current governance.
Human rights advisory group
The Executive Board discussed the need for the IOC to create a high-level advisory body on human rights and sport that would be aligned with the IOC’s long-term strategic approach. The EB held initial discussions and decided that a further proposal regarding the creation of a “human rights and sport high-level advisory group” will be presented at its next meeting, in December.
National Olympic Committee updates
Progress towards accomplishing the roadmap agreed with the Kuwait Olympic Committee for the provisional lifting of its suspension in August was recognised, and the IOC will continue to work to follow developments.
In agreement with the respective International Federations and National Olympic Committees, the EB approved two changes of nationalities. Jordan Kerby (Cycling) changed from Australia to New Zealand, and Dominika Vadurova (Sailing) from Slovakia to the Czech Republic.