IOC President Thomas Bach meets Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy, visits Olympic Channel headquarters

IOC President Thomas Bach visited the headquarters of the soon-to-be-launched Olympic Channel in Madrid today. While there, he chaired a joint Olympic Channel Board of Directors meeting at the newly inaugurated Olympic Channel Services (OCS) facilities in Madrid (Spain). During the meeting, he received an update on the great progress being made since the creation of the Olympic Channel, one of the key recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020.

The Olympic Channel Services team now consists of over 50 full-time employees of 20 different nationalities, and is composed of experienced broadcast professionals and innovative content producers working out of two main bases of operation. The OCS production team in Madrid has begun working with leading production companies from around the world and the launch date is set to be announced in the coming weeks.

While in Madrid, the IOC President met Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy at the Palace of Moncloa, the official residence of the Prime Minister. The two leaders discussed the role of sport in society and the athletes’ preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games Rio 2016. The President was joined by Spanish IOC Executive Board Member Juan Antonio Samaranch and IOC Members  Marisol Casado and Jose Perurena, as well as the NOC President, Alejandro Blanco.

Also in Madrid, the IOC President attended the launch of a biography of his predecessor, Juan Antonio Samaranch. The ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Spanish NOC.