XII Olympic Congress Paris 1994

The Centennial Olympic Congress in 1994, otherwise known as the Congress of Unity, was held in Paris, just as the first Congress had been.

The opening speech was delivered by the then Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac, and among the distinguished guests was Jacques Cousteau.

Special events

In an endeavour to reconcile art, culture and sport several exhibitions and special events were organised. The Olympic Flame was relayed by athletes from the Eiffel Tower to Bercy, site of the Congress, via the Sorbonne; the Olympic Flag was brought down the Eiffel Tower by a champion climber; and there were several sports events including an Oxford-Cambridge-France boat race, the 8th Paris International Triathlon and a commemoration of the first final of the French rugby championship, a game that had taken place in 1892 and was refereed by Pierre de Coubertin.

Protection of the environment

The Congress proved trend-setting in an area of great interest today, namely protection of the environment which was declared to be an essential component of Olympism. A survey was conducted and measures to optimize the Olympic Movement's contribution to preserving the environment were defined. Also at the 1994 Congress, for the first time the media were invited to speak and an entire theme was given over to them.

IOC Congresses

I Olympic Congress - Paris 1894

II Olympic Congress - Le Havre 1897

III Olympic Congress - Brussels 1905

IV Olympic Congress - Paris 1906

V Olympic Congress - Lausanne 1913

VI Olympic Congress - Paris 1914

VII Olympic Congress - Lausanne 1921

VIII Olympic Congress - Prague 1925

IX Olympic Congress - Berlin 1930

X Olympic Congress - Varna 1973

XI Olympic Congress - Baden-Baden 1981

XIII Olympic Congress - Copenhagen 2009

More about IOC History

Evolution of the IOC

Founded at the first Olympic Congress in Paris in 1894, the IOC is the leader of the Olympic Movement and the guardian of the Olympic Games. It acts as a catalyst for collaboration across the entire Olympic community. Discover some of the key milestones in the IOC’s history, from the first publication of the Olympic Charter in 1908 to the founding of the Executive Board in 1921 to the first ever Olympism in Action Forum in 2018.

Lausanne, Olympic capital

The IOC was originally based in Paris, until Pierre de Coubertin moved it to Lausanne on the shores of Lake Geneva in 1915. In 1994, to coincide with the centenary of the IOC, Lausanne was officially designated the Olympic Capital. Read here to discover more about the relationship between the IOC and the city it calls home.

IOC Presidents

Since the creation of the IOC in 1894, there have been nine presidents. The president is elected by the Session in a secret ballot among the IOC Members. Today, the president is elected for a term of office of eight years, renewable once for a period of four years. The current President is Thomas Bach – meet him and his predecessors here.