Financial Stresses for Future Games the Focus of IOC Meetings

IOC General Session in spring also postponed

Posted On: September 8, 2022 By : Matt Traub

Looming financial concerns over the two upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games was one of the main focuses of attention for the International Olympic Committee during Thursday’s first day of Executive Board meetings, at which the IOC heard reports on progress for each of the future Winter and Summer Games.

Paris 2024 has faced growing budget and security concerns after IOC Coordination Commission chair Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant claimed it was “reassured” by a recent visit to the French capital. Paris 2024 Organizing Committee President Tony Estanguet said each department has been asked to suggest more cost savings.

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Estanguet added the organizers want IOC officials to use fewer courtesy cars and utilize public transport; Beckers-Vieujant said the IOC would be open-minded when helping Paris 2024 find “optimizations,” using the word that often stands for cost-cutting in Olympic language.

The next Winter Games in 2026 in Milan-Cortina, Italy, are under financial pressures. Italian media reported the budget has increased $2 billion and politicians have voiced concerns over funding. The organizers are also looking for a new chief executive after Vincenzo Novari left after the Italian general election earlier this summer.

Even for future Games that have not been decided, issues remain. The mayor of Sapporo, Japan, cancelled a trip to the IOC amid rising local opposition to the 2030 Olympic Winter Games bid as well as recent allegations of bribery against members of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic organizing committee and its partners.

The IOC is set in December to choose a city to enter into exclusive dialogue for 2030. But Sapporo’s bid has started to lose momentum as the investigation into Tokyo 2020 widens and Vancouver’s bid, the first led by the Indigenous community, is still awaiting word on if it will receive provincial support financially.

The other main candidate for 2030, Salt Lake City, was supposedly going to wait until 2034, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Board Chair Susanne Lyons hinted in June. But Lyons added “this doesn’t mean that we are out of the running for 2030″ and “what could potentially still make us a 2030 candidate really is dependent on the other bids and that’s what I think the IOC now is waiting for.”

The second day of meetings will include the IOC’s review of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing with the release of its audience and insights report. Last week brought the release of a United Nations report that criticized China on “serious human rights violations {that} have been committed” against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities. The IOC upon the report’s release said it had “taken note” of its findings, while insisting “all obligations in the host city contract were met” for Beijing 2022.

Russia Issue Continues to Linger

Six months after Russia invaded Ukraine and the IOC called for the exclusion of athletes from Russia and Belarus from international competitions, those bans remain the IOC’s policy as some sports have begun qualification events for the 2024 Games.

Sir Craig Reedie, an IOC member who headed the World Anti-Doping Agency when it investigated Russian doping, told The Guardian in mid-July that having athletes from the current pariah nations in Paris is uncertain. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this week in Moscow demanded to see his nation’s athletes return to action.

“When the President of the IOC says that we will decide on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in our events later, depending on how the political situation develops, this is a direct disregard for the principles of the IOC Charter, which includes it is inadmissible to involve any political considerations and political moments in the development of the sports movement and Sports Federations,” said Lavrov according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Bach said in August the IOC’s stance remained unchanged. IOC Director of Communications Mark Adams said Thursday “we are obviously closely monitoring and will continue to monitor the situation.”

IOC Spring Session Postponed

While the IOC has consistently refused to get involved in political situations around the globe, it has taken notice of internal politics at several National Olympic Committees.

In July, Narinder Batra resigned as leader of the Indian Olympic Association, months after new elections were supposed to be held but are on hiatus because of a case in the New Delhi High Court, where the IOA has been accused of violating the national sports code. The IOC said in July the IOA could face suspension if elections were not held. Since Batra’s resignation, two other executives in the association have claimed to be the acting leader.

Why does this all matter? The next IOC session was scheduled for the spring in Mumbai but that has now been postponed, said NOC Relations Director James MacLeod, until September at the earlier. The session also could be moved to a new location if the IOA does not resolve its issues to IOC satisfaction. The general session would be where the IOC formally votes on a host for the 2030 Winter Games.