International Olympic Committee

"IOC" redirects here. For other uses, see IOC (disambiguation).

International Olympic Committee Comité international olympique
Motto	Citius, Altius, Fortius (Latin: Faster, Higher, Stronger)
Formation	23 June 1894 (1894-06-23)
Type	Sports federation
Headquarters	Lausanne, Switzerland
Membership	105 active members, 32 honorary members
Official languages	French, English and host country's official language when necessary
President	Count Jacques Rogge
Website	www.olympic.org

The seat of the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland, March 2004

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) (French: Comité international olympique, CIO) is a Swiss non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre, Baron de Coubertin, on 23 June 1894 with Greek Demetrios Vikelas as its first president. Today its membership consists of 100 active members, 33 honorary members and 1 honour member.

The IOC organizes the modern Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, held in Summer and Winter, every four years. The first Summer Olympics organized by the International Olympic Committee were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896; the first Winter Olympics were in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year. After that year, however, the IOC shifted the Winter Olympics to the even years between Summer Games, to help space the planning of the two events two years apart from one another, and improve the financial balance of the IOC, which receives greater income on Olympic years. The first Summer Youth Olympics were in Singapore in 2010 and the first Winter Youth Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 2012.

1985 German Democratic Republic stamp

History

The committee was housed at the Monrepos villa in Lausanne, Switzerland until the building of the headquarters in Lausanne in 1968.

Mission and role

Further information: Olympic Charter

The stated mission of the IOC is to promote Olympism throughout the world and to lead the Olympic Movement.

The IOC's role is to:

1. Encourage and support the promotion of ethics and good governance in sport as well as education of youth through sport and to dedicate its efforts to ensuring that, in sport, the spirit of fair play prevails and violence is banned
2. Encourage and support the organization, development and coordination of sport and sports competitions
3. Ensure the regular celebration of the Olympic Games
4. Cooperate with the competent public or private organizations and authorities in the endeavor to place sport at the service of humanity and thereby to promote peace
5. Take action in order to strengthen the unity, to protect the independence of the Olympic Movement, and to preserve the autonomy of sport;
6. Act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic Movement
7. Encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women
8. Lead the fight against doping in sporting
9. Encourage and support measures protecting the health of athletes
10. Oppose any political or commercial abuse of sport and athletes
11. Encourage and support the efforts of sports organizations and public authorities to provide for the social and professional future of athletes
12. Encourage and support the development of sport for all
13. Encourage and support a responsible concern for environmental issues, to promote sustainable development in sport and to require that the Olympic Games are held accordingly
14. Promote a positive legacy from the Olympic Games to the host cities and host countries
15. Encourage and support initiatives blending sport with culture and education
16. Encourage and support the activities of the International Olympic Academy (IOA) and other institutions which dedicate themselves to Olympic education

Organization

The IOC Session

The IOC Session is the general meeting of the members of the IOC, held once a year in which each member has one vote. It is the IOC’s supreme organ and its decisions are final.

Extraordinary Sessions may be convened by the President or upon the written request of at least one third of the members.

Among others, the powers of the Session are:

• To adopt or amend the Olympic Charter.
• To elect the members of the IOC, the Honorary President and the honorary members.
• To elect the President, the Vice-Presidents and all other members of the IOC Executive Board.
• To elect the host city of the Olympic Games.

The IOC Executive Board

The IOC Executive Board consists of the President, four Vice-Presidents and ten other members. All members of the IOC Executive Board are elected by the Session, in a secret ballot, by a majority of the votes cast. The IOC Executive Board assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the IOC and the management of its affairs.

The IOC Session elects, by secret ballot, the IOC President from among its members for a term of eight years renewable once for a term of four years. The current IOC President, Jacques Rogge, was re-elected for a second term that consists of four years on 9 October 2009.

Honours

In addition to the Olympic medals for competitors, the IOC awards a number of other honours:

• the IOC President's Trophy is the highest sports award given to athletes who have excelled in their sport and had an extraordinary career and created a lasting impact on their sport.
• the Pierre de Coubertin medal is awarded to athletes who demonstrate a special spirit of sportsmanship in Olympic events
• the Olympic Cup is awarded to institutions or associations with a record of merit and integrity in actively developing the Olympic Movement
• the Olympic Order is awarded to individuals for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, and superseded the Olympic Certificate.

Museum

Main article: The Olympic Museum

IOC members

Further information: List of members of the International Olympic Committee

The first IOC, at the 1896 Athens Games

For most of its existence, the IOC was controlled by members who were selected by other members. Countries that had hosted the Games were allowed two members, others one or none. When named, they became not representatives of their respective countries to the IOC, but rather the opposite, IOC members in their respective countries.

For a long time, members of royalty have been members of co-option, such as Prince Albert II of Monaco, as have former athletes. These last 10 years, the composition has evolved, in order to get a better representation of the sports world. Members seats have been allocated specifically to athletes, International Federations leaders and National Olympic Committees leaders. There are currently 106 members of the IOC.

Gender inequality

The IOC failed in its policy requiring 20 percent of IOC members to be women by 2005. By June 2012 the policy had still not been achieved, with only 20 out of 106 IOC members women, an 18.8 percent ratio. Only 4 percent of National Olympic Committees have female presidents.

===Membership=== The total number of IOC members may not exceed 115. Each member of the IOC is elected for a term of eight years and may be re-elected for one or several further terms. # A majority of members whose memberships are not linked to any specific function or office; their total number may not exceed 70; there may be no more than one such member national of any given country; # Active athletes, the total number of whom may not exceed 15, elected for eight years by their peers during the Olympic Games; # Presidents or persons holding an executive or senior leadership position within IFs, associations of IFs or other organizations recognized by the IOC, the total number of whom may not exceed 15; # Presidents or persons holding an executive or senior leadership position within NOCs, or world or continental associations of NOCs, the total number of whom may not exceed 15; there may be no more than one such member national of any given country within the IOC.

Cessation of membership

The membership of IOC members ceases in the following circumstances:

1. Resignation: any IOC member may cease their membership at any time by delivering his written resignation to the President.
2. Non re-election: any IOC member ceases to be a member without further formality if they are not re-elected.
3. Age limit: any IOC member ceases to be a member at the end of the calendar year during which they reach the age of 80.
4. Failure to attend Sessions or take active part in IOC work for two consecutive years.
5. Transfer of domicile or of main center of interests to a country other than the country which was theirs at the time of their election.
6. Members elected as active athletes cease to be a member upon ceasing to be a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission.
7. Presidents and individuals holding an executive or senior leadership position within NOCs, world or continental associations of NOCs, IFs or associations of IFs or other organizations recognized by the IOC cease to be a member upon ceasing to exercise the function they were exercising at the time of their election.
8. Expulsion: an IOC member may be expelled by decision of the Session if such member has betrayed their oath or if the Session considers that such member has neglected or knowingly jeopardized the interests of the IOC or acted in a way which is unworthy of the IOC.

International federations recognised by IOC

There are currently 68 sport federations recognised by IOC. These are:

• The 28 members of Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF)
• The 7 members of Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF)
• The 31 members of Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF)
• And 2 of the members of SportAccord (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile and International Softball Federation)

In 2012, the Indian Olympic Association was banned by the IOC due to various infractions, including government interference and bad governance.

Olympic marketing

In the early 1980s, the Olympics were highly dependent on revenues from a single source; its contracts with US television companies for the broadcasts of the Olympic Games.Upon his election as President of the IOC in 1980, Juan Antonio Samaranch recognized this vulnerability and in consultation with Horst Dassler, a leading member of the Adidas family, the decision to launch a global marketing program for the IOC was made. Samaranch appointed Canadian IOC member Richard Pound to lead the initiative as Chairman of the "New Sources of Finance Commission". In 1982 the IOC drafted ISL Marketing a Swiss sports marketing company,to develop a global marketing programme for the Olympic Movement. ISL successfully developed the programme but was replaced by Meridian Management, a company partly owned by the IOC in the early 1990s. In 2002 the IOC terminated the relationship with Meridian and took its marketing progarmme in-house under the Direction of Timo Lumme , the IOC's Managing Director of IOC Television and Marketing Services . In 1989, one of the staff members at ISL Marketing, Michael Payne,moved to the IOC and became the organization's first marketing director. However ISL and subsequently Meridian, continued in the established role as the IOC's sales and marketing agents until 2002 During his 17 years with the IOC, in collaboration with ISL Marketing and subsequently Meridian Management, Payne made major contributions to the creation a multi-billion dollar sponsorship marketing program for the organization which, along with improvements in TV marketing and improved financial management helped to restore the IOC's financial viability.

Revenue

The Olympic Movement generates revenue through five major programs. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) manages broadcast partnerships and the The Olympic Partner (TOP) worldwide sponsorship program. The Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) manage domestic sponsorship, ticketing and licensing programs within the host country under the direction of the IOC. The Olympic Movement generated a total of more than US$4 billion, €2.5 billion in revenue during the Olympic quadrennium from 2001 to 2004.

Revenue distribution

The IOC distributes some of Olympic marketing revenue to organizations throughout the Olympic Movement to support the staging of the Olympic Games and to promote the worldwide development of sport. The IOC retains approximately 8% of Olympic marketing revenue for the operational and administrative costs of governing the Olympic Movement.^{[citation needed]}

The Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs)

The IOC provides The Olympic Partner (TOP) program contributions and Olympic broadcast revenue to the OCOGs to support the staging of the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games:

• TOP Program Revenue to OCOGs; the two OCOGs of each Olympic quadrennium generally share approximately 50% of TOP program revenue and value-in-kind contributions, with approximately 30% provided to the summer OCOG and 20% provided to the winter OCOG.
• Broadcast Revenue to OCOGs; the IOC contributes 49% of the Olympic broadcast revenue for each Games to the OCOG. During the 2001–2004 Olympic quadrennium, the Salt Lake 2002 Organizing Committee received US$443 million, €395 million in broadcast revenue from the IOC, and the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee received US$732 million, €690 million.
• Domestic Program Revenue to OCOGs; the OCOGs generate substantial revenue from the domestic marketing programs that they manage within the host country, including domestic sponsorship, ticketing and licensing.

National Olympic Committees (NOCs)

Further information: National Olympic Committee

The NOCs receive financial support for the training and development of Olympic teams, Olympic athletes and Olympic hopefuls. The IOC distributes TOP program revenue to each of the NOCs throughout the world. The IOC also contributes Olympic broadcast revenue to Olympic Solidarity, an IOC organization that provides financial support to NOCs with the greatest need.

The continued success of the TOP program and Olympic broadcast agreements has enabled the IOC to provide increased support for the NOCs with each Olympic quadrennium. The IOC provided approximately US$318.5 million to NOCs for the 2001–2004 quadrennium.

International Olympic Sports Federations (IFs)

The IOC is now the largest single revenue source for the majority of IFs, with its contributions of Olympic broadcast revenue that assist the IFs in the development of their respective sports worldwide. The IOC provides financial support from Olympic broadcast revenue to the 28 IFs of Olympic summer sports and the seven IFs of Olympic winter sports after the completion of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games, respectively.

The continually increasing value of Olympic broadcast partnership has enabled the IOC to deliver substantially increased financial support to the IFs with each successive Games. The seven winter sports IFs shared US$85.8 million, €75 million in Salt Lake 2002 broadcast revenue. The contribution to the 28 summer sports IFs from Athens 2004 broadcast revenue has not yet been determined, but the contribution is expected to mark a significant increase over the US$190 million, €150 million that the IOC provided to the summer IFs following Sydney 2000.

Other organizations

The IOC contributes Olympic marketing revenue to the programs of various recognized international sports organizations, including the International Paralympic Committee, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Bidding to host the games

Main article: Bids for Olympic Games

Countries wishing to host the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games compete aggressively to have their bid accepted by the IOC. The IOC members, representing most of the member countries, vote to decide where the Games will take place. Members from countries which have cities bidding to host the games are excluded from the voting process, up until the point where their city drops out of the contest.

In recent years, the contest for the right to host the games has grown increasingly fierce and controversial. Allegations were leveled after the 1996 Olympics that Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) organizers bribed members of the IOC to obtain the Olympic Games. However, ACOG documents were destroyed prior to a formal inquiry and the allegations remain unproven. In his defense, ACOG Chairman Billy Payne said "Atlanta's bidding effort included excessive actions, even thought processes, that today seem inappropriate but, at the time, reflected the prevailing practices in the selection process and an extremely competitive environment". In 2002, Salt Lake City was involved in a bribery scandal but earlier stories, reported by British journalists Vyv Simson and Andrew Jennings. Corruption in the IOC has been documented by numerous investigations. After the Salt Lake City scandal in which a number of IOC members were expelled following an extensive investigation, efforts were made to clamp down on abuses of the bid city process. More stringent rules were introduced and an advisory board of recently retired former athletes was set up. Critics of the organization believe more fundamental reform is required, for instance replacing the self-perpetuating system of delegate selection with a more democratic process.

Even legal attempts to sway the IOC to accept a city's bid can spark controversy, such as Beijing's successful bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Several human rights organizations spoke out against the poor human rights condition of China, in conflict with the Olympic Charter of the IOC.

In an August 2007 interview on the Beijing 2008 website, IOC President Jacques Rogge said, the IOC "definitely would love to see the continents that have not yet organized the Games like Africa or Latin America do that in the future. I cannot tell you exactly when, but I will see it in my life... We believe in the near future we can determine the host country under this rotating system. As of now, we haven't set a timetable for starting this system". Rogge also said that he would like the IOC to give chance for the games to be held in Third World nations like Haiti, Cambodia, and Cameroon within 2020 and beyond.

See also

• Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF)
• Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF)
• Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF)
• International Paralympic Committee
• International Academy of Sport Science and Technology (AISTS)
• SportAccord
• International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD)

References

Notes

Further reading

• Chappelet, Jean-Loup; Brenda Kübler-Mabbott (2008). International Olympic Committee and the Olympic system: the governance of world sport. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-43167-5. 
• Lenskyj, Helen Jefferson (2000). Inside the Olympic Industry: Power, Politics and Activism. New York: SUNY. 

External links

• Official IOC website
• Overview of IOC-elections of hosting cities