The IOC Session is officially due to begin in around 20 minutes from now.
Which is helpful as it allows me to shake off some rust, with COVID-19 meaning I have not manned one of our Live Blogs since the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympics last year.
Simpler times when I had never heard of Zoom.
Zoom is the chosen platform the IOC will be using for the virtual Session over the next three days.
As I mentioned in the opening post, we should actually be in Athens now.
The Athens Session was to have coincided with celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the first Modern Olympics held in 1896. Initial plans also included a visit to Ancient Olympia.
Our resident Olympic historian Phillip Barker has had a look back at a previous IOC Session in Athens, which did take place as planned in 1961.
2)IOC총회 첫날 안건 관련 (Full agenda for day one of IOC Session)
Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone.
The main topic on the first day of the Session will be a "vote" for IOC President. I wonder who might win that one...
Here's the full agenda for day one:
Have just been looking back at the IOC Sessions. This will certainly be the longest virtual Session, the previous one lasted only a day, and the longest of any since that of 2019 in Lausanne which celebrated the opening of Olympic House and selected Milan Cortina as 2026 Winter Games hosts.
According to the agenda circulated, the formal re-election of Thomas Bach as IOC President is the last item today. He is the only candidate but if he follows the usual practice, he will hand over the Presidency to the senior vice-president Anita De Frantz while the vote is taken.
3)비운의 IOC위원장 Thomas Bach - the unlucky IOC President
It has already been a big week of old-school institutions that oversee much of the world, led by a sole figurehead, that have often been criticised for being out of touch.
Sadly, Piers Morgan is not available to provide his analysis on how Thomas Bach has done so far as the IOC President.
Instead, David Owen has analysed Bach's reign to date as his first, eight-year term comes to an end.
Has Bach been an unlucky IOC President?
Your two minute countdown.
Time to grab a brew if you have not already
We're expecting a similar show of affection towards Bach as during the last virtual Session, where the German confirmed the worst kept secret in the Olympic world - that he would stand for a second and final term.
A total of 35 members lined up to praise Bach at the Session last July. Will that number be beaten today?
4)Bach IOC위원장 화상 총회 개회(Bach opens second virtual IOC Session)
Thomas Bach is at Olympic House in Lausanne and welcomes everyone to the second virtual IOC Session.
We are underway.
"The fact we cannot gather in Greece, our spiritual home, comes as a great disappointment to all of us," Bach says.
He hands over to Spyros Capralos, who is at the Panathenaic Stadium.
An online Session at the Panathenaic Stadium. We truly are in a new world.
Capralos said he is hopeful the IOC Session will approve Athens as the host of the 2025 gathering of the membership, which Greece has been offered after this meeting was forced online because of the pandemic.
Thomas Bach is talking about how the pandemic has highlighted the importance of sport and health.
He highlights the United Nations and G20's support towards the Olympic Movement's role, as well as their support for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022.
Bach stresses that the IOC's top priority is safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
He says the IOC stands shoulder to shoulder with Tokyo 2020 and that they remain the most prepared Olympic host event.
Bach adds there is no reason to doubt the Opening Ceremony will begin on July 23
"The question is not whether, but how these Olympic Games will take place," Bach says.
"We are developing comprehensive and science-based playbooks.
"The technical advice we are getting from the scientific community and the WHO is essential.
"We must be guided by science and facts."
Interesting to see Hellenic Olympic Committee President Capralos talking from the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens.
This is the first time that a live contribution to an IOC Session has come from this historic stadium which hosted the first modern Games in 1896.
It is a reminder that originally this Session was to have taken place in the Greek capital, where there would no doubt have been great celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the inaugural modern Olympic Games.
The Olympic flag is raised to the strains of the Olympic anthem which had its premiere in this very stadium in 1896.
Incidentally in 1896, the Olympic flag with the Five Rings had not yet been introduced.
Later in the Session expect the IOC to formally confirm that the 2025 session will be in Athens.
10 out of 10 for Thomas Bach's barber. I hope he got a good tip.
Bach understandably going heavy early on about Tokyo 2020 and safety.
He has run through a list of organisations which have backed the Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place.
Bach lists statistics around the number of sporting events which have taken place in recent months, saying none have resulted in a spread of virus.
"We have clear and obvious prove large sporting events can be organised," Bach says.
1)총회 회의 2일차 시작(Welcome to day two of the 137th IOC Session)
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the second day of the 137th IOC Session, taking place virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Yesterday was essentially Thomas Bach day, but today's agenda will focus on the Organising Committees of future Olympic Games, with Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024 all due to present reports to the membership.
There is also scheduled to be a report from the Future Host Commission, while Athens is set to be confirmed as the host city for the 2025 IOC Session after missing out on staging this Session as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
As the IOC Session prepares to hear the latest progress report on the Tokyo Olympics today, a reminder that exactly a year ago, the Olympic Flame for Tokyo was kindled in Ancient Olympia at the site of the Games of Antiquity.
Greek shooter Anna Korakaki was the first Torch bearer in a very low-key ceremony watched only by a small audience of Olympic officials and media. No other spectators were admitted as all archaeological sites in Greece were closed as part of precautions against COVID-19.
The Relay was suspended little more than 24 hours later after crowds swarmed to see actor Gerard Butler carry the Torch in Sparta. The postponement of the Games themselves was announced less than a fortnight later.
The Flame has been kept alight in a safety lamp ever since and is scheduled to begin its journey around Japan a fortnight from today on March 25.
Yesterday, Thomas Bach was re-elected President of the IOC after receiving 93 votes, with four abstentions and one against (the hunt begins for the brave one...).
<Bach IOC위원장 연임 관련 스케치(Bach re-elected International Olympic Committee President)>
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Thomas Bach has been re-elected President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after receiving near-unanimous backing from the Session to serve a final four-year term.
Bach, the only candidate on the ballot box, earned 93 votes during the IOC's second virtual Session today.
There was one vote against and four abstentions.
The German lawyer, the ninth IOC President who was elevated to the top job in the Olympic Movement in 2013, is set to serve in the role until 2025.
Bach will begin his last four-year stint at the helm of the organisation after the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games close on August 8.
"Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for this overwhelming vote of confidence and trust," Bach said.
"For me this is even more overwhelming considering the many reforms and the many difficult decisions we had to take and which affected all of us.
"I wanted to be the President for all of you, and that continues into my second and last term.
"My door, my ears and my heart remain open for each and everyone of you.
"I hope I can count on your commitment, dedication and friendship during the next four years."
More than 30 IOC members praised Bach during the Session, which was ceremonially opened in Athens, the planned venue for the meeting before it was moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bach announced that he would, as expected, stand for re-election last July, and was confirmed as the sole candidate for the Presidency in December.
The 66-year-old Olympic gold medallist in fencing became an IOC member at the age of 37 and served in numerous high-ranking roles, including a total of 11 years as a vice-president, before becoming President.
Bach was elected to succeed Jacques Rogge as IOC President at the Session in Buenos Aires seven years ago after triumphing in the second round of voting.
He received the most votes in the first round before defeating Puerto Rico's Richard Carrión, Ng Ser Miang of Singapore, Switzerland's Denis Oswald and Sergey Bubka of Ukraine in round two.
Bach claimed the IOC had been able to navigate the "sea of troubles" it has faced during his eight years in charge to date.
The German referenced the Russian doping scandal, the difficulties in organising the 2016 Summer and 2018 Winter Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Pyeongchang, respectively, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the postponement of Tokyo 2020 to this year.
Bach has also been President during a series of referendum defeats amid a decline in interest in hosting the IOC's flagship event.
He claimed today that the IOC had faced "serious ethical problems because of lobbying misconduct" during the old procedure for selecting Olympic hosts, adding the organisation's reputation had "suffered".
Bach has also been criticised for centralising the power on the ruling Executive Board, but helped orchestrate the dual award of the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to Paris and Los Angeles and oversaw the signing of a broadcast deal with NBC through to 2032.
"I will follow the same style of consultation, of taking the opinion of everyone, of unity in diversity," Bach added.
"Being a President for everyone involves listening, consulting and taking into consideration the opinions of others, and then coming to decisions we think are best for the future of the Olympic Movement."
<Tokyo2020올림픽 관련>
This is the line-up for the day.
Tokyo 2020 will understandably take the focus given the uncertainty that has surrounded the Games since its postponement last year.
It will be interesting to see if the IOC membership can summon up some questions about Tokyo 2020 in the same manner they lavished praise on Thomas Bach yesterday.
After all, Bach said yesterday that the big question was about how the Games would take place, not whether they would.
Equally, will the IOC be able to awkwardly shift around human rights concerns regarding Beijing as well...
I suspect that the Tokyo 2020 presentation will note that today marks the 10th anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
The disaster saw the deaths of over 15,000 people in Japan. The tsunami and earthquake led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear diaster.
Tokyo 2020's candidature for the Olympic and Paralympic Games heavily suggested the multi-sport event would form part of the recovery process.
The Recovery Games billing has been something which has been disputed by critics.
The Olympic and Paralympics in Tokyo is sure to highlight recovery efforts, while the pandemic will undoubtedly be marked.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga participated at a memorial service earlier today.
The Coordination Commission for Tokyo is led by Australian John Coates, an IOC vice-president who was an integral part of his own country’s Olympic bids from Brisbane’s first venture back in 1985 to the highly successful Sydney candidacy for the 2000 Games.
Some big names on the panel include television executive Alex Gilady, World Athletics President Lord Coe, Athletes' Commission leader Kirsty Coventry and Prince Faisal bin Hussein of Jordan.
By my count, three Olympic champions are on the panel - Coe, (athletics 1980, 1984) Coventry (swimming 2004 and 2008) and also Guy Drut, who won the 110m hurdles at Montreal 1976.
<Bach IOC위원장 총회 회의 2일차 개회>
IOC President Thomas Bach is opening the second day of the Session now.
He thanks the well-wishes he received overnight following his re-election yesterday.
Bach invites Tokyo 2020 to begin their presentation.
This small hitch gives us an opportunity to admire the IOC President's extremely bright tie.
New Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimotoand Toshirō Mutō are currently being introduced.
Hashimoto will present to the IOC Session for the first time, following her appointment last month.
<Bach IOC위원장 일본 지진-쯔나미 10주년 즈음하여 일본국민들의 회복/극복력에 대한 찬사 표명 (Bach praises resilience of Japanese people on 10th anniversary of earthquake and tsunami)>
Bach does indeed mark the anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, offering his sympathies to the families who lost loved ones and were affected by the disaster.
Admiration for the Japanese people for how they have overcome this crisis with such resilience.
Bach says his visit to Fukushima in 2018 showed the determination of the Japanese people to rebuild for the future.
The restarting of the Torch Relay in Fukushima will also highlight this, Bach says, adding that the relay will also provide hope amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Tokyo won the right to stage the Games at the same Session in Buenos Aires that saw Bach elected to the IOC Presidency - and wrestling salvage its place on the Olympic programme. That was a bustling, busy, exciting gathering. What a contrast with yesterday's all too predictable affair. Let's hope for better today.
<중국올림픽위원회 Tokyo2020-Beijing2022대회 참가 팀들에 대한 백신 제공 제안(Chinese Olympic Committee offer vaccines for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 teams)>
Bach reveals the Chinese Olympic Committee have made an offer to make additional vaccine doses available to participants for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022.
“The IOC has received a kind offer from the Chinese Olympic Committee, the host of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games," Bach said.
“The offer is to make additional vaccine doses available to participants for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022.
“The Chinese Olympic Committee is ready in cooperation with the IOC to make these additional doses available in two ways.
“Either via collaboration with international partners or directly in the numerous countries where agreements regarding Chinese vaccines are already in place.
“The IOC will pay for these additional doses of vaccines for the Olympic and Paralympic team.
“For each of these additional doses, the IOC will also pay for two doses more that can be made available to population in that country.”
<Tokyo2020조직위원장 분비상황보고(Hashimoto is now giving her first report to the Session as President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee)>
It is widely believed international fans will be prevented from attending the Games because of COVID-19 concerns, but there has not been a concrete decision yet.
"Let me speak as an athlete - we are doing everything possible to prepare for a safe and secure Games and I am committed to providing an environment where athletes of the world can perform with confidence and pride," Hashimoto adds.
Hashimoto passes the baton to Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshirō Mutō, who begins by providing an update on the COVID-19 situation in Japan.
Muto says 1,316 cases of coronavirus were reported in Japan and 340 in Tokyo yesterday.
A state of emergency will remain in place until March 21.
"Tokyo 2020 continues to monitor the situation closely," he says.
3.Timeline (12 Mar) 제3일차(Day Three) 결정사항 시간대 역순 요약
<Bach IOC위원장 제137차 IOC총회 폐회 (Bach closes 137th IOC Session)>
Bach has provided formal confirmation that the Session has closed.
The next gathering of the IOC membership is set to take place on July 20 and July 21 in Tokyo.
It is now left to IOC doyen Richard Pound to provide the closing remarks for the Session.
Christophe De Kepper has said they will quickly roll-out the virtual gaming and athletes plans, as they have "opportunities" ahead of Tokyo 2020.
An implementation plan for the others will be devised for the next IOC Executive Board meeting.
<IOC 올림픽 어젠더2020+5 승인(IOC approves Olympic Agenda 2020+5)>
The IOC membership has approved Olympic Agenda 2020+5, just as Bach said several hours ago that it would.
A healthy debate in some areas today, but it seems strange that they went through all of that and didn't actually change the initial recommendation as presented by the Executive Board.
Haha.
What are they even voting on? Surely the Lumi lot have not been sitting in London all day waiting for this
Ah Jiri Kejval comes out with that weary old 90 per cent line.
Tricia Smith harshly misses out on the top three in Liam's rankings, as does Neven Ilic.
My Session MVP rankings:
1) Ingmar De Vos
2) William Blick
3) Spyros Capralos
Gold to Belgium, silver to Uganda and bronze to Greece
I hate to praise Ingmar De Vos yet again, but the no-nonsense International Equestrian Federation President just made three good points in about a minute.
Yes, ASOIF has done a lot of good work in raising governance standards among IFs, especially in the last two years. That needs to be said.
Yes, organisations are indeed only as strong as their weakest link.
And yes evaluation needs now to become stronger, with possible consequences for the laggards.
<제137차 IOC화상총회 전반적 진단 스케치>
Nearly six hours after the start of the Session, the IOC members are discussing the 15th and final recommendation - "innovate revenue generation models".
Eyes shifting towards boxing and weightlifting...
Blick has a challenger in the Session MVP stakes.
FEI President Ingmar De Vos says the evaluation of governance within the Movement "needs to be a bit stronger", and suggests there should be consequences if good governance is not followed.
Judging by the events of the past few years, there would be plenty of sanctions dished out for poor governance...
"There needs to be more focus on the implementation," De Vos adds.
The IOC are now talking about "good governance".
A reminder. Ireland's Patrick Hickey has been self-suspended as an International Olympic Committee since 2016 and there is still no sign of this being resolved.
IOC member and Association of National Olympic Committees President Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah is currently self-suspended from both roles, as he faces a forgery case in Switzerland.
(Sheikh Ahmad 쿠웨이트 IOC위원 겸 ANOC회장은 공문서위조 혐의에 대한 재판을 앞두고 있으며, 그 결과 스위스 내 2개 직위에서 자가 자격정지 중임)
(Day 2)
Athens first staged an IOC Session in 1896 at the time of the first Olympics of the Modern era.
Only seven members participated in the first session.
It also hosted in 1934 to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the IOC and again in 1954 and 1961.
The Session returned to Athens in 1978.
The last time they hosted a session was in 2004 at the times of the Olympics.
<Athens confirmed as hosts of 2025 IOC Session>
In what must be a first for the IOC, the membership has voted to approve Athens as the host city for the 2025 IOC Session by a virtual show of hands.
Bach is trying to check if there are any dissenters - but even he knows there will not be any.
Spyros Capralos, Greek NOC President, is seen punching the air as the decision is confirmed.
What I do find interesting is how the Summer Olympic process vaulted ahead of the Winter Olympic one.
Back in 2019, Bach announced a "two-speed" process for the Commissions.
"We have a two-speed procedure for Winter and Summer," Bach said.
"The Winter Future Host Commission will start immediately because it is already about the Winter Youth Olympic Games for 2024 and the 2030 Winter Games.
"This has priority at the moment.
"With the Summer we have a little bit more time."
Gangwon was awarded the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics last year, but the 2030 Winter Olympics is up for grabs
Dick Pound talking about not wishing to tie the hands of a successor with future host selection so far in advance.
FIFA were much criticised when they chose World Cup hosts so far in advance. In the sixties they allocated the 1978 competition to Argentina 12 years in advance and ended up with a tournament staged in a military dictatorship
Pound says he supports the decision not to award the 2036 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
He fairly points out no-one can predict what the world would look like in 15 years time and says the IOC should not tie the hands of the future leadership
<2019년 10월3일자>
IOC President Thomas Bach announced a "two-speed" process for the Commissions.
The Winter Commission will begin immediately with a view to selecting the host city for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games and 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.
Bach revealed the Summer Olympic Commission will have more time to enter dialogue with cities.
He stressed the 2032 Summer Olympics will not be awarded next year, as had been initially speculated with Brisbane widely seen as being in the driving seat.
"We have a two-speed procedure for Winter and Summer," Bach said.
"The Winter Future Host Commission will start immediately because it is already about the Winter Youth Olympic Games for 2024 and the 2030 Winter Games.
"This has priority at the moment.
"With the Summer we have a little bit more time.
"The Commission can enter dialogue with different interested cities and countries we have already.
"There I can only clarify what we also told the delegation of Queensland.
"We will not take a decision in 2020."
Bach's statement cools talk over a fast-tracked awarding of the Games.
Reforms appeared to have accelerated the host designation process around the 2032 Olympics, with Queensland having held multiple meetings with the IOC over the prospect of a bid.
The Australian effort has been viewed as the clear front-runner, although IOC President Thomas Bach met with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in last month in New York City. (2019년 9월26일)
The IOC President claimed the organisation "warmly welcomed" a potential joint Korean bid when he met with officials from the North and South in February. (2019)
<Human rights groups holding "alternative" Session on Beijing 2022>
Human rights concerns have been prominent in the build-up to Beijing 2022, particularly regarding China's treatment of Uyghur Muslims.
To highlight what some are calling a "genocide", a group of campaigners are this week holding an "Alternative Olympic Committee Session".
Organised by the NoBeijing2022 Campaign Coalition, the event will "discuss the issues that will be ignored by the IOC China’s increased human rights atrocities, the brutal and illegal occupation of Tibet, the genocidal treatment of the Uyghur people, the recolonising of Hong Kong, the erasure of Southern Mongolian culture and language, and the detention, disappearance, and death of countless Chinese lawyers, feminists, and democracy activists".
"As pressure mounts on the IOC to move the Games from Beijing or face a diplomatic boycott, this alternative session aims to counter the misleading IOC narrative and expose the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics for what they really are - China’s despicable attempt to mask its crimes and legitimise its place on the world stage," the group said in a statement.
I asked Bach yesterday if he had a message for those organising the event and whether he could provide guarantees that their concerns were being listened to, but he claimed he was not aware of it.
A US State Department report published in January accused China of committing genocide against Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minority groups.
Canada’s House of Commons passed a motion last month which said China's persecution of these groups amounts to genocide.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin hit back at Canada, claiming the allegations of genocide as the "the biggest lie of the century deliberately concocted by extreme anti-China forces".
IOC President Thomas Bach has largely shifted around questions on Beijing 2022, merely saying last month that he was confident that Beijing 2022 would fulfill the host city contract.
Beijing 2022 executive vice-president Zhang Jiandong is presenting on behalf of the Organising Committee for the next Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Zhang reiterates all competition venues have been constructed and claims "steady progress" is being made with the three Olympic Villages.
He says the finishing touches to venue and the remainder of the construction for non-competition venues will be completed on schedule.
As Phil has mentioned, human rights criticisms have increasingly become an issue regarding Beijing 2022.
Politicians in several countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States, have suggested the Games should be boycotted.
United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee President Susanne Lyons has said the organisation will not boycott the Games, saying it would hurt athletes who had been training for competition.
Beijing’s Coordination Commission is headed by Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain. He’s a former vice-president but has been an IOC member since 2001, the year his father stood down as President.
The Commission includes long serving International Skiing President Gian Franco Kasper and Lee Hee-beom who was Organising Committee President for Pyeongchang 2018.
They are joined on the panel by International Ice Hockey President Rene Fasel, recently in the headlines as the campaign to remove the 2021 men’s World Championship from Belarus reached its climax.
Already Beijing has come under fire from human rights groups for its treatment of the Uyghur people.
The Refugee team will spend time at Waseda University in Tokyo. Not the first time this University has played a symbolic role in the Olympics.
In 1964 Yoshinori Sakai was a student at the Waseda University when he lit the cauldron. Sakai was chosen as a symbol of peace. He had been born the day the Atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima.
Macleod says over 20 athletes are estimated to represent the team across 10 sports.
Sporting performance, confirmed refugee status, as well as balanced representation across sports, regions and genders are among the considerations.
The Refugee Olympic Team is due to meet for the first time in Qatar ahead of travelling to the Games.
Olympic Solidarity is currently supporting 55 scholarship holders for the Tokyo 2020 Refugee Olympic Team.
The athletes come from 13 countries and are hosted by 21 National Olympic Committees across all five continents.
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Portugal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are hosting athletes.
The athletes represent the sports of athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, judo, karate, taekwondo, shooting, weightlifting and wrestling.
James Macleod, the IOC's director of the NOC relations department and of Olympic Solidarity, provides an update on the Refugee Olympic Team.
He updates on the Olympic Refuge Foundation, which is currently running programmes in 11 countries.
The French Government made a €1 million donation to support initiatives in France and particular the Paris region.
China has also recently given a donation, Macleod says.
Just been following the example of many IOC members and had a look at what Baron Pierre de Coubertin said about spectators.
"It has been proved that the absence of spectators discourages the sportsman (or woman) and reduces their capacities," he said.
"In any decision that the Japanese Government will take on fans, we will support them on the basis that safety must come first," Coates says in responds to the Tokyo 2020 interventions.
"At our earlier meeting this evening, it was largely devoted to all of the consequences if a decision is taken that there be no foreign spectators.
"We are looking at the other implications of accommodations, things like that, and we are having urgent discussions...we are very mindful of the uncertainty you have raised."
Mutō says Tokyo 2020 is aware that a decision to prevent foreign fans from attending the Games would cause considerable challenges, but, unless I missed something, he didn't really seem to fully respond to the concerns and questions raised by the likes of Capralos.
Slight challenge to completely understand Muto's comments amid translation.
The Tokyo 2020 chief executive has said Tokyo 2020 tickets will be refunded should spectators be unable to attend.
Muto appears to suggest that Tokyo 2020 and the IOC would work together to resolve ticketing issues.
I suspect that one of the main issues he means may surround Authorised Ticket Resellers.
I could be wrong though.
I think that was an attempt at a diplomatic intervention there by China's Zaiqing Yu, a very senior and respected IOC member. I think it is one of those contributions that is important because it was made, rather than for what precisely was said.
Calls for Tokyo 2020 decision on foreign fans to be made "as late as possible"
Gunilla Lindberg believes the decision on international fans - expected next month, remember - should be taken "as late as possible" as plenty have booked hotel rooms and bought tickets, echoing the concerns raised by Capralos earlier.
Another worthwhile contribution from De Vos. To summarise, the Belgian makes the point that the technical delivery of sports events at Tokyo 2020 needs to be the priority. Therefore, it is important to "manage expectations" regarding what the Games will be able to deliver beyond this.
Capralos the only one to have offered a worthwhile intervention so far, the rest have followed the theme of yesterday - praise, praise and nothing but praise
<Capralos calls for clear refund policies if overseas fans are unable to attend Tokyo 2020>
A serious point from Spyros Capralos about the need to look after people who will have booked flights, hotels, tickets, but who may not now be able to attend any Tokyo Games. These are the sort of nitty-gritty issues that will need to be addressed promptly and sympathetically. Encouraging to hear some IOC members focusing on such matters.
China simultaneously offers to vaccinate world’s Olympians while continuing to lock up, persecute more than a million Uyghurs. Look over here at this fancy thing, ignore the other thing.
While events have indeed gone ahead, they have not always gone without incident.
We have revealed today that positive COVID-19 tests have obliged four Ukrainian women athletes to remain in quarantine in Torun following the European Athletics Indoor Championships which finished on Sunday (March 7).
It is the latest case to have stemmed from the Championships, where the Polish 4x400m relay team were excluded from the race following a COVID-19 outbreak.
Belgian athlete Eline Berings claimed she was forced to withdraw from the semi-finals of the 60 metres hurdles at the European Athletics Indoor Championships for "no reason" following a false positive COVID-19 test result.
The answer is sort of...first up is IOC Executive Board Nenad Lalovic, who has a comment rather than a question.
Lalovic trumpets the message relayed by Bach yesterday, that they have taken confidence from the number of sports events to have gone ahead during the pandemic.
The United World Wrestling President says international competitions in roughly half of the sports on the Tokyo 2020 programme are scheduled for this month.
Still on the subject of sponsorship, these are our thoughts on President Bach's unexpected announcement yesterday that the IOC's The Olympic Partner (TOP) international sponsorship programme is set to generate $3 billion of revenue - a record - in the next Olympic cycle culminating with Paris 2024.
A little bit more on the Chinese Olympic Committee vaccine offer from earlier.
Thomas Bach said the IOC has signed up to the vaccine equity declaration of the World Health Organisation.
The declaration calls on countries and companies to ensure that by the time World Health Day arrives on 7 April, COVID-19 vaccines are being administered in every country.
On to Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission chair John Coates, who presumably is delivering his report from Sydney, where it is approaching 11pm.
Coates mentions foreign spectators and how a decision is expected early next month. Various reports from the Japanese media in recent weeks have suggested overseas fans will be banned, and it would not be a surprise if that was indeed the way it goes.
Japan is thought to be particularly fearful of vast numbers of people entering the country and possibly spreading COVID-19 during the Games.
It sounds from what Muto is saying as though the final value of the Tokyo 2020 domestic sponsorship programme will be over $3.5 billion. This simply obliterates all previous records. Most of the money raised by this programme remains in Japan, however.
"With just over four months to go, we have entered a critical phase," Mutō says.
"You can be assured we will work closely with the IOC, IPC and the relevant Governments to deliver a Games that will excite and inspire the world."
Hashimoto has been speaking about the Torch Relay.
She has promised "thorough counter measures" when the Relay begins on March 25.
About now, the first runners should be receiving the precise details of their participation though they won't be allowed to share any details on social media.
This has been done to discourage large crowds
Nothing new that I could detect in that address from President Hashimoto. But she is very new in post, so that was perhaps to be expected.
Hashimoto passes the baton to Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshirō Mutō, who begins by providing an update on the COVID-19 situation in Japan.
Muto says 1,316 cases of coronavirus were reported in Japan and 340 in Tokyo yesterday.
A state of emergency will remain in place until March 21.
"Tokyo 2020 continues to monitor the situation closely," he says.
"Let me speak as an athlete - we are doing everything possible to prepare for a safe and secure Games and I am committed to providing an environment where athletes of the world can perform with confidence and pride," Hashimoto adds.
Hashimoto is now giving her first report to the Session as President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee.
It is widely believed international fans will be prevented from attending the Games because of COVID-19 concerns, but there has not been a concrete decision yet.
<Chinese Olympic Committee offer vaccines for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 teams>
Bach reveals the Chinese Olympic Committee have made an offer to make additional vaccine doses available to participants for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022.
“The IOC has received a kind offer from the Chinese Olympic Committee, the host of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games," Bach said.
“The offer is to make additional vaccine doses available to participants for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022.
“The Chinese Olympic Committee is ready in cooperation with the IOC to make these additional doses available in two ways.
“Either via collaboration with international partners or directly in the numerous countries where agreements regarding Chinese vaccines are already in place.
“The IOC will pay for these additional doses of vaccines for the Olympic and Paralympic team.
“For each of these additional doses, the IOC will also pay for two doses more that can be made available to population in that country.”
<Bach praises resilience of Japanese people on 10th anniversary of earthquake and tsunami>
Bach does indeed mark the anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, offering his sympathies to the families who lost loved ones and were affected by the disaster.
Admiration for the Japanese people for how they have overcome this crisis with such resilience.
Bach says his visit to Fukushima in 2018 showed the determination of the Japanese people to rebuild for the future.
The restarting of the Torch Relay in Fukushima will also highlight this, Bach says, adding that the relay will also provide hope amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Tokyo won the right to stage the Games at the same Session in Buenos Aires that saw Bach elected to the IOC Presidency - and wrestling salvage its place on the Olympic programme. That was a bustling, busy, exciting gathering. What a contrast with yesterday's all too predictable affair. Let's hope for better today.
New Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimotoand Toshirō Mutō are currently being introduced.
Hashimoto will present to the IOC Session for the first time, following her appointment last month.
This small hitch gives us an opportunity to admire the IOC President's extremely bright tie.
IOC President Thomas Bach is opening the second day of the Session now.
He thanks the well-wishes he received overnight following his re-election yesterday.
Bach invites Tokyo 2020 to begin their presentation.
The Coordination Commission for Tokyo is led by Australian John Coates, an IOC vice-president who was an integral part of his own country’s Olympic bids from Brisbane’s first venture back in 1985 to the highly successful Sydney candidacy for the 2000 Games.
Some big names on the panel include television executive Alex Gilady, World Athletics President Lord Coe, Athletes' Commission leader Kirsty Coventry and Prince Faisal bin Hussein of Jordan.
By my count, three Olympic champions are on the panel - Coe, (athletics 1980, 1984) Coventry (swimming 2004 and 2008) and also Guy Drut, who won the 110m hurdles at Montreal 1976.
I suspect that the Tokyo 2020 presentation will note that today marks the 10th anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
The disaster saw the deaths of over 15,000 people in Japan. The tsunami and earthquake led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear diaster.
Tokyo 2020's candidature for the Olympic and Paralympic Games heavily suggested the multi-sport event would form part of the recovery process.
The Recovery Games billing has been something which has been disputed by critics.
The Olympic and Paralympics in Tokyo is sure to highlight recovery efforts, while the pandemic will undoubtedly be marked.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga participated at a memorial service earlier today.
As mentioned by Liam earlier, this is the line-up for the day.
Tokyo 2020 will understandably take the focus given the uncertainty that has surrounded the Games since its postponement last year.
It will be interesting to see if the IOC membership can summon up some questions about Tokyo 2020 in the same manner they lavished praise on Thomas Bach yesterday.
After all, Bach said yesterday that the big question was about how the Games would take place, not whether they would.
Equally, will the IOC be able to awkwardly shift around human rights concerns regarding Beijing as well...
As the IOC Session prepares to hear the latest progress report on the Tokyo Olympics today, a reminder that exactly a year ago, the Olympic Flame for Tokyo was kindled in Ancient Olympia at the site of the Games of Antiquity.
Greek shooter Anna Korakaki was the first Torch bearer in a very low-key ceremony watched only by a small audience of Olympic officials and media. No other spectators were admitted as all archaeological sites in Greece were closed as part of precautions against COVID-19.
The Relay was suspended little more than 24 hours later after crowds swarmed to see actor Gerard Butler carry the Torch in Sparta. The postponement of the Games themselves was announced less than a fortnight later.
The Flame has been kept alight in a safety lamp ever since and is scheduled to begin its journey around Japan a fortnight from today on March 25.
Yesterday, Thomas Bach was re-elected President of the IOC after receiving 93 votes, with four abstentions and one against (the hunt begins for the brave one...).
Here is our story from the first day of proceedings, as well as a picture gallery from Bach's coronation.
<Welcome to day two of the 137th IOC Session>
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the second day of the 137th IOC Session, taking place virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Yesterday was essentially Thomas Bach day, but today's agenda will focus on the Organising Committees of future Olympic Games, with Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024 all due to present reports to the membership.
There is also scheduled to be a report from the Future Host Commission, while Athens is set to be confirmed as the host city for the 2025 IOC Session after missing out on staging this Session as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
For those who expected the International Olympic Committee’s discussion of the 15-part Olympic Agenda 2020+5 to be completed by a voice vote in less than 10 minutes must have been in shock for most of Friday’s live stream of the final day of the 137th IOC Session.
The presentation and discussion of the 2020+5 program ran on for more than six hours, beginning at noon in Lausanne, Switzerland. But the final result was not in doubt.
The IOC membership, after making some very interesting and conflicting remarks, approved the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 package unanimously, at least based on a show of hands, to which IOC chief Thomas Bach (GER) saw no abstentions or votes against.
The discussions themselves did not change any of the recommendations, and the potential implications of the program are enormous. Beyond the many suggestions and questions raised, the implementation phase will now begin and the many changes contemplated will have to be worked on and worked out.
The 15 recommendations centered around solidarity of the Olympic Movement, digitalization, sustainability, credibility and economic and financial resilience. There were a lot of ideas tossed out, and Bach emphasized in opening remarks:
● “Digitalisation is a huge opportunity for us to address people more directly, engage with youth, and promote our Olympic values. Keeping in mind that about half the world’s population is still digitally underserved, our core value of solidarity will guide us in addressing also this part of our global society.”
● “Year after year, studies like the Edelman Trust Barometer highlight the ‘implosion of trust’ that define our times. …
“This ‘implosion of trust’, this risk of functioning of all our societies, is deeply affecting governments, social institutions, businesses, and NGOs like the IOC. In fact, anyone who is perceived to be part of the so-called establishment is scrutinised by a mistrusting public like never before. This trend is strengthened, or worsened, by a lack of open-minded discussion because many people are just living in their echo-chambers which only confirm their opinion and prejudices.”
Among the many points discussed was athlete protests and the athlete voice. During the discussion of the first recommendation, William Blick, a former rugby player and the President of the Ugandan National Olympic Committee, offered:
“Mr. President, I do not agree with athlete’s protests in areas of competition or on the podium. I think this should never happen, as discussed before, but I think we should now use and promote areas that we believe are more suitable for athletes to be able to air their voices on issues they find at heart and we should be able to continuously use these areas that we believe are most suitable leading up to the Games so that at least people can know that there is a platform that athletes can be able to use.”
The athlete’s voice issues were taken up further by IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), who explained the process, and commented on the critics:
“[W]e have seen groups with special interests who claim to represent athletes, without a mandate from athletes or for any accountability. There have been calls for reviewing commercial and financial models across the Olympic Movement. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we don’t only listen, and consider, the voices of a few, but ensure we give equal recognition to the voice of all athletes: athletes from all regions, cultures and backgrounds. We are a global movement and we must continue to reflect this in collecting athlete’s views in our decision making. …
“We have consulted with more than 3,500 elite athletes and Olympians, representing 185 NOCs from all Olympic sports. In addition, we have also had many one-on-one consultations with many NOC athlete commissions and International Federations commissions and what we’re doing now is we’re putting all of that feedback and information back together, and I must say a lot of National Olympic Committee athlete commissions have also done their own surveys and those have all been shared with us.
“We’re now compiling and putting all of that information together. We also have an independent expert who is putting their recommendations together and then give to the Athletes’ Commission. We will then have the huge task of going through all of that. We will come up with recommendations and those recommendations will go to the Executive Board for further discussion.”
On Thursday, the Session heard reports from the organizing committees for Tokyo 2020, the Beijing 2022 Winter Games and Paris 2024. The issue of whether foreign spectators will be allowed to attend the Tokyo Games continues to be front and center. In his end-of-Session news conference, Bach said:
“[T]his will be the decision of our Japanese partners and friends and we will respect and accept this decision, and this also concerns the timing of the decision because only they can know what it means for the health regulations in their country, what it means for the organizing committee and what it means for the overall situation in Japan. So, this is why I said in my opening speech already, that we are standing at the side of Japan without any reservation.”
Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimotodenied reports that a final decision to bar foreign spectators has been made and indicated the actual decision will come by 25 March, the date of the start of the Olympic Torch Relay in Japan.
Vaccines became an even bigger issue on Thursday, as the IOC announced:
“[T]he IOC has received an offer from the Chinese Olympic Committee, the host of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, to assist in making vaccines available. [Bach] noted that the plan was to make vaccine doses available to NOCs in whose territories the Chinese vaccine has been approved by the relevant national health authority.
“Although the details are still being worked out, President Bach confirmed that the IOC is ready to pay for these additional doses of vaccines for not only the Olympic but also the Paralympic teams, as well as for two further doses, which can be made available to the population in the respective countries according to their needs.”
Asked about vaccine requirements for the Games and whether the IOC would ask for athletes to be vaccinated – potentially ahead of the general public – at his news conference, Bach added:
“We have said from the very beginning and we are sticking to this principle that we are following and also the athletes and the National Olympic Committees should follow there the national regulations on vaccination. This is a clear government responsibility and in this we will not interfere. This is not within our expertise or remits; each government has to decide there, following the circumstances in their respective country.”
Part of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 concerned human rights, which led to news conference questions about Beijing 2022 and Chinese treatment of its Uyghur minority, of Tibet and Hong Kong. Bach offered interesting answers, including perhaps the most brilliant statement ever made on athlete boycotts:
“We are redressing it within our remits and this was a part of the discussion there today, that within our remits, our responsibility, all these questions are being addressed. A number of these questions are a part of the Host City Contract and this is our responsibility, and this responsibility we are taking very seriously.
“This leads directly to the question which is behind there, of boycott discussion. And there, we can only repeat once again and give advice to learn from history, a boycott of the Olympic Games has never achieved anything. …
“Be mindful of the boycott in Moscow 1980, which was because of the intervention of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. The Soviet Army withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, nine years after this boycott. So it really served nothing but punishing their own athletes and then led to the counter-boycott in Los Angeles.
“It also has no logic. Why would you punish the athletes from your own country if you have a dispute with the government from another country? This just makes no real sense. And the athletes would be the ones who are suffering.”
Pushed further, Bach also added:
“I think this has been very clear today, that within the remit of the IOC, we are taking this very seriously. This means, with everything, what is related to the Olympic Games – human rights, labor rights and others – are or will be part of the Host City Contract and on this we are working very closely with the organizing committee. There we are also monitoring; this includes, for instance, supply chains or labor rights and freedom of press and many other issues. This is our responsibility and again, this responsibility has been acknowledged by the United Nations, by the international community and this we are taking very seriously.
“We are not a super-world government, where the IOC could solve or even address issues for which not the U.N. Security Council, no G-7, no G-20 has solutions. This is in the remits of politics. We have to live up to our responsibilities within our area of responsibilities, and the governments have to live up to their responsibilities in their remits.”
On the future of the sports program and the inclusion of electronic sports that mirror physical sport, Bach said this is a long-term issue:
“Obviously, this is a question for my successor; we are not talking about Paris, this is probably more a question for Los Angeles. But as far as I am concerned, it would be in addition to; it would be additional, not in place of . It would not replace sports as we know it.”
There was a lot to process from this Session, not to much from the decisions taken there, but from where Bach has placed the IOC strategically for the future. But first will come the challenges of staging the Tokyo Games and then turning quickly to the Beijing Winter Games, where the questions about athletic performance will be rivaled by those about the hosts.
