News

Yesterday, the IOC Executive Board unanimously welcomed the idea to organise Youth Olympic Games (YOG). This means that the concept of this event will be put forward for consideration by the IOC Session in Guatemala City in July. The Youth Olympic Games are conceived, in conjunction with other initiatives, to address the decline in the relevance of sport amongst the younger generation and to give them an education based on values.

BEIJING, April 26, 2007 — Today the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) in the presence of the International Olympic Committee, unveiled the Lenovo-designed Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch and announced Lenovo’s role as a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay. Lenovo’s design, the “Cloud of Promise,” was chosen over 300 competitor themes and will be carried by torchbearers around the world in the Olympic Torch Relay preceding the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

OCI President Pat Hickey has been awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of the Bulgarian National Sports Academy. He received the title at a ceremony in Sofia this week (April 23). It is the second Honorary Doctorate he has been awarded in recent weeks, having been similarly honoured by the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan in Baku in March.

The General session of Chefs de Mission of European Olympic Committees for EYOF 2007 was held in hotel Intercontinental, on Saturday, 4th April 2007 at 4.30pm. Olympic Council of Ireland, Chef de Mission – Martin Burke attended along with Chefs De Mission of 46 European Olympic Committees.

The 50th anniversary of Olympic Council of Ireland founder JJ Keane will be belatedly commemorated by a special wreath-laying ceremony in Glasnevin on Sunday (11.30, followed by a talk on his memorable sporting life by Dr Cyril White at Cara Hall Raheny (12.30), ahead of the National Road Race Relay Championships (2.00).

Congratulations to Pat Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland and President of the European Olympic Committees, who has been honoured by the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan.

Congratulations to all of the Irish Youth Olympic team on their performances in Jaca, Spain, led by Chef de Mission Anne O'Connor.

Discussions about ensuring and safeguarding the autonomy of the Olympic and Sports Movement concluded yesterday at the close of a two-day seminar organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne with adoption of a seven-point resolution.

Irish players will benefit from an Olympic planning course facilitated by double Olympic hockey medallist , and former Irish hockey captain Stephen Martin. The course will help players in their planning for European,World and Olympic competition.

Almost 3,000 athletes from 44 European countries will compete for the medals – representing the cream of Europe's Olympic winter sports stars of the future.

The grant aid comes from the Olympic Solidarity arm of the International Olympic Committee, a body responsible for dispensing a share of the television rights of the Games in order to provide financial assistance at national levels for the development of sport.

He was a competitor in the 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics and won over a dozen Irish national championships in many classes. He also served on the Olympic Council of Ireland for more than 10 years and was a renowned sports administrator.