News

Ireland's Olympic hopefuls for next year's Beijing Games will benefit from a new partnership arrangement agreed between Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital and the Olympic Council of Ireland.

The IOC has launched the bid process for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016. The 203 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have been invited to submit the name of a city within their jurisdiction as an Applicant to host the Games in nine years’ time.

Sean Kelly, Executive Chairman of the Irish Institute of Sport, announced today (May 15, 2007) that Phil Moore has been appointed Director of Athlete Services at the Institute.

The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI), led by President Patrick Hickey, will hold its monthly Executive Board meeting in Derry on Wednesday 30th May, the first time it has held such a meeting in Northern Ireland as the city tries to market itself as a training venue for 2012.

The Leadership Trust, the UK's leading leadership training organisation, has announced a €150,000 bursary arrangement with the OCI aimed at developing the leadership talents of the Olympic team management for the Beijing Games.

OCI President Pat Hickey was part of a three-man delegation that discussed Russia's Olympic preparations and plans for Beijing with President Putin at a private meeting in the Kremlin this weekend (May12).

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.