Dialogue
The OCOGs all made presentations to the General Assembly, explaining the progress of their respective projects, and they also took the opportunity to speak informally with many of the individual NOCs in order to improve the quality of their services to these important stakeholders. This open dialogue allows the various members of the Olympic Family to help transfer knowledge to each other, over and above the IOC’s comprehensive transfer of knowledge programme, in order to improve the conditions for the athletes during the different editions of the Games.
Beijing 2008
The presentation of the Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 (BOCOG) was given by Mr Tu Mingde, Senior Assistant to the President of BOCOG, and it covered a number of areas including accommodation for the NOCs, the Olympic Village from an athlete’s perspective and security. Commenting on the advantages that the Games will bring to Beijing, Tu said, “With the Olympic Games coming to Beijing, it will help accelerate construction and the improvement of Beijing’s infrastructure and living conditions. People like it a lot because traffic improves, infrastructure improves and air quality improves.” He continued, “And we will leave behind a great number of sports facilities, which are located in different areas, with easy access to the public. This is good for sports for all. All the people can then enjoy them.” Mr Tu also noted, “When we talk about people’s Olympics, we would also like to arouse people’s awareness of the Olympic knowledge and spirit. Because the Olympic Games are something that really can help the Chinese public learn more about the Olympic Movement and Olympic ideals.” There was also a presentation by Kelly Fairweather, IOC Sports Director, on the work that has been done thus far on the qualification process for the Beijing Games. The presentation, accompanied by a CD-Rom, will allow the NOCs to understand better the different qualification procedures for their athletes at the Beijing Games, following a long period of analysis by the International Federations and the IOC.
Vancouver 2010
The Organising Committee for the XXI Olympic Winter Games – Vancouver 2010 (VANOC)’s presentation was very much focused on the different partnerships that are involved in hosting the Olympic Games. The presentation was started by Michael Chambers, VANOC Board Member and President of the Canadian Olympic Committee, who spoke about the close cooperation that exists between the Canadian Olympic Committee and VANOC, as well as the role that the Canadian Olympic Committee is playing in helping to provide great Games for the NOCs, athletes and International Federations (IFs), as well as the legacies that they hope to achieve. Mr Chambers was followed by Tim Gayda, VANOC’s Managing Director, Sport, who spoke about the structure and mission of VANOC; the 2010 Games concept; the Olympic Villages; and the test events for the 2010 Games. There was also very strong emphasis on the availability of VANOC staff to speak to the National Olympic Committees, in order to manage their needs and those of the athletes ahead of and during the Games.
London 2012
Once again emphasising the cooperation that exists between an Organising Committee and the National Olympic Committees, the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the Games of the XXX Olympiad – London 2012 (LOCOG), Lord Sebastian Coe, was introduced to the General Assembly by the new Chairman of the British Olympic Committee, Lord Colin Moynihan. Lord Coe’s presentation focused on the developments that have taken place at London 2012 since it won the right to host the Games back in July 2005 at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. These developments included the appointment of LOCOG’s CEO, the creation of the LOCOG Board, the passing of the Olympic Bill into law, the start of work on the Olympic venues and the creation of an NOC Relations Department, as well as the first edition of a newsletter exclusively for the NOCs and IFs. The London 2012 presentation concluded with an overview of London’s project including the future Olympic Village; the setting-up of a Nations and Regions group to help the NOCs find the best training facilities; the observation programme and transfer of knowledge that LOCOG has undertaken; and a look at the legacy that London plans to leave from its Games to world sport. It is again testament to the IOC’s new Games management policies that London has been able to get up and running so quickly following its victory in Singapore. These new policies, of which London is the first to benefit from right from the start of the bid phase, allow OCOGs to receive a better transfer of knowledge from previous Games and have a more concrete project already defined at the end of the bid process.
