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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to reviving Olympic Games and develop the sports movement around the world.
Is the largest sports organization in the world. The IOC was created on June 23, 1894 by a French baron Pierre de Coubertin. The headquarters is still located in Lausanne, Switzerland. The current president is Thomas Bach.
At the end of the 19th century, the French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin spoke at a congress at the Sorbonne with a proposal to revive the Olympic Games, whose history dates back to antiquity and led to Hercules himself. Coubertin was interested primarily in the promotion of sports and healthy image life both among French youth and among the population around the world. In addition, he pursued the goals of bringing peoples closer together through competition and exchange of experience. For the purpose of organizing and regulating the games, the International Olympic Committee was also established, headed by the Greek Demetrius Vikelas. The President is elected secretly for 8 years with the possibility of renewal every 4 years. De Coubertin took over as secretary general.
The IOC continues to perform its function of promoting the Olympic Games in accordance with the Olympic Charter, as well as developing sports and promoting a healthy lifestyle. According to the charter, the Olympics is designed to unite athletes from different countries in fair and equal competitions. Discrimination of any kind is not permitted. The organizing committee of the host country is directly involved in organizing the games. Each National Olympic Committee must be recognized by the IOC (for 2017 their number is 206 committees). The IOC does not include national Olympic committees; it consists of no more than 115 people from 70 countries. Interestingly, until 1981, members of the IOC were exclusively men.
The IOC is financed exclusively by private investments and subsidies. More than half (53%) is made up of money from the sale of rights to broadcast games (all rights to the Olympic Games belong exclusively to the IOC), a third comes from businesses and private sponsors, the rest comes from ticket sales and licensing fees. Currently, revenues could reach several billion dollars. ($2.4 billion for 2008).
One of the most high-profile scandals related to the IOC occurred on December 5, 2017, when Winter Olympics In Pyeongchang, the entire Russian team was suspended. The reason for this was the outbreak of a doping scandal. “Clean” athletes were asked to compete under a neutral flag. A similar thing happened to the Indian team in 2014, but then the problem was resolved 4 days after the start of the games. Germany was suspended from participating in the Olympics three times - for organizing the First and Second World Wars. Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and Japan each made her company at one time. South Africa and Afghanistan were once suspended for racial and gender discrimination, respectively.
Sometimes countries decided to boycott the Olympics, despite clearance from the IOC. Thus, in 1976, the Olympics in Montreal were boycotted by some African countries. But the record holder for this indicator was the Moscow Olympics-80, when 60 countries announced their non-participation. This was caused by the protest of the world community against the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. True, sports delegations from 16 countries still arrived under neutral flags. In 1984, the USSR boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics under the pretext that President Reagan would not be able to ensure the safety of Soviet athletes.
Many outstanding personalities have served as IOC President, ten people in total. The last of them, T. Bach, was elected in 2013 and currently holds this post. This article briefly introduces all IOC Presidents.
IOC as an organization
The IOC is the highest body of the Olympic movement, currently operating on a permanent basis. The International Olympic Committee is a non-profit, non-governmental organization. Its headquarters are located in Switzerland (Lausanne). The charter document of this organization is the Charter of the Olympic Games, the modern version of which was adopted on July 14, 2001. English and French are the official languages of the IOC.
The International Olympic Committee was created in Paris on June 23, 1894. The initiative for its creation was taken by Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator and public figure, who later became its president. It was in 1894 that it was decided to revive the Olympic Games. The IOC was entrusted with the task of organizing them.
(summer and winter) are held once every 4 years. The IOC decides on the dates and place of their holding, on their program. This organization has the exclusive right to the symbol, anthem and motto. During the Games, the IOC transfers the right to control the technical side of the competition to international sports federations.
According to the regulations currently in force, an IOC member is elected for a term of 8 years. He can then be re-elected for the same term. IOC Presidents are elected by its members by secret ballot. Their term of office is also 8 years. Then the authority can be renewed every 4 years. Many IOC presidents took advantage of this opportunity.
D. Vikelas
This man held a responsible post for a short time, from 1894 to 1896. Demetrius Vikelas is a famous writer from Greece. In 1894 he participated in the Founding Congress held in Paris. Since the Games were to be held in Athens, the president, according to the 1st Olympic Charter, had to be from Greece. It should be noted that the first president of the IOC made a significant contribution to overcoming many difficulties of a political and economic nature. The first Olympics took place in Athens in 1896. After the end of the Games, D. Vikelas handed over the post to the next president, Pierre de Coubertin.
Pierre de Coubertin
This French baron, public figure and scientist held a responsible post for a long time, from 1896 to 1925. The modern Olympic Games, as we have already said, were founded by him. On high position Pierre de Coubertin did a lot for the formation and development of the Olympic movement. Idealism and romanticism are qualities inherent in this person. They did not prevent him from guiding the Olympic movement through the trials and turmoil of the first 30 years with flexibility, patience, practicality and tenacity.
J. Lucas, an American scientist who wrote the book “The Modern Olympic Games” (published in 1980), noted that if you combine everything written by Pierre de Coubertin, you will get a 25-volume collection of works. Coubertin headed the IOC for almost 30 years. Baron Godefroy de Blonay was his closest confidant. This man served as IOC president from 1916-19 when Coubertin joined the French army during the First World War. The second IOC president died in 1937. Pierre's remains rest in Lausanne. In Olympia, at the request of Coubertin, his heart is buried.
Henri de Bayeux-Latour
This man served as president from 1925 to 1942. He was born in 1876 in Brussels. Comte de Bayeux-Latour went in for sports, graduated from university, and then served as ambassador to the Netherlands.
Henri became a member of the IOC in 1903, and in 1905 he held the Olympic Congress in Brussels. A year later, he organized an NOC in Belgium. Henri successfully held the seventh Olympic Games in Antwerp (1920). In 1925 he was elected president of the IOC. His predecessor, Coubertin, said of him that the persistent activity of de Bayeux-Latour ensured the significant success and excellent organization of the Olympic Congress. For 17 years, Henri headed the IOC, until his death (in 1942). Five Olympic Games were held under his leadership. The number of participants increased from 2594 to 3980, and the number of states represented by them - from 29 to 49. The formation of the Olympic Games under him was basically completed.
It should be noted that some analysts see in the actions of de Bayeux-Latour the extreme politicization of sports. This was expressed in the decision to hold the 11th Olympic Games in Berlin (in 1936). In addition, Henri refused to allow athletes from the USSR to participate in them. As president, Henri was a supporter of Coubertin's principles. He said that to unite good intentions and combat disorderly ideas, a single doctrine must be adopted. It is necessary to issue laws common to all participants in the Games, while respecting the freedom of everyone.
Yu. Z. Edstrem
Over the next ten years (1942-1952), the IOC was headed by J. Z. Edström. He is considered a prominent figure in the Olympic movement, both Swedish and international. Unannes Siegfried Edström is an energy engineer by profession. During his student years, Edström participated in competitions in sprint running, was a Swedish record holder. In 1912, on his initiative, the International Amateur Athletics Federation was created.
Edström became a member of the IOC in 1920, and in 1931 he took the post of vice-president of this organization. Further, Yunannes's career developed in the following way: After Bayeux-Latour died, he became acting president, and in September 1946 Edström was elected president of the IOC. He held this position for six years, until 1952. Edström's activities took place during the difficult post-war period. The President distinguished himself by his desire to develop the Olympic movement and strengthen it. He tried to use it as a tool for developing cooperation and mutual understanding between peoples. Y. Z. Edström resigned as president in 1952. He gave it to Avery Brundage. Edström lived long life. He died at the age of 94, in 1964.
E. Brundage
For the next 20 years, control of the IOC was in the hands of Avery Brundage. He served as president from 1952 to 1972. This man was a civil engineer from America. He owned a large construction company. While studying at the university, Avery Brundage was seriously involved in sports. In 1912 he participated in the Olympic Games held in Stockholm. Brundage is the US champion in the sport of track and field all-around. He was also a member of the IAAF board.
On Edström's recommendation, Avery was elected a member of the IOC in 1936. Ten years later, he took the position of first vice president. In 1952, Brundage was elected president on a competitive basis (there were five candidates in total). For the next 20 years, Avery Brundage headed the IOC.
During the Cold War between the USSR and the USA, Avery patiently, actively and persistently advocated for the independence of sports from politics. When Soviet troops entered Hungary in 1956 to suppress the uprising against the pro-Soviet regime, a number of states decided to boycott the Games in Melbourne. Brundage responded by saying that if we stop competitions every time politicians break the law, we will simply lose them. In 1964, after American authorities refused to grant visas to East German athletes to travel to ice hockey competitions, Avery warned the United States that it would lose international ties if it decided to mix sports and politics.
In his post, Brundage did a lot to preserve and strengthen international sports ties. He held idealistic views, sometimes even conservative ones. Brundage followed IOC laws and regulations dogmatically. He shared the ideals of Coubertin, which, it should be noted, sometimes did not agree with the processes that arose in public life at that time. Avery Brundage opposed the playing of the anthem and the raising of the flag when honoring the winners of the Olympic Games. He believed that this was a manifestation of nationalism. He also did not like the scoring system by which the places of a particular national team in the overall standings at the Olympic Games were determined. Avery believed that this was contrary to the spirit and rules of the Games, which are competitions between athletes and not between countries. The sports community, when expressing their comments, respected the efficient and talented IOC president. In 1972, Avery handed over his post to Killanin. Brundage died at the age of 98 in 1985.
Michael Maurice Killanin
M. M. Killanin spent eight years as president. This Irish lord was involved in rowing and boxing, and was also an excellent horseman. He was educated at the famous Cambridge University and Killanin worked as a journalist, and also participated in the Second World War. He was an officer in the British armed forces. After the war, Michael Killanin held various administrative positions in industrial firms.
In 1950 he became president of the Irish NOC. In 1952, Killanin became a member of the IOC. Lord Michael Morris was appointed to the position of member of the Executive Committee in 1967, and a year later became Vice-President of the IOC. Killanin reached the pinnacle of his career in 1972. He held the post of IOC President until 1980.
Michael was able to find more rational types of relationships between the IOC, NOC and ISF - the three main links in the Olympic movement. His activities strengthened this movement. During Killanin's presidency there was some political tension that was related to the war Soviet Union in Afghanistan. However, the consistent line that Michael pursued prevented the breakdown of the 12s. Michael Killanin was a supporter of realistic policies that took into account the changes taking place in the world. He believed that the Olympic movement would become even more widespread over time. For his heroism during the Second World War, Michael was awarded the high title of Member of the Order of the British Empire. They even wanted to elect him to the post of president of the republic in his native Ireland. Throughout the world, this IOC President was respected for his humanity and honesty.
Juan Antonio Samaranch
The name of this person is probably familiar to you. Marquis served as IOC President from 1980 to 2001. He was born in Barcelona in 1920. Sports activities the future IOC president began as a sports adviser in his municipality. It became an NOC in 1962. 4 years later, H. A. Samaranch was elected a member of the IOC. From 1974 to 1978, Juan became vice president. Then Samaranch worked for 3 years in the USSR, where he was the ambassador of Spain.
At the 83rd IOC session held in Moscow in 1980, Juan Antonio was elected IOC President. In such a responsible position, he focused his efforts mainly on increasing the efficiency of the activities carried out by the IOC. Samaranch fought to strengthen the authority of the Olympic movement and to increase its stability. Faced with confrontation between the USSR and the USA from the very beginning of his presidency, Juan Antonio did everything possible to prevent a boycott of the Games in Los Angeles. The flexible and skillful policy he implemented made the Olympic movement of that time more authoritative, numerous and stable. The Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992 were great successes. Samaranch saved the Olympic movement from external shocks. He achieved its stability, significantly strengthened its financial position and authority. An important event in history was the resolution on the Olympic Truce, which was adopted at the 48th session of the UN General Assembly. 1994 was declared the year of the Olympic ideal and sport.
In Russia, Samaranch’s activities were assessed very highly. On July 14, 1994, a decree of the President of the Russian Federation was signed, according to which Juan Antonio was awarded the Order of Friendship for his significant contribution to the strengthening and development of the Olympic movement throughout the world, for increasing its role in the struggle to maintain peace between states.
Jacques Rogge
From 2001 to 2013, Jacques Rogge was the President of the IOC. He was born in Belgium (Gante) on May 2, 1942. Rogge is a doctor of medical sciences, an orthopedic surgeon. He worked in the field of sports medicine. Count Jacques Rogge speaks French, Dutch, Spanish, German and English languages. He participated in the Olympic Games three times - in 1968, 1972 and 1976. Jacques Rogge represented his country in sailing. He is a World Championship winner and a two-time silver medalist. Rogge became the Belgian champion 16 times in sailing. He is also the Belgian rugby champion. Jacques played ten matches for his country's national team.
Since 1991 he became a member of the IOC, and since 1998 - a member of the Executive Committee. Rogge was elected President of the IOC on July 16, 2001 in Moscow. The IOC, under his leadership, sought to create maximum opportunities for developing countries to participate in nominating their cities as candidates to host the Games. In 2008, the Games were held in China for the first time.
Thomas Bach
This person has served as IOC President from 2013 to the present. He was born in Würzburg on December 29, 1953. Bach has higher education in the field of jurisprudence, is a Doctor of Law. From the age of five, Thomas practiced foil fencing. In 1971, he won the World Junior Championship in this sport. In 1973, Bach won a silver medal as part of the foil team representing his country at the World Championships.
Thomas Bach, like other IOC presidents, achieved great heights in sports. He participated in many foil fencing competitions. In 1976, he became the Olympic champion in the team event at the Games in Montreal. Cup European champions Bach won in 1978. In 1977-78 he became the German individual champion.
In 1982-91. Bach was a member of the German NOC. He became a member of the IOC in 1991, and five years later he was elected to the IOC Executive Committee. Thomas Bach served as Vice-President of the IOC three times: 2000-04, 2006-10 and 2010-13. In 2013, at the age of 59, Thomas was elected president of the IOC. He became the first German, as well as the first Olympic champion, to hold this post.
October 25, 1892 during the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Union of French Societies athletic sports sports in the large amphitheater of the Paris Sorbonne, Pierre de Coubertin for the first time officially announced that he was beginning the immediate implementation of the project to revive the Olympic Games “on principles that meet the needs of today.” He convinced this authoritative Union to create an international forum for organizing the Olympic Games, as well as developing general requirements to their participants. The preparation of such a world forum was entrusted to three commissioners, among whom Pierre de Coubertin was included. In the spring of 1893, he sent letters to many countries of the world, in which he wrote: “The revival of the Olympic Games on principles and conditions that would meet the needs of modern society will make it possible to meet representatives of all the peoples of the world every four years. We hope that these peaceful and honorable competitions will be the best expression of the spirit of internationalism."
The International Athletic Congress opened on June 16, 1894, and a week later, having decided to revive the Olympic Games, the congress delegates formed a permanent committee that would organize and conduct the Games. This is how the IOC was created. Coubertin was elected its secretary general, and the representative of Greece, Vikelas Demetrius, was elected president. On April 10, 1896, V. Demetrius resigned, and Pierre de Coubertin was elected President of the IOC. The Congress approved the Olympic Charter and decided to hold the Olympic Games once every four years, establishing that their goal is “strengthening brotherhood and peace among peoples.” It was decided to hold the first Olympic Games in 1896 in the capital of Greece, Athens.
In August 1894, the XII Olympic Congress of the Centenary took place in Paris, which was called the “Congress of Unity”.
Hard work was carried out for two years and now a significant date in world sports has arrived - on April 6, 1896, the opening of the first Olympic Games of our time was proclaimed at the Marble Stadium of the Greek capital in the presence of 80 thousand spectators. 295 athletes from 13 countries came to the games in Athens. The competition included nine sports. Athletes from 10 countries became champions, with the US athletes performing most successfully.
It is very important that from the first games, the IOC members did everything possible to revive not only the competition complex, but also, in the spirit of the Olympic Charter, to revive Olympism as a synthesis of sports, culture and art, high spirituality and morality. They were extremely interested in the moral, ethical, social, pedagogical and educational aspects of Olympism. They were passionate promoters of sports, physical culture and the ideas of Olympism. For these purposes, it was established that the Games should be held in different cities and on different continents. So, exactly 1500 years later the Olympic Games were restored.
Over 100 years have passed since then. During this time, the flame of the Summer Olympic Games was lit 24 times (during the period of the world wars, three Olympics were not held). Most often the Games were held on the European continent - 14, 6 in American cities, 2 in Asia and 2 in Australia.
Since 1924, the Winter Olympic Games have been held, which have their own numbering. But the concept of "Olympics" is reserved only for the Summer Games.
The venue for the Olympic Games is chosen democratically by the IOC. The right to organize them is granted to the city, not the country. The duration of the Games is not more than 16 days ( Winter Games- no more than 10 days). Olympic movement has its own emblem and flag, approved by the IOC at the suggestion of Coubertin in 1913. The emblem is five intertwined rings of blue, black, red (top row), yellow and green (bottom row) that symbolize the 5 continents united in the Olympic Movement. The motto of the Olympic movement is Citius, Altius, Fortius (faster, higher, stronger). The flag is a white canvas with the Olympic rings.
Over the course of a hundred years, a ritual for holding the Games has developed: lighting Olympic flame at the opening ceremony (the flame is lit from the sun's rays in Olympia and delivered by a torch relay of athletes to the host city of the Olympic Games); the recitation of the Olympic oath by one of the outstanding athletes of the country in which the Games are being held on behalf of all participants in the Games; taking an oath of impartial judging on behalf of the judges; presentation of medals to winners and prize-winners of competitions; raising the national flag of the country and singing the national anthem in honor of the winners. Since 1932, the organizer of the Olympic Games has been building the so-called olympic village for participants of the Games. According to the Olympic Charter, the games are a competition between individual athletes and not between national teams. However, since 1908, the so-called unofficial team classification has become widespread - determining the place occupied by teams by the number of medals received. In this case, priority in establishing the team place is given to gold medals, and if they are equal, to silver and bronze awards.
With the development of the Olympic movement, more and more countries are included in its orbit. Teams from 199 countries participated in the Games in Sydney. It is becoming increasingly richer and sport program. At almost every Olympics, new sports appear in its program, and the number of games played increases accordingly. Olympic awards. At the games in Athens, 43 gold medals were awarded, and in Sydney, 300 sets of Olympic awards were already awarded. The number of medals awarded has also increased due to the inclusion, starting from the second Olympic Games, of women in the Olympic starts. In total, over the past hundred years, about 140 and a half thousand athletes have taken part in the Olympic Games.
Today the Olympic Games have become the largest sports festival planets.
- (IOC), the highest permanent body of the modern Olympic movement (see the article Olympic Games). Founded in 1894 on the initiative of P. de Coubertin; The IOC has over 90 members... Modern encyclopedia
- (IOC) is the highest permanent body of the modern Olympic movement (see article Olympic Games). Created in 1894 on the initiative of P. de Coubertin. In 1994, the IOC had 100 members (over 70 countries). The IOC recognized St. 170 national Olympic... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
The IOC is the highest permanent body of the modern Olympic movement (see article Olympic Games). Created in 1894 on the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin. In 1994, the IOC had 100 members (over 70 countries). The IOC recognized St. 170 national Olympic... ... Political science. Dictionary.
International Olympic Committee- (IOC), the highest permanent body of the modern Olympic movement (see the article Olympic Games). Founded in 1894 on the initiative of P. de Coubertin; The IOC has over 90 members. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
International Olympic Committee- (IOC), the highest permanent body of the modern Olympic movement (see Olympic Games). Created in 1894 on the initiative of P. De Coubertin. In 1997, the IOC had 100 members (over 70 countries). The IOC has recognized about 200 national Olympic... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
International Olympic Committee- Tarptautinis olimpinis komitetas statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Nuolat veikianti tarptautinė nevyriausybinė, nepriklausoma, pelno nesiekianti sporto organizacija; aukščiausiasis valdantysis olimpinio sąjūdžio organas… … Sporto terminų žodynas
International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee- "IOC" request is redirected here. See also other meanings. IOC emblem The International Olympic Committee (abbr. IOC) is an international organization created on June 23, 1894 in Paris by Baron Pierre de Coubertin to revive the Olympic Games and ... ... Wikipedia
International Olympic Committee- (IOC) the highest governing body of the modern Olympic movement. Created on June 23, 1894 on the initiative of the French public figure P. de Coubertin at an international congress convened in Paris to discuss current problems… … Great Soviet Encyclopedia
International Olympic Committee- International Olympic Committee (IOC) ... Russian spelling dictionary
Books
- International Olympic Committee and the Olympic System. World Sports Management, Jean-Loup Chapple, Brenda Kübler-Mabbott, Everyone knows what the Olympic Games are. But who and how will organize this world holiday sports, what are the functions of the International Olympic Committee and how does it differ from the organizing committee... Category: Textbooks for universities Series: Library of the Russian International Olympic University Publisher: Reed Media, Manufacturer: Reed Media, Buy for 2199 UAH (Ukraine only)
- International Olympic Committee and the Olympic system. Management of world sports, Chapple J., For students and teachers of higher educational institutions, managers and employees of sports federations, unions and clubs, sports journalists, as well as those who are interested in sports in the most… Category: Sports history Series: Publisher:
Long time International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the leading figures of the international Olympic movement, relying on the theory of “apolitical sport,” isolated themselves from active work in defense of peace. Thus, the IOC did not support the Moscow Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The very framework of the Olympic movement for a long time prevented the participation of Olympic athletes in active speeches for peace, since the conditions of the Olympic Games in accordance with their rules prohibited any kind of political acacias. In 1967, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the first time in history adopted an Appeal to athletes of all countries with a call to defend and strengthen peace as the only condition for the existence of international and national sports. The Olympic Congress, held in Varna in 1973, was held under the motto “Sport in the service of peace.”
IN last years New steps have been taken in the Olympic movement aimed at increasing the role of sport in strengthening peace and international understanding, and in the implementation of other humanistic values. So, on October 25, 1993, at the 48th session of the UN General Assembly without voting, i.e. unanimously, a resolution on the Olympic Truce was adopted, initiated by 121 states. Thus, for the first time in the history of the Olympic movement, a large-scale campaign in support of peace was announced. On December 5, 1994, the 49th session of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution “For establishing a better and more lasting world through sport,” initiated by 141 states. On November 6, 1995, for the first time in history, IOC President H.A. Samaranch spoke from the rostrum of the UN, which was celebrating its half-century anniversary. This happened during a debate on the theme “Forging a better and more lasting world through sport and the Olympic ideal”, held during the 50th session of the UN General Assembly. In the final resolution, the draft of which was read by two-time Olympic champion in gymnastics Bart Conner, the UN General Assembly noted the IOC’s contribution to establishing mutual understanding between peoples and strengthening peace on the planet, and also called on the world community to observe the “Olympic Truce” during the Olympic Games. On November 25, 1997, the 52nd session of the UN General Assembly, at the initiative of the IOC and with the support of a record number of states in UN history - 178 - adopted a resolution calling on all members of the world community to observe the “Olympic Truce” during the XVIII Winter Olympic Games of 1998 in Nagano. The international center “For the Olympic Truce”, created by the IOC and the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, began to function.
Activities within the framework of the Olympic Solidarity program have been intensified. Under this program, the IOC provides technical and financial support to 200 National Olympic Committees, including the least affluent, to further develop Olympic education, sport and culture. The International Olympic Development Forum was created with the aim of developing a mechanism for consultation and cooperation between developed countries that consider sport as an element of the technical assistance program for developing countries, on the one hand, and the Olympic movement, inter- and non-governmental organizations, on the other hand. Together with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the IOC provided food assistance to children in Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Rwanda, as well as sports equipment in refugee camps from Kosovo, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and other countries. The IOC cooperates with the UN Development Program in the fight against poverty. In Cambodia, Ecuador and Tanzania, sports and recreation projects have been launched in collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization for poor, isolated communities with large proportions of youth among the population. The existence of a connection between the development of sports and human well-being led to the actions of the UN General Assembly, which proclaimed 1994 - the year of the centenary of the creation of the International Olympic Committee in " International Year sport and the Olympic ideal."
For more than half a century, the Olympic movement has discussed the issue of creating equal conditions for athletes from different countries in their preparation for the Olympic Games. In recent years, this idea has begun to come to life thanks to the funds of Olympic Solidarity. So, since 1989, the IOC began to pay scholarships to athletes sufficiently high class from developing countries so that they can systematically prepare abroad for the Olympic Games. 158 Olympic Solidarity scholarship holders competed at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in Atlanta, and four of them became Olympic champions, 14 more won medals. No less impressive are the data on the provision of assistance to athletes preparing for the XVIII Winter Olympic Games in 1998 in Nagano. Olympic Solidarity scholarships were awarded to 346 athletes. 220 of them passed the pre-Olympic selection and performed in Nagano. Four won medals, another 37 received Olympic diplomas, taking places from fourth to eighth. Thus, the IOC, which allowed professionals to participate in the Olympic Games, is at the same time doing everything possible to ensure that the Olympic Games are truly universal and that the maximum number of athletes can compete for Olympic awards.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken important steps to prohibit political and racial discrimination. In particular, he decided to entrust the organization of the Olympic Games only to those countries where the free participation of all is guaranteed Olympic committees. The IOC's achievements in recent years also include the campaign against apartheid in South Africa, organized in accordance with the basic principles of the Olympic Charter, and the role it played in ending apartheid. At a time when South Africa's fledgling democracy had not yet joined intergovernmental organizations, athletes from all countries welcomed the return of its athletes to the 25th Olympic Games in Barcelona (1992).
In recent years, certain measures have been taken to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of sports. The IOC has decided that everyone the new kind sport included in the program of the Olympic Games must provide for the possibility of women's participation in this event. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has called on members Olympic family encourage women to occupy at least 10% of legislative and executive positions by 2000, and at least 20% by 2005.
The IOC's efforts to establish close contacts with interstate international organizations, primarily with the UN and various organizations included in its system, have intensified. A number of projects have been carried out together with UNESCO, for example, the World Forum on physical activity and sports in Canada and the “Education for Olympism” seminar in Mozambique. Back in 1984, the IOC and UNESCO agreed to cooperate.
On October 21, 1998, IOC President H.A. Samaranch and UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor signed a new agreement in Paris, providing for closer cooperation between the two organizations "in physical and sports education for the physical, mental and social development of youth." In 1997, a cooperation agreement was concluded between the IOC and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, according to which both parties assumed responsibility for carrying out specific actions of international solidarity in support of the rural population.
Work on Olympic education for children and youth has intensified, and the fight against doping and the use of medications that are harmful to the health of athletes has been intensified. The activities of national Olympic committees, as well as their world organization (ANOC) and continental associations of NOCs, have intensified in these areas. In 1994, the IOC, together with the World Health Organization, held the World Congress “Sport for All - Health for All” in Uruguay. In 1995, together with the UN Program for International Drug Control, the International Conference “Sport against Drugs” was held in Italy, and together with the UN Environmental Program - the World Conference “Sport and the Environment”.
There have been organizational changes in the IOC itself. Its composition has been significantly updated and increased. For the first time, women appeared in the IOC. The number of standing commissions of the IOC has increased, and such as the athletes’ commission, the “sport for all” commission, the “Apartheid and Olympism” commission, etc. have appeared. A number of actions indicate the IOC’s increased attention to cultural issues and the strengthening of the connection between sport and art. These are, for example, cultural events during the Olympic Games, the holding of the Olympic competition “Art and Sports - 2000”, the formation of the international institute “Cultural Olympics”, which is designed to be responsible for holding Cultural Olympics during the Summer Olympic Games, etc. Significant contribution to The International Olympic Academy and the National Olympic Academies, the international organization of the Special Olympic Games (for persons with intellectual disabilities), the International Olympic Center for Peace and Culture (Greece), Olympic Museum in Lausanne, etc.
Noting these steps of humanistic orientation in the Olympic movement, promoting its more active role in the formation and implementation of the values of sustainable development and a culture of peace, it is necessary to note something else - a pragmatic approach is gaining an increasingly strong position in it, according to which the main value of this movement is the sport itself (especially elite sports) and sports records, regardless of what they are used for, what purposes they serve. The main attention is increasingly directed towards the comprehensive development of sports competitions, encouraging high sporting achievements, records and winners.
Here are just a few facts that provide grounds for such a conclusion. The IOC has refused and is refusing all proposals to replace the officially adopted motto of the Olympic movement “Citius” with a motto with a more pronounced humanistic orientation. Altius. Fortius" ("Faster, higher, stronger"). This proposal was made by many scientists and public figures. But this motto guides athletes only to high achievements. At least, as the professor notes physical education from France I. Heinrich, it can be interpreted in two ways: firstly, in the sense of such a balance in the human condition, which presupposes harmony, eurhythmia and a personal ideal in social integration; secondly, in the sense of such a super task, when everything is subordinated to the goal of achieving success at any cost in any field of activity, be it sports, politics, the social sphere or the economic field.
An important humanistic provision of the previous version of the charter (1979) was excluded from the new edition of the Olympic Charter (1996): “The Olympic Games were revived by Baron de Coubertin not only so that participants could compete for medals, break records and entertain the public, and not for in order to provide participants with a springboard into professional sports career or to demonstrate the superiority of one political system over another.”
Although the fundamental changes that have occurred in the world in recent years have largely removed the severity of the political confrontation between the leading world powers and, accordingly, the degree of political interest in the results shown in sports arena, but even now the use of sport for selfish political and propaganda purposes continues. Almost all countries continue to count the medals and places won by their athletes, and use the successes achieved to increase prestige, increase the influence of the country on the world stage, to prove “the superiority of a given way of life or the greater vitality inherent in a given people.”
There have been no significant changes in the Olympic movement in terms of preventing that negative phenomenon in this area, which is usually referred to as cultural hegemony - most sports and sports disciplines included in Olympic program, is of Western origin and, therefore, the Olympic Games, although they are international, include a huge number of countries in their orbit, but many nations that would like to make their cultural contribution to “international understanding” through these Games have little chance of doing so plan, because they are forced to accept a purely Western view of the world of sports.
The commercialization of sports and the Olympic movement had a particularly strong negative impact on the implementation of humanistic ideals and values of Olympism, as noted at the 36th session of the IOA (1993). One of the clearest manifestations of its negative role is the crisis that erupted in the IOC at the end of 1998 and beginning of 1999 in connection with the so-called corruption case. Former minister Sports Australia Andrew Thomson said that he was shocked by the news of corruption in the IOC and believes that after such a scandal this organization simply should not exist. Thomson proposed abandoning the Olympics in the coming century and creating major world-scale competitions, united by some other idea.
Thus, there is a certain inconsistency of the Olympic movement in the implementation of humanistic ideals and values, a contradiction between the ideals it proclaims and the course towards commercialization and professionalization.
