European Olympics Chiefs to Rome

EOC Gathers in Rome After Brutal Tickets Report

Some awkward moments may be ahead this weekend for European Olympic leaders in Rome.

The 49 members of the European Olympic Committees gather for their annual general assembly a day after an IOC Ethics Commission report accuses a half-dozen European NOC leaders of "tarnishing the reputation of the Olympic Movement". The report was issued in the aftermath of a Sunday Times undercover investigation that exposed NOC officials willing to deal in Olympic tickets with unauthorized agents outside IOC protocols.

While the Ethics Commission report says the IOC cannot discipline the accused NOC leaders, their naming and shaming could mean some embarrassment at the Rome meeting. IOC President Jacques Rogge will be there, along of course with EOC President Patrick Hickey, who took part in his first EB meeting this week that included release of the Ethics Commission findings. Click here to view.

Named in the report are:

Hellenic NOC President Spyros Capralos and marketing director Nicole Avramidou. Vytautas Zubernis, secretary general of the Lithuanian NOC Lino Farrugia, President of the Maltese NOC and Joe Cassar, secretary general Djordje Visacki, secretary general of the Serbian NOC The ticket scandal is not on the agenda of the EOC meeting but may come up at the Executive Committee meeting ahead of the assembly. And it may deserve mention Friday evening when Rogge, former EOC President himself, speaks at the open of the assembly.

Besides any disciplinary steps NOCs might take against the officials named in the report, the episode has triggered a wholesale review and likely changes to the way Olympic Games tickets are handled by NOCs.

European Games Face Vote

Saturday morning, the first order of business is the vote on whether to proceed with the staging of a European Games, similar to multi-sport events hosted in other continents such as the Asian Games.

The new event has been a cause for EOC President Hickey, who has battled indifference and a crowded calendar during the past two years of his quest. It would appear that a modest first edition will emerge from this meeting with a dozen-plus sports on the program. Azerbaijan is believed to be lobbying to be the host, the wealthy oil nation able to cover the costs to give the fledgling a firm start.

Other new hosts for EOC events will be ratified at this assembly: Sarajevo & East Sarajevo for the 2017 European Winter Youth Olympic Festival and Györ, Hungary for the summer EYOF that year.

Selecting a host for the 2013 assembly is the final item on the agenda. No word whether Eilat, Israel will get another go. The Red Sea resort was dropped two weeks ago as this year’s host in the midst of the Israeli-Hamas rocket salvos.

2020 at EOC

The 2020 Olympic bid cities Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo will all be present at the EOC General Assembly as observers – not participants.

No formal statement from Istanbul 2020 was immediately available at the time of writing, but strategist Jon Tibbs tells Around the Rings "Istanbul will have a strong presence in Rome."

Even if Madrid 2020 is unable to present, bid leader and Spanish Olympic Committee president Alejandro Blanco says its participation is a key element of the bid. "We’ll be listening and learning," he said. "It will be very interesting to see how the various organizing committees are doing at their different stages of preparation. Madrid 2020 can only benefit in sharing their experiences and listening to the lessons they’ve learnt along the way."

Tokyo 2020 President Tsunekazu Takeda heads a three-member delegation from Tokyo. Joining him are bid CEO Masato Mizuno and Executive Committee member Yasuhiro Nakamori. "Participating gives us the valuable opportunity to meet many Olympic family friends from Europe, and it is a pleasure to share the latest updates about Tokyo’s bid activity," said Takeda. "Having the chance to meet face-to-face with National Olympic Committee members from across Europe, and exchange with representatives of upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games, will enable us to collect real and tangible insight as we finalize our Candidature File. I look forward to collaborating with the EOC and NOC members to further build the Olympic Movement together worldwide."

Click here for the full agenda.

Written and reported by Ed Hula

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