(ATR) The IOC will decide within the next few weeks whether flood-hit Peru can stage the Session in September.
The IOC on Tuesday announced a donation of $600,000 to support humanitarian relief efforts in Peru, following the devastating floods and landslides across large swathes of the country which have reportedly killed around 100 people. Tens of thousands more have lost their homes.
Reconstruction and relief efforts for areas affected by the floods, triggered by the El Nino climate phenomenon, could cost $12-15 billion, according to Peru's minister of defense Jorge Nieto quoted Wednesday by the Xinhua news agency.
The natural disaster has raised questions about the country’s capabilities to host both the IOC Session and the 2019 Pan Am Games.
Around the Rings understands that an IOC delegation has been in Lima to check on the flood conditions and status of preparations for both events.
The Peruvian hosts have said they are ready to welcome up to 3,000 delegates from the Olympic Movement – including huge delegations from the Los Angeles and Paris 2024 Olympic bids – as well as international media for the IOC Session. But the IOC is not yet convinced.
Contingency plans have been drawn up. Talks will have taken place with other cities about stepping in to replace Lima as Session host at short notice if the IOC is forced to drop the Peruvian capital.
The IOC Executive Board has the final say on whether the Session takes place in Lima. A special meeting is expected to take place in the coming two weeks.
The absence in an IOC statement late Tuesday of any mention of Lima as IOC Session host could be interpreted as a bad sign for Peru.
IOC president Thomas Bach "expressed his sympathy for the Peruvian people" in a letter to the country’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. It was handed over personally to Kuczynski on Tuesday by the IOC Member in Peru, Iván Dibós.
Notable too, was Bach’s failure to mention the IOC Session in Lima in his speech at the SportAccord Convention opening ceremony last night in Aarhus.
IOC director general Christophe De Kepper told reporters at the SportAccord Convention that the $600,000 donation to Peru "is a signal to the Peruvians that we are not letting them down in these difficult moments".
"There is a natural catastrophe which is affecting the lives of Peruvian citizens. This is a show of solidarity of the IOC. Not only the IOC but with Olympic Solidarity and ANOC," he said.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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