IOC-HOC Lesvos

At the beginning of summer of 2016 the International Olympic Committee, after an invitation of the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Capralos, financed, together with the municipality of Lesvos, thereconstruction of the stadium at the village Moria of Lesvos.

The stadium is used today for the training of the local teams of Lesvos and for the sports programs for the refugees.

A delegation of the IOC and the HOC, headed by IOC member Mario Pescante, HOC President Spyros Capralos and the Olympic medalists in sailing in Rio 2016, Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis, is visiting Lesvos on Sunday October 1st. A sports event will be led on Sunday morning at the port of Mytilene with a demonstration of sailing and with the participation of the sailing clubs of Lesvos and Olympic medalists Mantis and Kagialis. The delegation of the IOC and the HOC will visit the open refugee camp of Kara Tepe, Lesvos and will share out sports equipment to the children.

A visit at the stadium of Moria and a meeting with the President of the village and the members of the cultural center will follow.

"From the first moment, when the refugee crisis broke out, the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach took initiatives as the Olympic movement fully understands the significance of the role of sport in the relieving the refugee crisis. During the IOC Session in Lima, Peru, the IOC President announced the launch of the Olympic Refugee Foundation, which will cooperate with the UN, and will aim at creating sports structures and programmes in areas where there is a refugee population, said the HOC President, Spyros Capralos, on the occasion of a visit to Lesvos and added: "We are pleased that the IOC is represented in Lesvos by its former Vice-President, Mario Pescante, who today has the important role of IOC’s permanent observer at the United Nations. We are very lucky, because Mr. Pescante being Italian, is well aware of the refugee crisis, as Italy and Greece are being particularly affected. In cooperation with the Municipality of Lesvos and the Mayor Spyros Galinos, we will discuss the possibility for Greece and Italy to develop programmes with the participation of the IOC and the newly founded Olympic Refugee Foundation, which will contribute to the relief of the impact of the crisis on both refugees and local communities."

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