IOC President: Olympic Agenda 2020

(ATR) IOC president Thomas Bach says an agenda for IOC changes will be set by the end of 2014.

In his first teleconference with reporters following his election in September, Bach said the IOC will be developing what he calls Olympic Agenda 2020 in the coming months.

The IOC president says the process is already underway, with plans for a four-day retreat next week in Montreux, Switzerland for the Executive Board.

"I’m expecting many good ideas. This is the start of the dialogue. I promised in my program for the elections," Bach said.

"I’m looking forward to intensive discussions on many good ideas," he said.

Bach indicated that changes to the process of bidding for the Olympic Games, the sports program for the games and governance of the IOC would be among the points to be covered in this brainstorming meeting.

He says this will be followed with discussion and debate at the IOC session in Sochi in February, covering possibly a day and a half.

Regarding bids for the Olympics, Bach says he urged the six cities interested in hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games to be creative with their approach. He spoke with them Wednesday morning in Lausanne, as they began a three-day seminar on the requirements to host the Games.

Bach declined to say whether he favored a return to visits by IOC members to bid cities, saying this is the sort of issue that needs to be aired by the EB and the IOC session. He did say that he hoped changes to the bid process could be in effect for the race for the 2024 Summer Games. That contest will formally begin in England will be in mid-2015.

Bach said that an Olympic bid from Africa "would enjoy a lot of sympathy among the IOC members."

"But this does not necessarily mean that you win the bid," he said.

Bach said that based on his trip to South Africa last month for the WADA convention he got the distinct impression that the country was considering a bid for 2024.

The IOC president avoided raising alarm about preparations for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, but said he would head to Brazil soon for his first visit since his election.

"There is good progress being made," Bach said about the findings of an IOC visit to Rio last week.

"On the other hand, there is there is no time to lose, so it needs all the efforts of all the stakeholders. That is not only the organizing committee, also the different levels of government.And the IOC is ready to ensure that this seamless cooperation between all the stakeholders. This is why I intend to travel to Brazil within the next couple of months."

He said the name of the stadium in Rio for athletics in 2016 is not a major concern at this time. The Joao Havelange Stadium is named for the former FIFA president who was implicated in financial scandal involving the football federation. He ended up resigning his seat on the IOC two years ago, at that time, the most senior member. Bach noted that during the time of the Olympics all stadiums used for the games are referred to as "Olympic" and not by other names.

In the past month Bach has met with heads of state in China, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Italy, France, as well as Pope Francis.

"You can clearly see the important role sport plays in a modern society," he said in response to a question about those meetings.

"In one country, it’s more about education. In another country it’s more about the integration. In the next country it’s more about values," he said.

Reported by Ed Hula

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