The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, today met His Majesty the King of Norway, Harald V, at the Royal Castle in Oslo, ahead of a visit to Lillehammer for meetings with the local organisers of the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games.
President Bach spoke at length with the King about the second edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which will take place in Lillehammer from 12 to 21 February 2016. They also discussed the performance of Norwegian athletes at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games, as well as Olympic Agenda 2020, a strategic plan for the future of the Olympic Movement which will be finalised by the end of this year.
"We discussed the Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games, which will use only pre-existing venues, and the legacy these Games will bring to the region and the country," said President Bach. "We also discussed the Culture and Education Programme, which is an integral part of the Games and helps to develop the Olympic values in all the participants."
President Bach was accompanied by Norwegian IOC member Gerhard Heiberg.
Earlier in the day the IOC President visited 'Olympiatoppen', the NOC's high performance sport centre to meet with young athletes training for both the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games. Joining the IOC President were IOC Members Gerhard Heiberg and Angela Ruggiero, who is also Chair of the Lillehammer 2016 IOC Coordination Commission.
On Tuesday, President Bach will meet representatives from the Lillehammer 2016 Organising Committee and go on a venue tour. Existing infrastructure from the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games will be used for the Lillehammer 2016 YOG, obviating the need for the construction of any new venues and creating a further legacy from those Games. They will also visit the site of the Youth Olympic Village (YOV), which is being built with a subsidy of EUR 13.5 million from the IOC, who will also cover the travel and accommodation costs of all attending athletes and officials in the YOV during their stay which will be approximately EUR 4 million.
For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.
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