IOC Session Stays in Lima

(ATR) Lima, Peru will remain the host of the 130th IOC session in September.

The IOC Executive Board reaffirmed the choice of Lima in a conference call meeting today anchored by IOC president Thomas Bach in Lausanne.

An IOC spokesperson confirmed to Around the Ringsthat the "Olympism in Action" event that was scheduled to coincide with the 2017 Session has been delayed until the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

A deluge of rain in these first months of the year has caused destruction and death across Peru. So far more than 100 people have been killed and perhaps as many as 100,000 people are homeless. The rains are triggered by an El Niño phenomenon, resulting in the worst flooding in Peru in 100 years.

"The eyes of the world will be on Lima and we believe that hosting the IOC Session will send a vital message to the world and to Peru that we are ready to welcome the world after the emergency situation," Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said in a statement.

"This is why we have reaffirmed our support to the organisation of the IOC Session. The event had already been declared of national interest and we will now issue an Executive Order that creates the framework to implement the declaration and support," Kuczynski added.

IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement that the decision by the IOC Executive Board is "a demonstration of solidarity with Peru and its people following the wish of the Peruvian government".

Last week the IOC donated $600,000 to the government of Peru to assist with recovery efforts. IOC member in Peru Ivan Dibos presented the documentation for the assistance to President Kuczynski. Unmentioned in the IOC press release about the gift was the pending IOC session in Lima scheduled for September 13-17. Lima was selected to host the session two years ago by the IOC, well before worries surfacedthis year about whether the session could still be held in the aftermath of the flooding.

Spanish Olympic Committee President Alejandro Blanco visited Lima last week to inspect the city and the overall situation in Peru for the IOC. The findings of his visit were used by the EB in its consideration of whether to move ahead with Lima.

Abu Dhabi and Lausanne have been mentioned as possible substitute hosts for the IOC session. Given that the 2024 Summer host city will be selected at the meeting, the location must be neutral for both Los Angeles and Paris, the two contenders.

Both cities as well as the IOC have sent delegations to Lima to survey the city and its accommodations and other infrastructure a number of times in the past year.

One complication is the instability in the leadership of the host Peru Olympic Committee. Current president José Quinones is under suspension from participating in sports leadership positions in Peru. Secretary general Francisco Boza is facing finance charges. Elections are scheduled in June.

Written by Ed Hula.