Year Ahead for IOC - 2020 Bids, New Members, 2015 Session Host

(ATR) While the IOC holds its annual session in July, the most anticipated decision of the year ahead may be the choice of the final field for the 2020 Summer Olympics, set for May 23 at the IOC Executive Board meeting in Quebec.

The board is expected to cut one or two cities from the race. Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo are in the process of completing files due at IOC headquarters Feb. 15 that will be used toevaluate their bids for the final cut.

IOC Director General Christopehe De Kepper tells Around the Rings that the year to come includes financial matters the IOC wants to settle, inludingnegotiations with the U.S. Olympic Committee for a new revenue sharing agreement, TV rights still unsold for 2014 and 2016 and concluding worldwide sponsorship deals.

In addition to Quebec in May, the IOC EBmeets in April at the general assembly for the Association of National Olympic Committees set for Moscow; ahead of the July IOC Session and once more, traditionally held in Lausanne in December but not yet on the schedule.

The London IOC Session, July 23-25, will bring new IOC members to the fold.Through resignation and retirements, the number of IOC members will stand at 103 as of Jan. 1, a full 12 short of the 115 maximum. A dozen new members are not likely to be nominated. Usually a group numbering around five is proposed from the 100+ applications on file for membership.

Four new athlete members will be elected at the London Olympics, but they will take the place of those chosen at the 2004 Games.

The IOC may have to reach a decision on the status of James Easton of the U.S. Illness forced him to miss the 2011 IOC Session in Durban, and there is a possibility he maynot makethe London Session. Under the Olympic Charter, members who miss two consecutive Sessions can lose their seat.

As 2012 opens, the roster of IOC members is led by Russia’s Vitaly Smirnov, now the most senior IOC member. The rise to the top followed the sudden retirement of Joao Havelange earlier this month, a move Havelange took to quash likely sanctions from the IOC Ethics Commission. Smirnov, elected in 1974, is the last IOC member eligible to serve for life. He is 76.

Elections for seats on the Executive Board will be a key item of business at the London Session. A vice presidential slot is open along with the seats held by Nawal El Moutwakel, who can run again, and Richard Carrion, who must step down after two consecutive terms.

The major conference of the year is the IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, Feb. 16 to 18 in Los Angeles. Held every four years, upwards of 1,000 could attend the meeting, first time to be held in the U.S.

A major renovation will close theOlympic Museum in Lausanne from late January until late 2013. The $50 million project is needed for health and safety modifications, renovation of the restaurant and improvements to the exhbit spaces. The museum has been open for 17 years.

The London IOC Session will select a host city for the 2015 meeting where the 2022 Winter Games site will be chosen. Bids will come from Kuala Lumpur, a possible French city, Lima,Dubai, Vietnam and possibly Africa.

The close of the London Olympics in August may mark the silent start of the race to succeed Jacques Rogge as IOC President, who will step down a year later.Candidates from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas may emerge: Thomas Bach, Nawal El Moutawakel, Sergey Bubka, Ser Miang Ng and Richard Carrion are considered most likely to run.

They will be governed by a strict set of rules adopted this month by the EB and governed by the IOC Ethics Commission. The rules put a clamp on promotion, publicity and gifts, even prohibiting the candidates from making any promises to the members.

Written by Ed Hula.

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