After the collapse of several cities’ bids to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved dozens of new rules to address the management of the world’s largest sporting event.
Under the IOC’s newly-established guidelines, small countries like Ireland could one day feasibly bear the expense of hosting the games now that multiple cities and countries can combine in one application. Under the legislation, cities like Dublin could bid with other international partners to host specific events, or Ireland as a country could bid, sharing the venues throughout all the cities in the state.
Given the huge financial burden placed on even making an application to the IOC, let alone hosting the actual games, the move has been welcomed internationally.
The organisation has also vowed to clean up its tarnished reputation in light of numerous corruption charges levied against the IOC in recent years, and has changed its regulations on auditing and transparency.
Last month, the IOC published its recommendations ahead of its annual meeting in a plan called 20+20. All 40 of the amendments were unanimously passed at its 127th session in Monte Carlo, which came to a close this evening.
Easier and more economical
The IOC has now decided to guide applying cities through its convoluted bidding process, and will “actively promote the maximum use of existing facilities and the use of temporary and demountable venues.” This is in response to the way hosting the games has crippled cities economically, and to address the lavish spending for which the long-term urban benefit remains uncertain.
While the IOC is willing to look at multiple-country bids, the hope is that the games will remain within one country, but spread out across several cities. It is believed this move was prompted by the disastrous bidding process for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which has only two cities (Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing, China) remaining, following the collapsed bids from five other European cities (Krakow, Stockholm, Munich, Oslo and Lviv).
The new bidding process is designed to make hosting the games less financially taxing, helping cities balance “long-term investment in infrastructure and return on such investment on the one hand, and the operational budgets on the other hand.”
Embracing human rights
Another long-term goal of 20+20 is sustainability; in addition to sharing the burden, a cap will also be placed on the number of athletes who can compete at each games, and the IOC will actively reward reusable design of venues. It will also take a forward approach to monitoring labour standards, which have plagued the Rio de Janeiro sites for the next summer games in 2016.
The IOC will "include sustainability in its day-to-day operations," and "integrate and implement sustainability measures that encompass economic, social and environmental spheres in all stages of their project."
The body has also pledged to add sexual orientation to its non-discrimination charter, following the harsh criticism it received after awarding the Winter Olympics to the Russian city of Sochi, in light of Russia’s discriminatory laws against the so-called ‘promotion of gay lifestyles’.
And in an effort to address corruption allegations, the IOC will make its dealings and financial records more transparent. The body will adhere to the International Financial Reporting Standards requiring it to "produce an annual activity and financial report, including the allowance policy for IOC members."
The winning bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be announced at the IOC's 128th session in Kuala Lumpur in July 2015.
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