A Summit Sport Diplomacy

Accepting the HOC President Zsolt Borkai's invitation, the President of the European Olympic Committees, Member of the IOC Executive Board and ANOC Vice President, Mr. Patrick Hickey paid a two-day visit to Hungary. President Hickey was accompanied by EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi. The executives discussed the current issues of the Olympic Movement in Europe, the future of wrestling and the possible expansion of the 2017 EYOF sport programme to be held in Győr, Hungary. Mr. Marius Vizer, President of the International Judo Federation, Mr. Tamás Aján, President of the International Weightlifting Federation and Mr. Sergei Soloveychik, President of the European Judo Federation also joined the negotiations.

"The HOC is fighting with all possible means of sport diplomacy in order for wrestling to be able to remain on the programme of the Olympic Games. I also suggested during the talks that the sprint canoeing should be a part of the otherwise very strictly governed programme of the 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival in Győr" - said HOC President Borkai.

Patrick Hickey is a returning guest of Budapest; last time he was present at the 33rd EOC Seminar in the Hungarian capital. He paid tribute to the new headquarters of the HOC; during his tour of the building complex he said he had been persuaded that everything was at the disposal of Hungary to do professional work and that the 2017 games in Győr would be a well-organized world event. "I'm quite sure that EYOF will be an enduring occasion" - he added, and made a promise to look into the possibilities of making sprint canoeing a part of the sport programme.

"Sports are in great shape in Europe; for example, during the London Olympics last year we managed to regain our leading position that had been lost in Beijing" - evaluated the Irish sports-executive the recent events.

One of the most significant multi-sport events of the EOC is the European Games of which the first edition will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Hungarian initiative of this event and its organization was considered in the 1970s at the time of Lord Killanin and also 20 years ago under the presidency of Jacques Rogge. "The last feasibility study showed that such an event is necessary. Medium sized European cities would love to host such events - there are already four contenders for the second edition in 2019 - and more and more sponsors prefer European presence to global. For now, there are already 16 different sports on the program including two non-Olympic ones; however, the program is not completed yet. We are negotiating with the European Athletic Association and we would love to have some champions of theirs in Baku" - explained Patrick Hickey.

As far as wrestling remaining on the Olympic programme is concerned, he stressed that there are no talks yet about leaving it out of the program. "This should serve as a wake-up call for other sports as well - we need to understand that there is a need for development and innovation. As an example, I should mention judo, which, under the direction of Marius Vizer in the recent years had done everything to keep up with the trends and bring themselves closer to the fans" - said the Irish sport leader who is perfectly aware of the fact that wrestling has a large fan base in the 49 EOC countries. "Sports movements can achieve things that are unimaginable in politics. In order for wrestling to remain a part of the Olympics, even the representatives of both USA and Iran signed a joint declaration - there had been no instance of such an agreement in the last 25 years. This clearly shows the importance of wrestling in the world of international sports" - he explained. The final decision will be made by the 115 members of IOC in Buenos Aires this year September; nonetheless, wrestling is an integral part of the 1st European Games to be held in 2015.

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