ANOC Assembly Draws 1000+ to Washington D.C.

(ATR)The Association of National Olympic Committees opens its 20th General Assembly today in Washington D.C.More than 1,200 Olympic leaders will be in D.C. for the meeting.

IOC president Thomas Bach, ANOC president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, secretary general Gunilla Lindberg and a roster of two dozen IOC members are at the meeting.

A record 206 National Olympic Committees have traveled to the U.S. capital.

Ahmad tells Around the Rings thatthe goals of the two-day assembly areto communicate the modernization of ANOC and future of National Olympic Committee relations.

Also on the agenda for the General Assembly is the announcement of a host city for the 2017 ANOC Beach Games. San Diego, California is poised to be awarded the event.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser will open the ANOC General Assembly which is taking place at the Washington Hilton. Its huge ballroom is the scene for the annual White House Correspondents Dinner and the National Prayer Breakfast.

The U.S. Olympic Committee held a welcome reception at the National Building Museum Wednesday evening. The USOC has allocated personnel and financial resources towards hosting the ANOC assembly, the first time it has been held in the U.S. since 1994. With Los Angeles bidding for the 2024 Olympics, the USOC is keen to make a good impression on the opinion makers of the Olympic Movement.

The meeting is one of the few international events where bid cities are permitted by the IOC to attend as observers. The mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, leads the small team from his city. Representatives from the other 2024 bids are here as well, Budapest, Hamburg, Paris and Rome.

The ANOC Awards 2015 gala is set for Thursday night with some of the biggest names from past Olympic Games present during the ceremony.

They include four-time Olympic medalist Ato Boldon, pole vault champion Sergey Bubka, swimmers Kirsty Coventry, Katie Ledecky, Ryan Lochte, wind surfer Barbara Kendall, and ice hockey player Angela Ruggiero.

The ceremony will take place at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall.

The 2015 ANOC General Assembly wraps up Oct. 30.

Written by Ed Hula andNicole Bennett

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