ATR Golden 25 - Buenos Aires YOG Chief Gerardo Werthein #18

(ATR) IOC member Gerardo Werthein is preparing to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in a format and style marking the future of the event.

Werthein, chair of Buenos Aires 2018, is number 18 in the 2018 edition of the Around the Rings Golden 25. Published since 1997, the Golden 25 is an annual review of people, events and issues expected to influence the Olympic Movement in the year ahead.

After two previous editions of the YOG that seemed to grow bigger each time, Werthein is overseeing a change in direction. The Buenos Aires YOG aims for accessibility and sustainability over grandeur and spectacle. New sports or new ways of competing will rule.

Deconstructed into four Olympic Parks across the city, the 2018 YOG will be open to all, no tickets needed. Plans call for each park to offer competitions as well as sport for visitors to try. Music, other entertainment, food and drink will all be part of making the YOG an interactive experience. The Opening Ceremony takes place in the center of Buenos Aires, the city’s major plaza the venue, not a stadium.

The YOG delivered by Werthein and the team will be closely watched by the IOC as to the future of the YOG. The site for the next summer edition, in 2023, has yet to be determined nor have the specifics of what the IOC will expect from the next YOG host. BA is certain to influence.

Werthein, 62, is a veterinarian by profession, which has given him links to equestrian sport. But Werhein’s main business interest is an Argentina telecom firm he owns.

He has been an IOC member since 2011 and is also president of the Argentina Olympic Committee.

On the IOC, Werthein is the member designated to negotiate broadcast rights for the Olympics in the Americas. He serves on the board of the Olympic Channel and is a member of the Marketing Commission.

2017 ranking: Not Ranked

Reported by Ed Hula.