(ATR) The IOC Executive Board opens a two-day meeting in Lausanne, the last to be held before the dedication of the new headquarters June 23.
Along with IOC staff, the 15-member EB has been meeting in Lausanne for the past three years in temporary surroundings while the headquarters building was under construction.
The building has been in development since 2012 when the IOC okayed plans for the $140 million project. Construction began in 2015. Olympic House, as it will be known, houses the 500+ employees of the IOC under one roof.
While the staff has moved into the headquarters during the past month, the EB will not christen its new meeting room until after the formalities of the Olympic Day inauguration this weekend. During its exile in Lausanne, the EB has either met at the office building in the suburb of Pully which served as temporary headquarters or the Lausanne Palace Hotel, this meeting’s location.
The agenda for the EB is said to be routine and lacking surprises, coming justover a month from its previous meeting in May. The notable item from that meeting, a recommendation to strip boxing federation AIBA from handling the sport in Tokyo, is on the agenda this week, too.
The EB is not expected to change course, which means seeking a vote from the IOC Session next week to ratify the move against AIBA. But the EB will hear an update on some of the questions raised by the AIBA suspension, such as the administration of the Olympic tournament and how boxers will qualify to compete in Tokyo.
The EB, led by President Thomas Bach, will hear reports on each of the upcoming Olympics and Youth Olympic Games, with the exception of Los Angeles 2028.
Not specifically listed on the agenda is the June 24 vote the IOC will take to choose a 2026 Olympic Winter Games host city. The two contenders, Milan and Stockholm, have run strong campaigns that have taken advantage of changes to add flexibility and economy to the bid process.
At this point there appear to be no last minute issues for the 2026 vote that the EB needs to resolve.
Bach is scheduled to hold a press conference late in the afternoon of June 20.
Reported by Ed Hula.