IOC Slashes 2024 Bid Fee; Urban Sports for Buenos Aires YOG -- On the Scene

(ATR) The IOC has reduced the application fee for the 2024 Olympic bidding contest under efforts to attract more bids.

IOC director of communications Mark Adams confirmed that cities applying for the Games by the Sept. 15 deadline will have to pay $250,000 rather than $650,000 for the 2020 Olympic race.

The fee for applicants for the 2026 Winter Olympics was not disclosed.

Despite slashing what he called the "candidature service fee,"Adams said the 2024 bids can expect a higher level of service from the IOC, although he didn’t go into detail.

Further details on the 2024 bidding procedure are set to be released in September ahead of the application deadline.After the Boston bid’s demise Monday, four European bids – Budapest, Hamburg, Paris and Rome – are in the frame for the Games. But a new U.S. city may join the race, while Baku and Toronto are also considering 2024 bids.

Adams was briefing media after the first day of the IOC Executive Board meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

The EB received various updates from the summer and winter federations umbrella bodies as well as reports from ANOC and WADA.

Three days before the IOC vote on the 2022 Winter Olympics, a choice between Almaty and Beijing, he confirmed that the host city contract would be made public on Friday – a change from previous contests.

The contract has "changed a lot" compared to previous editions, he noted. The legally-binding document now includes an anti-discrimination clause that hosts must comply with, news of which emerged last year. It was introduced following controversy over Russia’s anti-gay law that dominated the build-up to the Sochi 2014 Games.

The host city contract also shows an increase in the IOC’s contribution to help organize the Olympics to $880 million.

For the 2022 Paralympics, the IOC has increased its offering to the International Paralympic Committee from $6 million to $7.5 million and approved an expansion in athlete numbers from 650 to 750.

Adams said the 2024 host city contract, yet to be released, will "even more take into account Agenda 2020," the IOC’s reforms package approved last December.

Sports Program for Buenos Aires YOG

The EB approved the roster of sports for the 2018 Youth Olympics on Tuesday. Full details were not revealed but Adams said there would be a record level of female participation with the IOC accepting proposals to include the urban sports of kiteboarding, BMX freestyle and beach handball on the program.

In a statement, Buenos Aires 2018 Coordination Commission chairman Frankie Fredricks said: "The Youth Olympic Games are leading the way in terms of innovations and testing new concepts, and we are impressed with the creativity from the international federations to make this event really appeal to young athletes and audiences."

South Sudan Membership

The IOC’s ruling body agreed to propose war-torn South Sudan as the 206th NOC. It will be discussed and likely approved at the IOC Session on Sunday.

Pere Miro gave a presentation to the IOC EB today. There was no opposition to the proposal. The civil war in South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 1.6 million since the conflict began in December 2013.

"The Olympics is all about building bridges between different communities. This is a great signal to send to a troubled region," Adams said of the NOC membership proposal.

South Sudanese runner Guor Marial competed under the Olympic Flag in the marathon at the London 2012 Games as an independent athlete. He is said to be trying to qualify for Rio 2016 along with various other athletes from his home nation.

No Boston 2024 Discussion

Boston’s embarrassing exit from the 2024 Olympic bidding race on Monday was not specifically discussed at the EB meeting.

Pressed by reporters about the reaction from EB members to news about the collapse of the bid, Adams said he was not able to gauge the level of disappointment.

"It is a question for the USOC to decide which city they choose to go forward, and we leave it to them," he said.

Reported by Mark Bisson in Kuala Lumpur

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