IOC Presidential Election 2024
IOC elects new president for first time in 12 years What are the duties Who are the seven candidates
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is set to hold a significant presidential election in March, with seven candidates vying to succeed Thomas Bach, who is stepping down after 12 years. This election is notable as it could result in the first female president or the first leader from Africa, Asia, or the United Kingdom. Key candidates include Prince Feisal al Hussein, Sebastian Coe, and Kirsty Coventry, alongside influential IOC members like Johan Eliasch and David Lappartient.
The new president will oversee a financially stable organization while navigating challenges such as selecting a host for the 2036 Summer Olympics, renewing the U.S. television deal, and addressing the reintegration of Russian athletes amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions. The election will take place at a resort near Olympia, Greece, with around 95 eligible voters from various sectors, including royalty, diplomats, and former athletes.
Key Concepts
- The IOC presidential election in March will determine Thomas Bach’s successor after his 12-year term.
- Key candidates include Prince Feisal al Hussein, Sebastian Coe, and Kirsty Coventry, all of whom have significant roles in sports governance.
- The IOC president oversees a financially stable organization that generates billions from Olympic broadcasting and sponsorship rights.
- The president wields considerable influence in determining future Olympic host cities and appointing IOC members.
- The upcoming election will be held in Olympia, Greece, with approximately 95 eligible voters from diverse backgrounds.
- The IOC maintains political neutrality while engaging in international diplomacy, as seen during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
- The new president will be responsible for overseeing the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and addressing future challenges.
- The IOC faces critical decisions regarding the host country for the 2036 Summer Olympics, with India and Qatar as leading contenders.
- The organization must also navigate the reintegration of Russian athletes into the international sports community amid geopolitical tensions.
Seven candidates are vying for one of the most important and best jobs in world sports, a position that traditionally only comes every 12 years.
The International Olympic Committee announced on Monday the members running for the next president. The election will be held by secret ballot in March.
The winner will replace German lawyer Thomas Bach, who will step down in June after reaching the 12-year limit for his term.
The 10th IOC president could be the first female leader of the organization, or the first from Africa or Asia. Or even the first from the United Kingdom.
They will take over a financially stable organization that requires skilled skills in the challenging worlds of sports and real-world politics.
Who are the candidates?
Prince Feisal al Hussein has been an IOC member since 2010 and a member of its executive board since 2019. He is the founder of the sports charity Generations for Peace. His brother is King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Sebastian Coe, IOC member since 2020 and president of World Athletics since 2015, Won Olympic gold medals in the men’s 1500m in 1980 and 1984. He was elected to the British Parliament from 1992 to 1997 and led the London 2012 Organising Committee.
Kirsty Coventry has been an IOC member since 2013 and a member of the Executive Board for the second time since 2023. She was the Olympic champion in the women’s 200m backstroke in 2004 and 2008. Appointed Minister of Sports in the Government of Zimbabwe in 2018. She is the Chair of the IOC group responsible for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. Johan
Eliasch, IOC member since August this year. President of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation since 2021. He is a British citizen of Swedish descent and the owner of the Head sports equipment brand, serving as CEO until 2021.
David Lappartient, member of the International Olympic Committee since 2022. President of the International Cycling Union since 2017. President of the French Olympic Committee and leader of the French Alps region’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics. Chairman of the IOC eSports Group, who recommended that the eSports Olympics be held in Saudi Arabia.
Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., member of the International Olympic Committee since 2001, Vice President since 2022, and member of the Executive Committee from 2012 to 2020. He is the founder of a Spanish investment bank and created the Samaranch Foundation in memory of his father, who was President of the IOC from 1980 to 2001 and promoted the Olympic Games in China.
Morinari Watanabe, IOC member since 2018. Japanese president of the International Gymnastics Federation since 2017.
When will the election be held? Who will vote?
The IOC election session will be held from March 18 to 21 at a resort hotel near the ancient site of Olympia in Greece.
Candidates and their compatriots cannot vote, so about 95 people are eligible to vote in the March election. They include members of European and Asian royal families, including the Emir of Qatar; diplomats and parliamentarians, including former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović; businessmen, including Nita Ambani, the wife of India’s richest man; leaders of sports bodies; and current and former Olympic athletes.
What are the responsibilities of the IOC president?
It’s an administrative position that oversees a nonprofit organization that employs hundreds of people at a modern lakeside headquarters office in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The IOC generates billions of dollars every four years from the sale of broadcast and sponsorship rights for the Summer and Winter Olympics.
Most of that money is distributed among the Olympic family: organizers of upcoming Olympics (including the Youth Olympics), the governing body of the Olympic movement, the more than 200 national Olympic bodies, scholarships for potential Olympic athletes, and special projects.
Ideally, the job requires a strong sense of sports management, an understanding of the needs of athletes, and some political savvy.
What power does the IOC president have?
Within the Olympic family, presidents can—and Bach did—use their influence and sponsorship to decide who hosts future Olympics, who becomes an IOC member, and who gets key committee positions.
On the wider world stage, the IOC has historically been politically neutral. It can—and Bach did—play a role in international diplomacy and at the United Nations, where it has an official observer seat. The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics briefly brought host countries South Korea and North Korea closer together.
The IOC and its president have been engaged in a decade-long exchange with governments and mayors of countries and cities that bid for, organize and host the Olympics, including some individual events for heads of state who are “too big to fail.”
Bach’s first Olympics as president were the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Chinese President Xi Jinping has closely followed Beijing’s efforts to host the 2022 Winter Olympics during the coronavirus lockdown.
Bach completed his final Olympics in Paris this summer in celebratory fashion, often standing shoulder to shoulder with French President Emmanuel Macron.
He visited the White House in June 2017 when Los Angeles was bidding on two hosting rights: Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028. No official photos or records of the Olympic delegation’s meeting with then-President Donald Trump have been released. It did not go well.
The next IOC president’s first Summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles in 2028.
How long can an IOC president stay in office?
The maximum is 12 years, with the first term being eight years, with the opportunity to be re-elected for four years.
However, the age limit for the IOC president is 70, and there are complex rules surrounding membership eligibility. This means that some of the seven candidates may have to seek special exemptions during their term in office to complete the full eight-year term.
How much does the IOC pay its president?
The IOC describes Bach as a volunteer who should not benefit financially from his position, but also “should not finance activities related to his functions from personal savings.” Since 2013, the solution has been to pay “a single annual fixed amount indexed to inflation.”
According to the latest IOC annual report, this amount reaches 275,000 euros ($306,000) by 2023.
What challenges and big decisions lie ahead?
Choosing a host country for the 2036 Summer Olympics, with India and Qatar among the strong contenders.
Renewing the U.S. television deal that typically funds the Games. Bach moved quickly in 2014 to renew his deal with NBC until 2032. The next deal will start with the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Both decisions relate to the broader issue of drafting the global sports calendar. July-August has been the preferred time for the Summer Olympics since 2004. But the 2036 Doha Games cannot take place in those months, and where else can they be safely held after another decade of climate change?
When and how can Russia fully reintegrate into the international sports community with no end in sight to its invasion of Ukraine? World Athletics, led by Coe, currently excludes Russian athletes entirely.